2014 Indian Chief

[jmbo]

What do you think will happen with LH fonts  "Indian Script"??  btw, did you notice LH now has Indian Script 2?  Has a bunch of "swashes" added to it...

There are several similar fonts under various names. In the case of Letter Head Fonts "Indian Script" their font is very close to the original but not all of the letters are completely accurate. (They call it "inspired by the classic Indian motorcycle") The devil is always in the details. The. differences will probably exclude them from harassment.  Also there is an intriguing double edge sword in this.  LHF already owns the copyright on their font.  If Polaris makes too big a fuss about the similarities it may affect their rights to the "Indian" typestyle since LHF has prior art.  What webs we weave.

[FloridaDrifter]

Did they let you open the Indian up to find the top speed, would they even tell you the top speed.

John.

Didn't ask about top speed.  Was able to get it up to near-highway speeds on the ride, so that doesn't reveal much, but she did handle it with plenty of hp to spare.

[greenbarn]

Seems the proverbial cat is out of the bag. Between Feb 2012 and this past week "NDIAN MOTORCYCLE INTERNATIONAL, LLC now owns 31 trademarks (registered or pending) in the US federal trademark database (USPTO) for anything and everything related to "Indian motorcycles" from the classic Indian headdress logo to the classic Indian logotype.  Wanna dress your Drifter with Indian script doodads, buy an Indian patch, decal, or sweatshirt, then buy now. Looks like they plan to protect what they bought. Buy now or buy from them.

What do you think will happen with LH fonts  "Indian Script"??  btw, did you notice LH now has Indian Script 2?  Has a bunch of "swashes" added to it...

[jmbo]

Spent my entire career working in the licensed product field.  You'd crap a big one if you knew what people paid just to own a piece of a name and what lengths they will go to protect their investment. Here's a thought.  Back in the late 70' early 80's the mighty mighty HD woke up and realized that anybody with a China connection was pumping out crap with HD logos on it and not paying a dime to the mother ship. They hired a licensing pro (someone I knew personally) and set up a licensing dept.  The rest is history. If it says Harley, you pay the piper.  Make a pair of boots with a teeny tiny HD logo on them and you pay a minimum of 10 percent of the wholesale cost to HD.  My point is someone owns "Indian".  If they choose. I said IF. They could sew up the name and anything associated with that name tighter than a schoolmarm's sphincter.  So if I were you and I wanted a sticker, decal, emblem, patch, or whatever currently being produced by someone other than Polaris, you better buy it now 'cause I'm predicting here and now they are going to shut down anyone and anything that says "Indian" as an "infringement of their intellectual property rights"....and they can do it. Just ask Disney. That's Wall-street!

Seems the proverbial cat is out of the bag. Between Feb 2012 and this past week "NDIAN MOTORCYCLE INTERNATIONAL, LLC now owns 31 trademarks (registered or pending) in the US federal trademark database (USPTO) for anything and everything related to "Indian motorcycles" from the classic Indian headdress logo to the classic Indian logotype.  Wanna dress your Drifter with Indian script doodads, buy an Indian patch, decal, or sweatshirt, then buy now. Looks like they plan to protect what they bought. Buy now or buy from them.

[John Hopkins]

Rode a chieftain in Daytona last week.  Wow. Comfortable ride, lots of power and a TON of design features.  Amazing balance and control.

Electronic throttle was difficult to get used to.  Thought I was stalling the bike from a dead stop. Gives the bike a totally different feel.

Kept mashing my heel against the floorboard when shifting. There is no room for a heel/toe shift, engine is in the way.

About five minutes after my demo ride, I threw a leg over the 1500 and had a 100 mile ride that reminded me why it'll be a long time before I ride anything else.

Did they let you open the Indian up to find the top speed, would they even tell you the top speed.

John.

[FloridaDrifter]

Rode a chieftain in Daytona last week.  Wow. Comfortable ride, lots of power and a TON of design features.  Amazing balance and control.

Electronic throttle was difficult to get used to.  Thought I was stalling the bike from a dead stop. Gives the bike a totally different feel.

Kept mashing my heel against the floorboard when shifting. There is no room for a heel/toe shift, engine is in the way.

About five minutes after my demo ride, I threw a leg over the 1500 and had a 100 mile ride that reminded me why it'll be a long time before I ride anything else.

[racinfan101]

Spent my entire career working in the licensed product field.  You'd crap a big one if you knew what people paid just to own a piece of a name and what lengths they will go to protect their investment. Here's a thought.  Back in the late 70' early 80's the mighty mighty HD woke up and realized that anybody with a China connection was pumping out crap with HD logos on it and not paying a dime to the mother ship. They hired a licensing pro (someone I knew personally) and set up a licensing dept.  The rest is history. If it says Harley, you pay the piper.  Make a pair of boots with a teeny tiny HD logo on them and you pay a minimum of 10 percent of the wholesale cost to HD.  My point is someone owns "Indian".  If they choose. I said IF. They could sew up the name and anything associated with that name tighter than a schoolmarm's sphincter.  So if I were you and I wanted a sticker, decal, emblem, patch, or whatever currently being produced by someone other than Polaris, you better buy it now 'cause I'm predicting here and now they are going to shut down anyone and anything that says "Indian" as an "infringement of their intellectual property rights"....and they can do it. Just ask Disney. That's Wall-street!

