``Indian ...Ride On!'' Nationwide grassroots effort to garner support

Businesswire ^ | October 24, 2003

[martin_fierro]

``Indian ...Ride On!'' Event Planned for Indian Motorcycle Enthusiasts -- Nationwide grassroots effort to garner support for America's 1st Motorcycle Company --

GILROY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2003--Frank O' Connell, a passionate rider of Indian motorcycles and Chairman of Indian Motorcycle Corporation, today announced plans to galvanize grassroots support for the country's oldest U.S. manufacturer of heavyweight motorcycles. On September 19th, 2003, Indian Motorcycle Corporation ceased production, citing the high cost of operations. "We've let too many great American brands go away," O'Connell said, "and a lot more than brands go away -- jobs go away, opportunities go away, futures go away, and people go away."

On Saturday, November 1st, motorcycle riders across the country are invited to join in and show their support for Indian Motorcycle by taking part in a nationwide "INDIAN...RIDE ON!" event. O'Connell and his wife, Barbara, are personally sponsoring and funding the event.

Simultaneous "INDIAN...RIDE ON!" events will take place at independent dealerships in cities across the U.S. All Indian riders and other motorcycle enthusiasts, as well as proud non-biker Americans wishing to lend support for this American icon, are encouraged to participate. Dealers have been encouraged to plan rides in various cities to national landmarks, symbolic of American values (Golden Gate Bridge, Gettysburg Battlefield, Sears Tower, site of the former World Trade Towers, for example) on that date to show their support for Indian Motorcycle. Supporters can participate by contacting their local Indian dealer for event logistics.

On that same day, a major press conference and ride will take place in Los Angeles. The details of the ride and media location will be announced shortly. Indian riders and other motorcycle enthusiasts as well as celebrities, athletes, and politicians will be invited to attend. Riders have been encouraged to ride to L.A. to show their outpouring of support for Indian Motorcycle. Those who are unable to attend any of these events are urged to express their thoughts by emailing rideon@indianmotorcycle.com or by mail to Indian Ride On, PMB #10, 353-East 10th Street, Gilroy, CA. 95020-6577. All correspondence will be presented at this press conference on Saturday, November 1st.

As an avid Indian Motorcycle rider, Governor-elect Schwarzenegger of California will receive a special invitation to attend.

"The thousands of riders all over America who will show up at our 'INDIAN...RIDE ON!' event next week, are riding a whole lot more than their motorcycles," O'Connell said. "They're riding their passions, their dreams and their memories, and they're riding them hard toward tomorrow. We will not let this proud name slip away."

Note: Photo of 2004 Indian Chief available upon request.

Contacts Stephanie Blank 212-981-2529 x23 / cell 917.593.2907 stephanie@adam-friedman.com or Adam Friedman 212-981-2529 x23 /cell 914.419.7384 adam@adam-friedman.com

[martin_fierro]

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[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I'm a cycle virgin.....is this about American Indians who ride bikes, or a brand of bikes called "Indian"?.......lol

[VOA]

I'm a cycle virgin.....is this about American Indians who ride bikes, or a brand of bikes
called "Indian"?.......lol

It is about the Indian brand of motorcycles.
I'm only a motorcycle enthusiast (don't even own one), but I think Indian was the
first motorcycle company in the USA. AFAIK, it has gone out of bidness at least
once, then was revived.

In the "good old days" it had a popular model called "The Chief".

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Thanks......

[VOA]

GILROY, Calif.

That address might just be the reason for this latest closure of Indian Motorcycles.

They should have followed the lead of another great American brand, Buck Knives, and
set up production in a place with a decent business climate.

I'm not bashing the grand old marque...and I hope Arnold, Jay Leno and other
prominent California motorcyclists knock some heads at the state legislature in Sacramento
and fix workman's comp and other issues that are killing off lots of CA businesses.

[martin_fierro]

LOL -- the latter.

[martin_fierro]

That address might just be the reason for this latest closure of Indian Motorcycles.

I'm sure that was one of the contributing factors.

But the buzz in the local (San Jose-Gilroy) motorcycle community is that a critical round of funding out of Boston dried up recently when investors saw what the Indian CEOs were paying themselves, along with an opulent Gilroy showroom.

[JoeSixPack1]

OK, I got the scoop from the horse's mouth! (Horse's Mouth being the owner of the local Indian shop).

Our 20 minute conversation at the local biker bar thursday swirled around the stupid, ignorant, screw up of the latest management team running Indian, the new Indian V-twin motor, and ,,AND,,....the fact that H-D might be the new owners if the conglomerate of Indian Shop Owners can't salvage the company themselves.

But the bottom line looks like Indian Motors isn't gone yet, and with some creative, but stable financing could once again morph into a phoenix.

Works for me!

<|:-)~~

[VOA]

...funding out of Boston dried up recently when investors saw what the Indian CEOs
were paying themselves, along with an opulent Gilroy showroom.

