Wednesday, December 17, 2014 12:00:12 PM
Indian revives Scout and takes aim at Harley
By Rick Barrett
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (TNS)
The first all-new Indian Scout in 70 years is arriving in dealerships this month. (Indian Motorcycle)
The Indian Scout motorcycle, favored by stunt riders, has made a daring comeback, with some reviewers saying it's a serious competitor to Harley-Davidson's Sportster lineup.
The first all-new Scout in 70 years is expected to arrive at dealerships this month, with dozens of the bikes sold in advance.
The original Scout, first made in 1920, was one of Indian Motorcycle Co.'s most popular models. It was the preferred bike for a carnival attraction, the Wall of Death, in which daring motorcyclists rode around a barrel-shaped wooden track, gradually climbing the inside walls until they were circling the barrel's lip.
Polaris Industries, a $3.8 billion Minnesota manufacturer of motorcycles, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles, redesigned the Indians from a clean sheet of paper after numerous failed attempts by others to revive the company.
First came the Chief models, in 2013 for model-year 2014, followed by the less-expensive Scout for model-year 2015.
Polaris wanted the Scout to come "right on the heels" of the Chief, offering consumers a lighter, more-nimble bike, says Steve Menneto, vice president-motorcycles for Polaris Industries.
A 47-year-old highly modified Scout earned the title of the "World's Fastest Indian," as proven in 1967 by motorcycle racer Burt Munro, and retold in 2005 in a popular movie by that name. The older Scouts were known as cutting-edge bikes, and Allied troops used 30,000 of them during World War II.
Now, the Scout is a modern bike that sports a liquid-cooled 100-horsepower engine, a lightweight aluminum frame and a low 25.3-inch seat height, comfortable for riders with a shorter inseam.
"The Scout appears to be a motorcycle that was designed with female riders in mind, as it has many of the features women say they want in a motorcycle: low, light, easy to handle, yet it has lots and lots of power," says Sash Walker, who reviewed the bike for Women Riders Now.
With a price starting at $10,999, comparable with a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 Custom, the Scout is aimed squarely at some of Harley's most sought-after customers, including first-time motorcycle buyers. Likewise, the Indian Chief was meant to compete with Harley's Project Rushmore motorcycles.
"Clearly, Indian has targeted Harley-Davidson, but so has Honda and so has Suzuki and Yamaha and other companies over the years as well," says Harley-Davidson CEO Keith Wandell.
Indian has about 150 U.S. dealerships, compared with nearly 700 for Harley-Davidson, but Indian intends to double its number of dealers in the near future.
Polaris says it has added nearly 300 people at its Spirit Lake, Iowa, plant that already employs more than 700. It has added 111,000 square feet to the factory that also produces Victory motorcycles.
When the original Indian Motorcycle Co. went out of business in 1953, its Indian-head logos quickly became collector's items. Under Polaris, the goal has been to capture the spirit of the Chief and Scout bikes from more than a half-century ago, but with a modern engine and new technologies.
Still, Indian sales remain well behind industry leader Harley-Davidson.
Harley is the No. 1-selling street motorcycle in the U.S., according to industry data, and it has 36 models in its 2015 model-year lineup, compared with five for Indian.
"While we take our competitors seriously, we are highly confident about our continued strong industry leadership," says Tony Macrito, Harley's manager of corporate media relations. "Competition is always good for the marketplace. It's healthy, frankly, for Harley-Davidson."
By Rick Barrett
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (TNS)
The first all-new Indian Scout in 70 years is arriving in dealerships this month. (Indian Motorcycle)
The Indian Scout motorcycle, favored by stunt riders, has made a daring comeback, with some reviewers saying it's a serious competitor to Harley-Davidson's Sportster lineup.
The first all-new Scout in 70 years is expected to arrive at dealerships this month, with dozens of the bikes sold in advance.
The original Scout, first made in 1920, was one of Indian Motorcycle Co.'s most popular models. It was the preferred bike for a carnival attraction, the Wall of Death, in which daring motorcyclists rode around a barrel-shaped wooden track, gradually climbing the inside walls until they were circling the barrel's lip.
Polaris Industries, a $3.8 billion Minnesota manufacturer of motorcycles, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles, redesigned the Indians from a clean sheet of paper after numerous failed attempts by others to revive the company.
First came the Chief models, in 2013 for model-year 2014, followed by the less-expensive Scout for model-year 2015.
Polaris wanted the Scout to come "right on the heels" of the Chief, offering consumers a lighter, more-nimble bike, says Steve Menneto, vice president-motorcycles for Polaris Industries.
A 47-year-old highly modified Scout earned the title of the "World's Fastest Indian," as proven in 1967 by motorcycle racer Burt Munro, and retold in 2005 in a popular movie by that name. The older Scouts were known as cutting-edge bikes, and Allied troops used 30,000 of them during World War II.
Now, the Scout is a modern bike that sports a liquid-cooled 100-horsepower engine, a lightweight aluminum frame and a low 25.3-inch seat height, comfortable for riders with a shorter inseam.
"The Scout appears to be a motorcycle that was designed with female riders in mind, as it has many of the features women say they want in a motorcycle: low, light, easy to handle, yet it has lots and lots of power," says Sash Walker, who reviewed the bike for Women Riders Now.
With a price starting at $10,999, comparable with a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 Custom, the Scout is aimed squarely at some of Harley's most sought-after customers, including first-time motorcycle buyers. Likewise, the Indian Chief was meant to compete with Harley's Project Rushmore motorcycles.
"Clearly, Indian has targeted Harley-Davidson, but so has Honda and so has Suzuki and Yamaha and other companies over the years as well," says Harley-Davidson CEO Keith Wandell.
Indian has about 150 U.S. dealerships, compared with nearly 700 for Harley-Davidson, but Indian intends to double its number of dealers in the near future.
Polaris says it has added nearly 300 people at its Spirit Lake, Iowa, plant that already employs more than 700. It has added 111,000 square feet to the factory that also produces Victory motorcycles.
When the original Indian Motorcycle Co. went out of business in 1953, its Indian-head logos quickly became collector's items. Under Polaris, the goal has been to capture the spirit of the Chief and Scout bikes from more than a half-century ago, but with a modern engine and new technologies.
Still, Indian sales remain well behind industry leader Harley-Davidson.
Harley is the No. 1-selling street motorcycle in the U.S., according to industry data, and it has 36 models in its 2015 model-year lineup, compared with five for Indian.
"While we take our competitors seriously, we are highly confident about our continued strong industry leadership," says Tony Macrito, Harley's manager of corporate media relations. "Competition is always good for the marketplace. It's healthy, frankly, for Harley-Davidson."
Reality Check .........
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