From the Gilroy (CA) Dispatch... Life after the failure of Indian Motorcycle Tuesday, September 23, 2003 By Peter Crowley GILROY - Laid-off employees and residents here are still reeling from Fridays shocking news that the Indian Motorcycle Company has closed the doors of its Gilroy factory. People are so stressed out and depressed, they kind of want to take some time off; but a lot of them cant afford to take time off, former employee Daniel Tice said Monday. A lot of my friends, they were literally just paycheck-to-paycheck. On Monday morning, some of the 380 people who would normally have showed up at Indians Tenth Street factory for work came instead to pick up their final paychecks and personal effects. Security guards ******ed them in a few at a time; those waiting to enter formed a line outside the front door. Some of these former coworkers exchanged phone numbers. Some agreed to meet for lunch. What are you going to do now?, was a common question. Take a vacation, was a frequent response. Workers and local employment officials agreed that there arent many jobs in this area for those with industrial training. Many may have to look for jobs in other fields. Some will likely leave the area. Tice, who had been a test rider for the Indian factory since it opened in 1998, said hes thinking of going to Kingman, Ariz., where Ford Motor Company has a plant. If he cant keep testing motorcycles for a living, he said, maybe he can test cars. But like his former Indian peers, Tice is starting the process of registering with the unemployment office and searching through job ads. Some have more time to look than others, depending on their financial situation. Indian officials did not say how much its employees had been paid, but Tice said he thought ***embly jobs ranged from about $9 to $20 an hour, depending on skill and experience. We definitely made less than Harley-Davidson employees, Tice said, and when you factor in the cost of living here, we made a lot less. Harley-Davidson, the biggest American motorcycle maker, has factories in York, Penn., Kansas City, Mo. and Wauwatosa, Wis. The closing has vastly added to the ranks of Gilroys unemployed. Indian executive vice president estimated that the company had recruited only 25 to 50 workers, all white-collar, to Gilroy. The rest of the 380-person workforce had come from within 50 miles of the city, he said. For these former employees, Indian is effectively finished. Whether the company is gone for good, however - or even gone for long - remains to be seen. A posting Monday on Business Wire painted a picture that was - from a corporate perspective, at least - decidedly less bleak than had been implied Friday, when Executive Vice President Fran OHagan said the company had run out of money and described bankruptcy as a likely next step. In the Business Wire article, Indian announced it had ceased production and laid off its staff to conserve cash and preserve its ***ets. These steps were taken in order to allow the board time to explore other options that would permit the company to continue as a going concern, Indian Board Chairman Frank J. OConnell said. We have made tremendous progress in the last few years in rebuilding the Indian brand, and we are hopeful that a way can be found to maintain the viability of the Company. At present the company is operating with a small group of management in place and will continue to do so until a decision is made concerning Indians future, OConnell added. What this decision will be is unknown. Bankruptcy is one option, OHagan said, but not the only one. While OHagan confirmed that no one has yet offered to buy Indian out, it could still happen - though the firm has no plans to go this route. If somebody showed up tomorrow, I imagine (the board of directors) would be very interested in selling to them. Businesses near the Tenth Street plant lost a wealth of regular customers with the loss of the Indian workforce. Indian workers frequented the shopping center across Alexander Street from the factory. Gaetas Taqueria owner Maria Gaeta said that on an average weekday, Indian employees made up about 50 of her 100 lunch customers. Soon, she said, she will probably have to lay off one or more employees herself to adjust to the smaller crowds. I dont know because this was the first week, Gaeta said regarding layoffs of her own staff. After a few weeks, were going to see the difference. This was something sad, she added as she closed the restaurant for the night Monday. Nobody was here today. It was 50 years since Indian shut down for the first time. Indian had been Americas first motorcycle maker, with beginnings in 1901 in Springfield, M***. The company remained closed from 1953 until 1998, when it reopened in Gilroy.