Interesting...we had a trendy shop open up here in West Los Angeles for (IIRC) Atlas Motorcycles.
I said to myself, what real motorcyclist would buy a bike at a place that
looked that slick and trendy?
They were gone in a year or so (of course, there were probably other factors...).

[martin_fierro]

I'm sure you were so hammered that you didn't know what end of the horse you were talking to.

<|:)~

[JoeSixPack1]

When the girls from the dancehall nextdoor came in to sell raffle tickets wearing nothing but tape, I was all smiles and have no memory of the previous 20 minute conversation, until today, seeing the posted article.

<|:-)~~

[pt17]

Retro only goes so far and I'd say HD's got that market pretty well locked up. The brand doesn't have that much cachet any more, so that's not much help. HQing in CA doesn't help. Venture funding from Boston's usually fickle. The bike doesn't have enough stuff to get the wing nuts off their two-wheel winnabagos and does nothing for the rice rocketeers. This outcome was predictable, especially in hindsight.

[uglybiker]

And that's your story and you're stickin' to it, I'm sure!

[JoeSixPack1]

YEah!! It's all documented in the police report!! <|:-)~~

[martin_fierro]

Story from today's Murky News:

Indian Motorcycle fans await bid results
By Matt Nauman
Mercury News

The fate of Indian Motorcycle could be determined next week.

Bidders had until 5 p.m. Friday to submit proposals for the assets of the Gilroy company that closed unexpectedly last month.

A winning bid will be selected or, perhaps, another round of bidding could be staged between the top bidders, said Mike Joncich, estates manager of CMA Business Credit Services in Burbank.

Indian Motorcycle's management turned its assets over to CMA after shutting down in late September rather than put the company into bankruptcy.

Joncich said he expects multiple bids for Indian and hasn't set a minimum price.

And, while ``everybody has a common interest in a new entity resuming operation as soon as possible,'' Joncich said buying Indian in bulk and resurrecting the company for a third time was not a condition of the bidding process.

Joncich said he expects to announce the results late next week.

Meanwhile, Indian's chairman said Friday that he'll personally pay for a Nov. 1 riding event designed ``as a show of force, to show how much passion there is among riders and dealers to see this great brand go forward.''

Frank O'Connell said he and his wife, Barbara, will finance Indian Ride On, which will feature rides and activities at various Indian dealerships around the country. It'll include a major event in Los Angeles, although no specific details were available.

O'Connell wouldn't say how much he would spend staging Indian Ride On.

``I'm trying not to go bankrupt,'' he said, laughing. He said others were volunteering their time, dealers will contribute money and he'd underwrite the main event in Los Angeles.

``I've been very close to the riders and the dealers,'' he said. ``I thought, we could really do something here.''

As far as the future of Indian, O'Connell said the ``best-case scenario'' would be a well-financed individual or group that would buy the entire company and restart the factory in Gilroy. But, he said, ``this process is very hard to predict.''

In a news release Friday, a group fronted by Bill Melvin, chief executive of National Retail Equipment Liquidators of Grand Rapids, Mich., said it was among the bidders and that it would ``return Indian Motorcycle to its top position in the industry'' if it is successful.

O'Connell said he is not bidding for the company's assets, is not a part of any group doing so and that he has no ``real expectations'' that he'll continue with the company if it is revived.

Indian, once a rival to Harley-Davidson, was in business from 1901 to 1953. It was reborn in Gilroy in 1998, and sold several thousand bikes in five years through about 200 U.S. dealers until last month. That's when the company closed, saying it didn't have enough cash and couldn't get financing to continue. Its 380 employees were terminated.

The closing surprised employees, dealers and city leaders in Gilroy.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Who want's to ride an ol' buffalo-burner anyway?

Rice is nice.

[archy]

Retro only goes so far and I'd say HD's got that market pretty well locked up. The brand doesn't have that much cachet any more, so that's not much help. HQing in CA doesn't help. Venture funding from Boston's usually fickle. The bike doesn't have enough stuff to get the wing nuts off their two-wheel winnabagos and does nothing for the rice rocketeers. This outcome was predictable, especially in hindsight.

Also a few other failings: No entry-level bike similar to Harley's 883 Hugger or a single-cylinder off-road or commuter *daily drive* offering.

No realy serious link between the original Chicopee Falls Indians and the California bikes. If Indian does disappear, it'll hardly be noticed by the old Indian Scout/Warrior riders who've virtually undertaken the manufacture of every component needed to keep their old classics going; the pre-1954 Chief is almost as well-supported.

And Indian's hopes for their equivalent of the Harley Owners Group haven't quite caught on either, though this ressurection effort might be just the kick in the pants needed for that sort of rallying to coalesce.

-archy-/-

[blackie]

Support your local Indian!

I wonder if the high cost of doing biz in CA affected the plant closing? *pity*

[blackie]

You virgins ae all alike. :):):)