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[Cat Eye]

While being in Sturgis this year I noticed Indian sponsorships was everywhere.  They are really investing a lot of money in marketing and we all agree that one of their weaknesses would be their dealership network.

So after Sturgis, I was really considering buying one.  So I started stopping at their dealerships to get a feel for what type of on the road support I could expect.

Most of the dealers I stopped at are also Victory and other brand dealerships.  Most dealers only had a and hand full of bikes and in talking to the service managers most stock very little parts...if any.

Then while up in upstate NY, I stopped at Dick's Indian Motorcycle, dedicated only to Indians and was expecting more of a showing.  Only had four bikes and closed at noon on Saturday.  One part time service tech.  In fact they had the lights off and turned them on when we walked in.  It appears to me that Indian does not have a dealership minimum standard....or if they do...it is not very high.  Walked out their door with nothing but Harley on my mind.

I really hope that Indian is successful....but they have to do a lot more than just put up a bunch of banners at rally if they want to capture market share from the touring crowd.

[kiro]

I’m interested in the Indian motorcycles as well. I passed a guy riding one accompanied by a Harley rider over the weekend on the turnpike. Think it was a Chief Vintage because it had the brown bags/seat - it was a nice looking bike although the observation was brief. They have a single dealer in my state and I’d like to check them out at some point to see what they have on hand for inventory. Your observations are pertinent Cat Eyes - a dealer network is a major consideration if one plans to tour with it.

[mark]

I'd say give them time.  They're starting from nothing and competing against a company with a large dealer network.  However, I'd shy away from Indian until their dealership numbers increase - the closest one to my house is 140 miles away, while the Harley shop is 22.  Can't see driving 240 miles round trip for a part or service.

[D-N-D]

I checked out the Indian MC Booth at Wildwood NJ Bike Week last week and they are just not for me.

[stevehd]

According to the Indian website, the closest dealer to Sterling, VA is Annapolis, MD and the website has the distance as 45 miles (Mapquest has the distance as 60 miles).  I guess I shouldn't complain since I bought my last two Harleys in Winchester which is 50 miles away.

[grc]

Unfortunately it's another form of asking which came first the chicken or the egg?  If people refuse to buy the product until there are dealerships in every town and city, and potential dealers don't want to put up the big bucks for a franchise and facility until they see some good retail sales numbers, there would appear to be a bit of a problem.  It's going to be very important for Polaris to take this very seriously and not just be satisfied sticking Indians in existing Victory stores or setting up dual dealerships with other brands.  There would have to be strict minimum stocking levels for both bikes and parts, so you wouldn't find that situation where you walk in and they only have one dusty bike sitting in a corner and even basic maintenance parts aren't in inventory.  I'm just not all that confident there are enough motorcycle dealers out there willing to make the investment right now, since the motorcycle market still hasn't recovered from the Great Recession in most parts of the country.

JMHO - Jerry