You are not a kidding!!

[gdrudd13]

Jeep did the same thing. Companies everywhere were making SUV's and calling them jeeps. Needless to say the "actual" Jeep didn't take too kindly to that. That's why all the magazines that are about Jeeps don't say it in the name (JP magazine, Jrations, etc).

[jmbo]

Spent my entire career working in the licensed product field.  You'd crap a big one if you knew what people paid just to own a piece of a name and what lengths they will go to protect their investment. Here's a thought.  Back in the late 70' early 80's the mighty mighty HD woke up and realized that anybody with a China connection was pumping out crap with HD logos on it and not paying a dime to the mother ship. They hired a licensing pro (someone I knew personally) and set up a licensing dept.  The rest is history. If it says Harley, you pay the piper.  Make a pair of boots with a teeny tiny HD logo on them and you pay a minimum of 10 percent of the wholesale cost to HD.  My point is someone owns "Indian".  If they choose. I said IF. They could sew up the name and anything associated with that name tighter than a schoolmarm's sphincter.  So if I were you and I wanted a sticker, decal, emblem, patch, or whatever currently being produced by someone other than Polaris, you better buy it now 'cause I'm predicting here and now they are going to shut down anyone and anything that says "Indian" as an "infringement of their intellectual property rights"....and they can do it. Just ask Disney. That's Wall-street!

[John Hopkins]

I've looked at those before, too.  Wouldn't that be nice?  One thing I don't understand, though - how do they use the Indian name/logo, if Polaris owns it?

I think they only recondition Indian motorcycles..

There is a firm in Scotland that claims they sell four in line Indians but they can only sell them in Scotland..

Reading between the lines, I get the impression they only made one or maybe two.

I'm pretty sure that if they become popular the Chinese will start selling them in China..along with everything else.

John.

[Troll]

Damn good question...any lawyers in the group (you probably won't admit it, though)?

[greenbarn]

I've looked at those before, too.  Wouldn't that be nice?  One thing I don't understand, though - how do they use the Indian name/logo, if Polaris owns it?   

[Troll]

Ya want a new Indian that actually LOOKS and runs like an Indian, but without the mechanical issues of a 60 year old motorcycle, then there is only a Kiwi....http://www.kiwiindian.com/
I can't afford one of these, either, but they at least, look the part. The Kings Mountain and Gilroy models were just kitted SofTails...

[greenbarn]

I think the Drifter captures that essence better as well than the new models.  I guess time will tell if they catch on, they certainly are not in my price range!

Me neither, brother.  Think of this:

You could buy 3 REALLY NICE 1500 Drifters, and still be under the price of one new Polaris Indian.

OR

You could buy 2 REALLY NICE 1500 Drifters, and do whatever you wanted to do with them, fix them up special, with whatever "normal" custom mods you wanted, and STILL be under the price of ONE new Indian.

OR

You could buy 1 Drifter, and turn it into a Super-Mod Ultra-Custom SHOW BIKE, and Still be under the price of ONE STOCK INDIAN.

Like I said, I can't justify anywhere near that price.

[greenbarn]

And you trust the Wall Street Journal's opinion of motorcycles?

HEAVENS NO!  Misunderstood me.    I wouldn't trust the Wall Street Journal's opinion on ANYTHING, or any other media for that matter.  I've been involved with enough "newsworthy events" (and it only takes a couple, BTW) to know that nothing you read in media is accurate.  Anything I ever know anything about on a factual-first-hand basis, that is reported in media is WRONG in some way shape or form.  Sometimes worse than others...

I just meant that reading the article made me look at it from a different perspective, and made me realize that the vast majority of the public (Polaris' target audience) is not comparing the new Indian to our Drifter - They're comparing it to a Harley, or maybe the Gilroy or something, but most don't even know what a Drifter is.  SO, maybe they (Polaris' target audience) will like it...

I'll keep a Drifter (or 2 maybe)... 

[racinfan101]

From what I can tell in the pictures I like the new Indians but I do not Love them, and my verdict is still out on the Chieftan fairing.  I liked the looks of pre-2014 models better, they had more of the essence (to me at least) of the original.  I think the Drifter captures that essence better as well than the new models.  I guess time will tell if they catch on, they certainly are not in my price range!

[Troll]

And you trust the Wall Street Journal's opinion of motorcycles? All it takes to get a good road test from most media outlets is the right amount of money to the right person. MCN road pre-production models at the Sturgis debut and found problems with them...so far they are the only ones who didn't proclaim them perfect...

