Have any of you had the pleasure of taking a demo ride on the new Indians? I led Indian demo rides at the San Mateo and Long Beach IMS Motorcycle shows and will be in Phoenix in Jan. I hope to see and meet some of the inmates in AZ. Dudley
My dad had one in the late 40's, I don't know which model. Figured I would get one when they were suppose to be made in Oregon years back, but that didn't work out. I must of seen the Gilroy Indian at the Seattle show PM if you demo in the NW. wiki
I've always thought Indian and Norton should hook-up: get their Chapter 7 or 11 proceedings outta' the way, on the same day. .
That's is some really old news you posted....and a really long time since you went to the show. Since Gilroy they've been through another owner and are now owned by Polaris. Everything is new from the ground up and they will no longer be making excuses or lousy products. indianmotorcycles.com
John, I look forward to seeing you at the Victory/Indian demo site at the IMS show Jan 25 and 26. Stop by and say hello and sign up for a demo ride. Dudley
I'll be there though I've ridden them all. I led the demo rides when they were here at the Scottsdale dealer in October. Quite the impressive machines.
Doubt I'd pony up the excessive amount of coinage for one, but I'd love to take a Chief for a spin some day.
With Victory behind them there is hope. I'd like to see the brand make it. I could see one in my future.
I like the idea, but I'm not really into the style. Something about buying a bike in 2013 that is styled out of the 40s. Not eveything styed in the 40s is bad. I mean, their booth babes at the IMS were stellar. I look at the new Norton for example. It has enough of the old look, but isn't trying too hard like Indian is. Victory and HD both have brought in more modern designs. The 2014 HD baggers are sharp.
The new Norton is styled after the 70's Comando. The Indian because of it's telescopic forks , I'd say was styled after the last Indians in 1953. I hope they can come up with a bike with rear suspension and without a tele fork that handles well and is styled like the Cheifs of the mid-30's.
Well, you didn't say anything so how would anybody know you were an inmate? Yeah, I was on the 12:15 ride on Sunday. You didn't think a guy in a big blue Roadcrafter carrying an Arai helmet might be an inmate? And there's an 85 page discussion on them here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=869361
I think I remember you, Blue stich up front in the right hand line of bikes. Yes, that was me the good looking grey haired guy giving the safety speech. I have a niece moving to your town in Jan. Dudley
Wow! You have an exceptional memory...or you're not used to seeing giant blue smurfs riding Indains (yes, that was me). I remember you too. You guys were doing all you could to keep that line moving quickly. You were right at about 32-34 minutes per group. It was funny because I got off the Indian and broke my Harley big-twin cherry immediately after (no better opportunity to get a back-to-back comparison). I got a CVO Softail Deluxe. I truly and decidedly liked the Indian better. It was also funny that there was nearly no waiting over at the Harley truck and you guys had a growing line.
