Victory Motorcycle to Wind Down Production

Other than the Heritage Softail and Softail Deluxe, and I don't think so. To me the big Indians look way more retro than the Harleys, with the skirted fenders and Indian head ornaments.

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In terms of product planning, "are #1" and "will be #1" are two different things. I don't see a big future for Indian. They seem like the perfect 2005 product offering. Things have changed and will continue to change.
 
I think you're being a little harsh with the 2005 comment. Don't let the Indian visual style lull you to thinking they're dated machines.

Yes things have changed, but to Indian's benefit. Look around. Retro is in again. Not just Indian but Honda, BMW Ducati, and others are making and selling a ton of retro look bikes but with modern engines and suspensions. .
 
Thread starter
Really? To me all the Harleys look like they were designed in 1938 when the knucklehead was introduced and that's why they are so popular... Look old and function like new. Kinda like the CB1100.

I think Indians mission is clear... Take as many sales as they can away from Harley Davidson. They have no interest in trying to takes away sales of sport tourers, or sport bikes, or ADV bikes, or scooters, or mini bikes from any other manufacturer. They are only after sales of 1000cc plus V twin cruisers.
 
ClassicVW_imp said:
I think you're being a little harsh with the 2005 comment. Don't let the Indian visual style lull you to thinking they're dated machines.

Yes things have changed, but to Indian's benefit. Look around. Retro is in again. Not just Indian but Honda, BMW Ducati, and others are making and selling a ton of retro look bikes but with modern engines and suspensions. .
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I didn't say they were dated machines. I'm talking about marketing. The American classic cruiser boom of the zeros (early 2000s) ended with the crash of 2008.
The ferret_imp said:
Really? To me all the Harleys look like they were designed in 1938 when the knucklehead was introduced and that's why they are so popular... Look old and function like new. Kinda like the CB1100.

I think Indians mission is clear... Take as many sales as they can away from Harley Davidson. They have no interest in trying to takes away sales of sport tourers, or sport bikes, or ADV bikes, or scooters, or mini bikes from any other manufacturer. They are only after sales of 1000cc plus V twin cruisers.
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If true, this is a mistake IMO.
The New Face Of Motorcycling? - Motorcycle & Powersports News
 
Clearly Indian sales say they are popular and the style is still resonating.

Moto Guzzi had some success in the Big Twins races - with a shaft drive. Working hypothesis; while chains are considered more efficient at the beginning of the race they start to loose it while shaft drives maintain the same. Over the distance, if the race is long enough, shafts end up with an advantage.

I think Indian/Polaris should come up with an inline four. Alas, it may seem like they are copying the Triumph Rocket. Certainly they need to come out with a performance standard based on their Pikes Peak racer.
 
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I think Indian needs to stop using painted plastic, black plastic, chromed plastic, and glued-on logos on their motorcycles. How hard is it to just be authentic and make everything out of metal? Royal Enfield seems to manage.
 
Polaris did not intend to keep victory. The used the victory buyers to learn the motorcycle business. After they bought indian, they did not do any improvements to the cross country, the best selling of Victory models. I am glad I have my vics to compare to the other brands. They are very well built and don't break. The are comfortable, and built for American sized people. Harley is too short and crowds you. Victory doesn't appeal to everyone. That's ok too. It is nice to be different. I will continue to ride them. The parts will be made for 10 years, so they say. I will never buy any product made by polaris because of what they did. I am selling my indians. I hope the indian line dies a quick death. Yeah I am mad, and feel used. I still like my vics though.
 
Stichill_imp said:
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I think Indian needs to stop using painted plastic, black plastic, chromed plastic, and glued-on logos on their motorcycles. How hard is it to just be authentic and make everything out of metal? Royal Enfield seems to manage.
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Beautiful picture of a Henderson! :) Maybe someone should bring back the original in-line 4. At the time it was the fastest thing on wheels with a top speed of 110 mph.

Jay Leno gives a nice history of the Henderson 1931 KJ and the police special.





 
A friend of mine just bought an Indian the other day. I sat on it at his shop and was surprised at how light it felt. I expected it to be top heavy like a Harley but it feels lighter than the CB. Still think it's ugly.

 
Thread starter
Sam, did you ask your buddy what made him choose the Indian over a comparable Harley?
 
I would not choose an HD over and Indian just because I've always liked being different or not following the crowd, but I'm weird like that ;-)
 
The broader, underlying question; Is the heavy cruiser going out of style? HD is struggling, Victory kaput, Triumph dropping the T-bird, Honda's cruiser line stale. Average owners in their 50's and 60's now. Maybe the market is turning.


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Thread starter
Capo_imp said:
The broader, underlying question; Is the heavy cruiser going out of style? HD is struggling, Victory kaput, Triumph dropping the T-bird, Honda's cruiser line stale. Average owners in their 50's and 60's now. Maybe the market is turning.


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Click to expand...
Yes, but turning to what? perhaps that's the other part of the underlying question
 
Being the parent of two Millennials and and father-in-law to another, I've noticed that they tend to reject almost everything that has come before them. They really don't care at all about tradition. They are ready to embrace whatever they just discovered on Instagram and move on from it just as quickly.

They don't usually like to be marketed to in a pre-packaged way. McDonald's has an incredibly tough uphill battle. Chipotle seems to have figured it out...even though it's a system, every customer can 100% customize their order.

It seems that they are attracted to authenticity. They really don't like fakeness. That's my concern about Indian...it seems a bit like fake heritage, fake tradition. Which is a double-whammy because Millennials don't care about tradition and they reject fakeness.

They also reject the "plain vanilla" existence of suburban living and having to drive everywhere. They are moving into the cities in droves. I could see this being the "motorcycle" of choice for the urban Millennial:

Yamaha Tricity
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Seems like millennials like to sit home in their mothers basement all day playing video games and starring at their smart phone. I think fewer and fewer are into motorcycles to begin with. The ones that are can barely afford to ride anything that costs considerable money that's why you see an influx of budget bikes to the market. These newer kids love import budget bikes which sell the hipster lifestyle like the Ducati Scrambler, Triumph street twin and the American iron 883. They have no interest in our bike and can't come close to affording larger Harleys or Indians. Almost every company is now offering a low model budget bike. Ducati is now coming out with a new monster 765 targeted to entry level riders who can't afford a ducati.

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The ferret_imp said:
Sam, did you ask your buddy what made him choose the Indian over a comparable Harley?
Click to expand...
He has had more motorcycles in the last couple of years than I can count. At the moment he has a Harley XR1200 a BMW and now the Indian. He had a Big Honda V twin a couple months ago. Before that a Harley Ultra and a Yamaha. He's talking about getting a Triump Thruxton. I give up, I'll just ride my CB and be happy.
 
Stichill hit the bullseye with his explanation. The kids want to live in the cities and take the train, light rail, or Uber whenever they need a ride. They don't want the suburbs and lawns to cut and commute two hours to work. If they think about two wheels, and most of them don't, it'll be a scooter or a Ducati Scrambler for sure.
 
I recently ran into some old people in the industry and both complained how weak the motorcycle sales were,
also showroom people complained about slow foot traffic.
I may be bias but I think it is good to see some of the new small bikes, -the Van Van , the new rebels and the new V300 Kaw. and the new GSXR 250 ( but why is it not a 300? )
You can guess I have a real thing for small bikes.
 
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