[greenbarn]

Huh?  Well, the Wall Street Journal apparently disagrees with everybody on this forum:

The Indian Motorcycle Returns in All Its Glory
The classic motorcycle, with troubled financial past, is back and it looks wonderful

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303615304579153423569705100
(this from the "general bike news" section of the forum, which a lot of folks probabaly don't look at.)

I'll have to admit there are a lot of things I don't like about the new Indian, starting with the batwing and the fitted panels.  I got to thinking, though, and I thought that obviously we (Drifter owners) are spoiled by having a close relationship with the Drifter. I got to thinking that most people, even most bike owners, have never seen a Drifter.  Seems like a "normal" evolution of a brand, if you consider the recent re-makes of all the muscle-car brands; Mustang, Camaro, Charger.  Not that many people would buy a brand new Mustang without all the modern conveniences like the modern cars have (dash, seats, power everything, etc).

So, I'm thinking MOST people (who don't know the Drifter even exists) probably think the new Indian is acceptable, and maybe a lot of them even like it.  I still think they're un-attractive in many ways (but that's compared to my Drifter).  We have no other choice but to compare it to our beloved Drifters.....   I still won't own a new Indian, even if I really liked it, because I could not justify $20,000 on a motorcycle.  That's more than I paid for my last truck (or any truck).

Maybe the new look will grow on us.  I remember that most new truck models that ever came out I didn't like as well as the older model, but usually got used to them eventually.

[John Hopkins]

Thank you for your efforts Troll, I really like the look of the engine it makes the drifter engine look shabby..but..although I like the look, I think that in 2013 it should be water cooled, I'm sorry but as I said before, I can't see any air cooled engine running for hours stuck in a big traffic jam, but what a beautiful engine to park in a showroom or at a bike show..The rest of the bike..well I don't like the batwing and I'm not too keen on all the fitted 'Goldwing style' side panels, so thanks to your efforts I have changed my opinions of the new Indians.

It is a shame that big business dictates what we can make and copy because the drifter is a great bike and instead of bringing it out in a range, like the VN2000, it will no longer be made..I predict that because Indian have started to produce a new range the drifter will become a working collectors bike not too far in the future.

To sum up, I can't see myself owning a new Indian.

John.

[Troll]

  I'm thinking that mechanically, it's going to be good, and reliable, but some of the styling just turns me off. It fits me, as far as reach and control placement, which is important, but I just don't know if I could live with it, every day. The price is more of a deterrent than anything. Having only purchased 1 new motorcycle (no new cars) in my life, I can easily wait for this thing to come down in price on the used market...unless I die first. There is one little detail you don't see in the press photos that kind of bothered me... everything that isn't chromed (and most things that are) says "Indian" on it...including the neck, just ahead of the tank. Seems like they saw a place with nothing on it and decided to put the logo there so you wouldn't forget.

[dakuhosu]

You'll be the coolest guy in Spain, no doubt.

[Gerhardberger]

You can kill me if you want. But I like the new Indians a lot. I like the aspect, I like the engine, I like all the very positive oppinions of 100% of press articles.
That's the reason I will buy the first Chief that arrives to Spain....I know it's a lot of money (and even more here in Europe due to the import costs, VAT,aso, aso...) but sometimes you have to spend money with you heart instead of with your head. Next tuesday i will see the three models in person, and I'll have to decide which model and in which colour. As for today, the red chieftain is my choice...

Polaris did a greaty advertising job till now. If you want to buy a Chief right now in the USA, delivery date seems to be March 2014...and in Australis even more....In Spain there will be just 12 bikes for sale.
I will try to keep my Drifter (that has the Chief Vintage look) together with my Chieftain (if I finnally buy it).
I expect the bike to arrive mid-end November. Will keep u informed about my impressions...

[jmbo]

I gotta give Polaris their dues.  The bike's not bad. It's not perfect but there are some nice touches and if it will hold together on the road it will do better than some of the Gilroy or King Mountain versions.  That said I like my Drifter better. It's not a perfect either (I wish the fenders were metal) but the balance between "retro" and "tech" has always appealed to me since the bike first came out. Speaking of which I do recall all of the nay sayers back in '99 calling the Drifter an "indian Poser" or just a "tarted up Vulcan" but who cares. Doesn't bother me. Each to their own but that's why for me, mine will alway be true to it's "retro/tech' Drifter origins.  I may make it look more retro but it will never say "Indian" anywhere on the bike. It is what it is and I like it for what it is- alway have.

[49Reo]

Real men can do pink......

[CDNRatMan]

   I have really looked at all of Troll's pictures and then looked at them again. I just do not like any of them that much I would drop that much money on one.
When Gb wins the lottery and is buying one for me, I would take the black one because it is the one I like the best of the three pictured.
To be honest if some one offered me an Indian like those three or a 1500 Drifter, I would take the Drifter. Even if it has that pretty pink speedo like Trolls.