Indian is Back

[Spok]

a July 20 Press Release

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Indian

® Motorcycle Company Announces New Home

Kings Mountain, NC (July 20, 2006) –

Indian® Motorcycle Company is pleased to announce that it will be
revving up its engine in a new home. After carefully reviewing location options throughout the United States,
Indian® has selected a factory in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, where it will place its world headquarters.
The site, located in Cleveland County, 37 miles west of downtown Charlotte, includes 11 acres of property
and a 40,000 square foot manufacturing facility which is expandable to 125,000 square feet.
“We believe Cleveland County and the greater Charlotte area are a perfect fit for Indian® Motorcycle
Company and we’re proud to call this area home,” said Indian Chairman, Stephen Julius. “We are in the
heart of our nation’s powersports industry, with access to design, engineering and mechanical talent, worldclass
suppliers, motorsport education centers and year-round motorcycle riding weather. In addition, this
area provides us with economic advantages, including a low overall cost of doing business, which was aided
by a strong incentive package provided by Cleveland County and by the State of North Carolina.”
The announcement of the factory site marks the official re-launch of Indian® Motorcycle Company, America’s
oldest and most iconic motorcycle brand, founded in 1901. In preparation for Indian’s re-launch,
management has spent considerable time over the last two years researching the American motorcycle
market and learning from the successes and failures of other market entrants. In particular, Indian has
studied the tremendous growth of Harley-Davidson from near-bankruptcy in the early 1980’s to a multi-billion
dollar success story today. However, Indian is intent on slowly carving out its own niche in the large and
growing heavyweight cruiser motorcycle market. There is a considerable consumer base for a premium line
of motorcycles under the Indian Motorcycle brand, which has an almost cult-like status amongst many
consumers. The company will focus on supplying genuine, American made, motorcycles which are
beautifully designed, made of the highest quality materials, reliable and supported by a qualified dealer
network.
Over the next 12 months, Indian will focus on design, engineering and testing activities, with the objective of
introducing the famed Indian® Chief® motorcycle in the second half of 2007. To head up its product
development team, Indian has hired Geoffrey Burgess, a world-renowned motorcycle engineer and product
development expert. Geoff was most recently the Chief Technology Officer at Global Motorsports Group
(“GMG”), owner of Custom Chrome, a provider of parts and accessories to the American V-twin motorcycle
market. Prior to GMG, Geoff was head of product development at S&S Cycle, Inc., a leading V-twin engine
manufacturing company, where he drove product innovation and process improvement to new levels. Prior
to joining S&S, Geoff was the first employee and Chief Engineer at the Victory Motorcycle division of Polaris
Industries, Inc., in Roseau, Minnesota. Geoff has also served in various senior engineering capacities at
General Motors, Bombardier Recreational Products (Valcourt, Quebec), BSA-Triumph Motorcycles and
Norton-Villiers Motorcycle Group. “Having Geoff on our team is a big win for Indian®,” commented Indian
President, David Wright. “His breadth and depth of knowledge of the American motorcycle market is
impressive and his technical capabilities unsurpassed. He has outstanding powertrain and chassis design
and development experience which we will put to good use. He is the perfect person for this role.”
Mr. Burgess commented, “I know that the executive management of Indian® understand the importance of
product development, engineering and testing to current industry OEM standards. I have been very
impressed with their thoughtful and long-term approach to this exciting opportunity.”
Indian is presently seeking to expand its team of engine and chassis engineers, technicians and CAD
designers. “Our team will focus on design, quality, craftsmanship and service,” commented Mr. Wright.
“Indian remains among the most powerful brands in the U.S. motorcycle market, and our team is committed
to re-building the extraordinary legend of Indian®.” In the first half of 2007, Indian® will begin the process of
developing a small but highly qualified network of motorcycle dealers who understand and appreciate the
heritage of Indian® and recognize the growth potential of this opportunity.

