Too early to start dancing around the totem pole, but I dropped in at an Indian Factory demo today. Not to ride anything they had to offer, but to see some old friends from the dealership.
Now I'll preface this by stating the dealer probably drew a lousy hand. The weather in the Bay Area today couldn't have been more tailor-made for riding . . . and it's been long overdue. Adding to the losing hand is the fact that there is an historic annual event taking place in the foothills about 2 hours away from the Bay Area this weekend. It's not a bike event, but it draws motorcyclists like flies.
I was there most of the day hanging out, and I would say the total attendance at today's demo ride was somewhere around 12 people. Might have been a few more, but not many more. And no one looked to have "buyer" written on them. Just a loose group of guys wanting to ride someone else's bike for free. Pretty much the same group of 7 or 8 went out repeatedly.
One of the things that jumped out at me was the "downsized" factory rig. Every time in the past, the truck was a tractor-trailer with a ton of bikes on it. This time, it was a hunky 5th Wheel pickup with a trailer that held 8 bikes. A good-looking, professional rig, for sure, but definitely a departure from the past.
They had an Elite on display in front of the dealership, and it hardly drew a glance from people walking by on their way to a free hotdog and soda. Did hear a couple of people talking that said, "Nice paint job, but it's red." And, "How much? Are you effing kidding me?"
Again, not necessarily a portent of things to come, but it did my shriveled old Portagee heart some good to see such a stunning level of disinterest. Not happy for my friends at the dealer, but glad to see Indian getting the cold shoulder they deserve.
I have mixed feelings/thoughts on this subject. I'm hugely disappointed in Polaris for shutting down Victory but I support the business model that says if it ain't working or selling then it's time to move on. Thing is when Polaris bought Indian; Victory dealers and owners both felt like the red-headed step child all of a sudden. I'm a ginger by the way so I can say that.
I actually hope Indian does well and so does Polaris but if they do they will do it without me buying any of their products in the future other than parts to keep my fantastic Victory's up and running as needed and maybe a little pre-buying of a couple of maintenance parts.
I know Polaris has taken a hit with the recalls and made some poor choices regarding marketing and making too many models along with not delivering on the hype they themselves built up for the general buying public like the "156" bike. It should not have been the relatively sedate Octane but rather something in the sportbike category. Yes, the Octane and Scout are quick for cruisers, but slow for a sportbike and they scream cruisers in how they look. That's fine but don't promise a sportbike with 170hp by implication then deliver the Octane. The company only got one bite at that apple and blew it.
The bottom line is Victory was and still is a good value for a non run-of-the-mill motorcycle. It started out rather plain then more rounded and traditional cruiser looking then spaceshippy with the Vision then edgy with the all the angles on the fenders, side covers, and tanks. It gave those who wanted a quality product that didn't look like everything else on the road an alternative. It also gave tall people an alternative they never had before. From what I've read; the Vision and X bikes give tall people that leg room they always craved. The stretched out platform of the Vision and X bikes also let big and tall people look like they weren't riding a mini-bike with their knees in the chest.
All Polaris had to do once the decision to shut Victory down was give Victory riders an extra incentive to buy one of their Indians as a show of good faith and honor. Even an extra 2-3k on trade-ins at an Indian dealership would make a huge difference. Polaris would need to cover this cost, not the dealerships, but the return would be huge in the future. This may mean selling some Indians at near cost, I don't know what their cost is, but the return in good will and word of mouth advertising would more than make up for any loss. Call it cheap advertising with big returns. If they did this I think I might have traded in both my Vic's for a single Indian. Instead I plan on keeping both till I can't ride anymore.
Very well put. I agree that their business model dictates what they do but there unwillingness or inability to overcome their short shortsightedness could be their undoing. I to may have considered traded in for a Indian but their attitude towards Victory owners made me feel like I didn't matter. So be it. I know my brother has 5 ATV from Polaris, all of which had major recalls and their handling of the recalls has left my brother fuming because these new ATV's are sitting at the dealer waiting for parts.
I agree BBob because I was thinking of trading my XR for a XCT up until the big announcement which of course changed my mind. I would have also considered an Indian if Polaris would have stepped up and gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. They of course didn't and I will now never by another Polaris product. I am needing to move into a newer 4-wheeler as well and before I was looking at buying a Polaris but not now so they have lost two major purchases from me. Also Indians are too small for my tall lanky frame, that is what got me on a cross bike to begin with, tons of leg room.
I agree BBob because I was thinking of trading my XR for a XCT up until the big announcement which of course changed my mind. I would have also considered an Indian if Polaris would have stepped up and gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. They of course didn't and I will now never by another Polaris product. I am needing to move into a newer 4-wheeler as well and before I was looking at buying a Polaris but not now so they have lost two major purchases from me. Also Indians are too small for my tall lanky frame, that is what got me on a cross bike to begin with, tons of leg room.
I just bought a new Arctic Cat Wildcat Sport Limited (search them bad ass) , a year ago we had started planning for the purchase of the Polaris version of this machine. I can say Polaris won't lose a sale from me Polaris DID lose a sale from me. People quickly forget getting kicked in the nuts, I don't.
I went to the Indian demo ride early last month at Indian of Springfield(in Westfield, MA) They had a huge turn out, the rides went well past the schedules stop time. The sales people were busy, I saw them sell several bikes new & used while there.
As for the small(er) trailer and number of demo bikes they had. I asked about this, I believe it was the GM of the dealership that told me, this year Polaris split the demo fleet because last year they could not fairly service all the dealers.
Silver lake is only like three hours away from me, you see some pretty weird and neat things out there. Stopped going up there after it just seemed to be awash in a younger crowd usually hammered beyond being able to function let alone get on a machine or behind the wheel of something, rangers try and stop it, but they cant seem to keep up.
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