2014 Indian Motorcycles Revealed in Sturgis

The legend has returned – and its splash is sure to reverberate from Main Street all the way to Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee. The new generation of American V-Twin cruisers made its grand debut in front of a crowd of thousands of enthusiasts and dignitaries at the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame Saturday night.......

For those who worried Polaris would severely alter the legend, fear not: the new 2014 Indians harken back to a bygone era of motorcycling.

This is the first resurrection of Indian that has some real money behind it. Keep in mind that it already has a more advanced engine than anything Harley offers and reportedly better handling - and at this point, stealing Harley customers away is where they want and need to start.

They have also said that the retro-cruisers are just the start for the revived Indian name. They’re not going to be ‘the other Harley’ type and intend to expand to standards and potentially sportbikes in future.

Also, yes, they’re faster than the last BMW cruiser.

I really have no problem with what they are doing as first edition. Some of us old timers remember why Indian went ten toes up and it had a lot to do with 30s styling, technology and performance. Can you say side valve engines in 1950? In 1953, I don't think Indian had a bike that would even run with the K model much less any of the Brit bikes. Plus 1949, they rushed the Warrior into production way too quick. It had way too many “teething” problems.
I am withholding finial opinion. IF they do as John Bloor did, I will say success. Or if they use the Indian as the cruiser line and do something innovated with Victory.

By the way beating a BMW cruiser ain't saying much. Beating a GS1250 would be.

Have to go with same class for a fair comparison. The all new engine they designed for it has over 119lb/ft of torque, which is good for the class. Also, unlike Harley it has a unitized engine with integrated transmission.

Interestingly, they all come standard with throttle by wire, keyless ignition and cruise control, all on a cast aluminum frame so it’s not the same old ancient tech either.

Check out this article: http://www.cycleworld.com/2013/08/03/2014-indian-chief-vintage-and-chieftain-bagger-first-ride-review-photos-specs/

Couple quotes from it:

Why the Chief and not, say, something sportier like a Scout? “A couple of different reasons,” says Gary Gray, director of product for Indian. “One is we did a lot of research on the heritage of the brand and where it left off in 1953, and looked at what consumers remember. The Chief is at the top of what people think about when they think about Indian Motorcycles, so that’s where you start. Two, as much we like to think about this as glamorous, and art and fun to do, it’s a business at the same time. When you look at the motorcycle market today, heavyweight cruisers and baggers are huge right now. So from a financial standpoint, it also looks really attractive. Those two things together drove me to say, this is the place to start, to use that as a foundation for the brand. Once we’ve developed a strong foundation, once we’ve heavily tied us and our consumers back to the heritage of the brand, we can look at spreading out from there.”

“I can really see the brand going anywhere and everywhere, and we want it to,” says Gray. “We don’t want the brand to pinned down into cruisers, baggers and touring like everyone probably expects. We want to go beyond that. That won’t be a quick process. It’s not going to happen next year, it’s going to happen over fives and tens of years.”

So while they’re not going full-Bloor, I don’t think it’s going to be far from it. I have a suspicion, though, that we can look forward to a Ducati-esque sportbike in the not terribly distant future with an Indian Scout badge.

I received a similar message today on the freeway about 5 miles from my exit.

At least the attention challenged BMW SUV driver turned her turn signals on. That added another second to my reaction window.

I thanked God for the gift of attention to the constant danger, quickly and loudly positioned myself next to her door, gave her the dagger eye (or at least tried to), and menacingly roared away.

The weather is supposed to be nice. I will ride to work again tomorrow, and thank God for the gift of attention.

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