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The controlling shareholder of Indian

® Motorcycle Company is London based Stellican Limited which has an
impressive track record of resurrecting classic brands, including, most recently, the successful re-launch of
Chris-Craft® boats, which was founded in 1874 and is among the oldest boat brands in the United States.
“We will apply the same practical and long-term approach to Indian as we have employed successfully at
Chris-Craft”, commented Stephen Julius, Chairman of both Indian Motorcycle and Chris-Craft. “We are
confident we will repeat our success with Indian® by remaining true to the rich heritage of this incredible
brand and doing things slowly and thoroughly. We are certain that there is an important role for Indian® in the
future of the American motorcycle market” added Mr. Julius.
July 20th 2006

[2WheelFun]

Hmmmmm....

[pitchinguy]

Hope they make it!! Competition is good!

[Xlr8n]

On a good note, it sounds like they're off on the right foot with a motor design guru on staff.
But, I can't help but notice this line from their release- "In particular, Indian has
studied the tremendous growth of Harley-Davidson from near-bankruptcy in the early 1980’s to a multi-billion dollar success story today." Does that mean with the new Indian you'll be buying more hype than substance, just like H-D? A pair of Indian boots and Indian vest required to be part of the elite American "cult-like consumer base" that they are targeting?

[Svetlana]

Hmmm... on one hand, I think it's great news to have Indians back (I always thought they were cool as hell although I would not personally want one). On the other, as X says above, it brings an air of caution... are they going to be into the entire mass-production and cheaper parts... what is their new target market? Is it the old, 'cult-like' following that they reference or is it any squid who has seen The World's Fastest Indian? Hopefully for the sake of the integrity of the cool bike, it will be the former but we shall see..

[Mr_Lycos]

Will it be yet another S&S powered, Custom Chrome supplied parts bike again ? I hope they try to be a little more original this time. I just think that any "competition" for H-D should not have 100% interchangable parts with them.

I hope they go their own way and follow the example of Victory, or even Triumph, which can look to the past but is not anchored by it.

[Upi]

Anybody else think it's weird that a London based company is going to be building an "All American" motorcycle? Most Hondas are made in the USA but that doesn't make them an American company. Yes I know... Honda America, yeah yeah, but the controlling entity is still Japanese. Sucks that an American corporation didn't secure the controlling rights to the branding.

[anrfknm]

i wish them all the luck.

[Tweek]

Guess that explains why World Fastest Indian was made....

I look forward to seeing what they release to the market. Being essentially a brand new company the bought some history to prop itself up on they can do damn near anything they want. Given the technology available today I would be really excited to start a company like that the possibilities are endless.

And yes, I would build the squidy Indian and sell it with a copy of the movie.

[Billy D.]

Thats real good news! Hope they don't cut quality to save $$.

[OldDog]

So, if I am reading this correctly, soon we can go up to a Harley owner, look his bike over, and say "Nice Indian!"

[southjersey636]

Always good to see another motorcycle company make a return. Should be interesting to see how the bike turns out.

[anamosity]

hmmmmm, another American dream

[sdbrit68]

hasn't Indian been back, I swear i saw them at my local kawi dealer......or do I just need to lay off the vicadin,plus I talked to a guy who had a newer one, the thing sounded like a weed eater when he started it up, and not even a black and decker

[Scruffy]

The last iterations were FX/FL Harleys with ugly fenders. And cheap Korean/Chinese/Taiwanese transmissions. They had best do better THIS time around...

Recently ressurected (and failed): Henderson/Excelsior (they WERE 2 different makes originally), Indian, Norton.

Anyone remember Panzer motorcycles? I worked my butt off prototyping those things, and they failed miserably. Really nice modern materials, classic Panhead design. No soul.

If it is the same holding company as "Chris Craft", it is doomed to failure. Chris Crafts were mahogany, period, end of subject. NOT those fiberglass abominations based on a defunct name.

If I want a new "Indian", I'll get a kit from Kiwi in California and build one. 88 inch flathead, leaf spring front end, steel tanks and fenders.

Tarting up a DynaGlide or Softail and calling it a Scout? Capital crime...

Indian Motocycle Company Springfield Massachusetts USA 1901-53 RIP
Henderson Excelsior Chicago Illinois USA KIA 1931 RIP
-Scruffy