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Indian Motorcycle going out of business again
Sac Bee ^
| 9/20/03
| AP - San Jose
Posted on 09/20/2003 8:22:15 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Edited on 04/12/2004 5:58:00 PM PDT by Jim Robinson.
[history]
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Despite strong sales and praise from bikers, Indian Motorcycle is closing its factory after a deal with a new investor fell through. Company executives broke the bad news to the company's 380 employees on Friday.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: indian; indianmotorcycle; motorcycle; motorcyclelist; outofbusiness
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To: archy
If I read the Press Release right, there's nothing to hang on to. It says that the creditors will take over. We all know what that means. I'm afraid to call them this morning.
21
posted on
09/20/2003 9:46:06 AM PDT
by
Hildy
(SUCKER: Short-sighted Uncompromising Conservative Kool-Aid-drinking Elitist Republican.)
To: martin_fierro
Ah jeez, not this $hit again!
22
posted on
09/20/2003 10:04:28 AM PDT
by
JoeSixPack1
(POW/MIA - Bring 'em home, or send us back! Semper Fi)
To: Hildy
Hopefully,A"White Knight"will come to the rescue!
To: bandleader
Excelsior Henderson folded too, with a lot more capital behind them. How would you like to own a bike that only a few hundred were made of. For collectors I guess it's kinda cool (maybe? but still stuff from the 50s or earlier is always going to be worth more) but for people who want to ride it's not good.
Stick with Harley, or a Jap bike. They are building some decent cruisers now. The Victory seems to be staying afloat. They sell a lot of snowmobiles too, so they have a base of customers and dealers to work from. Also income to fund expansion. That didn't save Cannondale though.
One lesson is that once an industry leaves and moves offshore it's hard to get it back. Harley came damn close to going down and out in the late 70s and were only saved by a taxpayer bailout in the form of tarrifs on Jap bikes. Seems to have worked though. Good for them.
To: Jack Black
It's to bad that Excelsior Henderson folded. I've seen some awesome looking bikes in some of their shows
25
posted on
09/20/2003 10:44:40 AM PDT
by
Kaslin
(Does anyone have a tagline they can spare?)
To: Eric in the Ozarks
26
posted on
09/20/2003 10:56:13 AM PDT
by
blackie
To: Jack Black
I know a guy who has an Excelsior Henderson. I ask him about how he gets parts, and he says that most of the parts are pretty generic, and commonly available. He certainly isn't worried about it. It sure is one pretty bike, one of the nicest looking "cruiser" style bikes I've ever seen.
27
posted on
09/20/2003 10:59:25 AM PDT
by
Elliott Jackalope
(We send our kids to Iraq to fight for them, and they send our jobs to India. Now THAT'S gratitude!)
To: archy
What really hurt Indian was the US army's competition for motorcycles at the start of WWII, or just prior.
The specs called for a 500 cc motorcycle, which Indian provided, but the Harley-Davidson submission was the 45 inch flathead powered model (actually 750 cc) which took the contract.
Harley re-tooled after the depression on the Gov't contract.
Indian sold a few motorcycles, but had nowhere near the capital Harley did. Despite this, Indian managed to hang in there until after the war beefore finally going belly-up.
To: Jack Black
Harley survived because of an incredibly loyal customer base, most of whom wouldn't be caught dead on a Jap bike, despite the fact that the Harleys of the era were cantankerous maintenance intensive machines which commonly broke down in the middle of nowhere and virtually required a great deal of mechanical skill on the part of the owner..
Not many white-collar bikers in those days.
To: Hildy
OMG, My best friend just opened 3 Indian Motorcycle dealerships. OY. Is one of them on Miramar Road adjacent to the Budget Car Sales place? Just noticed the Indian sign in the last month or so.
30
posted on
09/20/2003 8:51:01 PM PDT
by
jrp
To: jrp
Yes, I sent you a private reply.
31
posted on
09/20/2003 8:54:06 PM PDT
by
Hildy
(SUCKER: Short-sighted Uncompromising Conservative Kool-Aid-drinking Elitist Republican.)
To: martin_fierro
BTT
32
posted on
09/23/2003 3:28:12 PM PDT
by
presidio9
(If [the French] are providing passports, I’m going to ask for Pellegrino)
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