I'm sure they will continue with the true core of their business,selling T shirts.Reminds me of when Boyd's went "bankrupt".
my ol' dad was a biker, maybe thats why i am......i grew up on Indian Motocycles (correct spelling)....it is sad to see them go belly up...but like most of you said 'WHAT DID THEY EXPECT'??.....it was a re-pro Harley, nothing wrong with that, but don't just give it an other name and say it's a new motorcycle!!....for the past 20 years every one in the wanna be motorcycle industry has been doing the same thing, Mad Dog, Bad Dog, Big Dog, or what ever...there's only one way to do it ...restore an old one.... just my thoughts, an old gray beard CT.
i'm not surprised. when they first started production a few years ago i went and looked at one. they were using about 99% aftermarket parts (the same ones you and i can buy) that would add up to about $15,000, including professional labor to ***emble; and were priced at about $23,000. so basically they were selling the little lighted indian head on the front fender for $8,000. higher priced than a similarly equiped h-d fwiw. no wonder they didn't sell well.
Amne CT, the first bike I rode was a 42 641(I think), it was a 30.5 ci military bike. That was the funnest time I ever had on a bike. -Jesse
Actually I like Indians, and not just because my cousin is spokes person for them. But I would definetly say they need to lower the price. My dad bought a silver cloud and that was 30K. Damn thats like a 1/4 of my house! I'll stick to my old cars. Besides I would comute alot with a bike so a cheap honda would do for the money. Satin
were 26-27 thou in price-I think 12,000.00 is too much for a new Indian and while were at it Harleys as well.You can price your self right outa a Job!I mean-Get Real........they cant cost what a car costs to build......especially in bulk quan***ies.......
my brother just bought a new Indian last week,he told me got a real good deal,maybe the dealer knew something. at least he will be able to get parts...it's made of parts bought off the shelf and a S & S motor
The Indian name has been *****d ever since Floyd Clymer began putting it on Italian-made mini-bikes in the early 1950s. I sympathise with those who lost their jobs. But I hope that the next time the Indian name is exploited, it's done with the creativity and excellence that the name desrves. Dave Mann http://www.roadsters.com/
The Kiwi parts guys are building complete, turn key Indian engines that are compatable with the original V-twin Indian engines. With imput from other companies that share info on the Virtual Indian website you can almost piece together a complete bike. And if an Indian bobber is in your plans, all the parts you need ARE available new. Expensive, but new and available. So, if what you really want is a NEW Indian, they are available.
just like Excelsior-Henderson. that mishap took millions of state and shareholder dollars down the toilet along with a few hundred jobs. when are people going to learn it takes more than a famous name to sell an expensive product?
Sad, but entirely expected. Maybe it was a bad idea to reintroduce the brand in the first place, especially because the first incarnation was a flipping aftermarket HD. That did wonders to reduce any credibilty they might have. The 2nd generation new Indians were at least uniquely their own creation but ugly as all get out. Ditto Excelsior Henderson. The truth is that real Indian lovers love original Indians, and up until a few years ago even the vertical twins and singles were poo pooed. So who was the brand name appealing to? I think the answer is pretty much nobody. The guys that actually bought the new ones probably had some sort of vague idea about what an Indian was. But certainly no one that genuinely cares about the grand Indian tradition would be caught dead riding on a rebadged concotion of it's nemesis' brand.. And the rest were speculators looking to make a buck. They were doomed from the get go. First time around they couldn't keep pace with technology, this time was just a huge mistake. However if they wanna recoup some of their losses they had better start doing some sort of Von Dutch Originals type marketing and sell their clothes. I fear that's all that will remain when all's said and done. What the hell happened to Polaris BTW?
[ QUOTE ] What the hell happened to Polaris BTW? [/ QUOTE ] I saw some Victory (by Polaris) motorcycles at the ultra slick Arlen Ness showroom a month ago. They were very reasonably priced but looked very plain jane next to the custom HD's on the same show floor. polaris web page
That's too bad. I wonder if it was the investment that they had to make in developing their own motor that did them in? It sure made them more unique and less of a clone than when they came with the S & S motor. Maybe we'll never know.......
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