Topic: 2009 Indian Chief

[azuredesign]

Yeah, me too. Sorry if my comments in this post were a bit offensive to anyone.

BUT, ( ) to respond as for price, Then bikes are going to have to be priced at least close to Harely. Do I see them being cheaper? Not really. Do I see them selling well if they cost several thousand more? only to those who "Must Have an Indian."

As an example, my dad is planning on buying a 2008 Goldwing in the spring. He is planning on getting the Top of the line model with every possible feature known to motorcycling (Hell, it's got an Air bag for crying out loud). He's planning on paying in the low to mid $20K's for it. Do you think he's pay a few more thousand for a bar bones Chief? While some people might say yes, my Dad would say no. If that was the style of bike that he wanted to buy (Chief Style), then he would have all sorts of options to choose from and would most likely go with the best deal (cheapest).

Also, look at the new Can-Am Spyders. Here is a company (Bombardie), that has money like Kris Kraft, that came out with a whole new product. New absolutely everything with brand new technology to keep them on all three no matter what (I've ridden one - they're awesome!). They're pricing these machines at around $14-$15K. That machine will sell. Hopefully, Indian will price similarly . We'll see.

Certainly a great number of people purchase big ticket items because of the percieved value vs. actual sale price.
I think what Indian might be banking on is a well made and engineered bike with heritage that will attract buyers who are more concerned with exclusivity and cache than price. I just don't know how big that market is. I can almost guarantee that if this is Indian's strategy, it'll be a cover story in the Robb Report for bikes. Said article should probably either ignore the last Indian attempt or show how much better these bikes are in comparison to those, and the quality they have in common with the originals.
BTW, does anybody know how many bikes Harley produced this year vs. what they actually sold?

[bryanj]

Problem now is that any "Retro" bike built new has to conform to todays safety and emissions spec's and cant just be old bike.

[bill440cars]

        You know, besides the cool bikes and the vast amount of knowledge (that is from the amount of experience there is here), I am totally impressed by the ability of most of us, to be able to clear up most all of the misunderstandings that occur. That's just some of the reasons why this place s so great!!!


         

Problem now is that any "Retro" bike built new has to conform to todays safety and emissions spec's and cant just be old bike.

         My thoughts exactly, Bryan! Maybe (with today's technology), if they had some folks with the knowledge and experience of riding those old bikes, they might could (at least) come closer to being like the "Oldies". Just a thought.

                                Later on, Bill

    BTW, I wanted to say something about the prices. To me, most everything is pretty pricey! Now, you have to remember that I recall when an average 125cc bike was about $389 and an Indian Apache (a sporty performance bike of 700cc vertical twin in 57') was $1000! I thought that was outrageous back then. Now look how much they cost.
 

[Raul CB750K1]

You think bikes are expensive now? The Honda CBR600F will be discontinued next year. I read a report about it's history, and I was surprised to read that in 1990, the sale price was about 8.000 euro, more or less the same than today. So either they were very expensive then, or they are very cheap now. Nevertheless, I think bikes are expensive as compared to cars.