Indian Motorcycle takes the “Harley fight” to a new level, and is now offering strong incentives for Harley owners who consider buying a new bike bearing the Spirit Lake insignia. Frankly we expected to see this earlier, especially as Indian was not at all shy to openly speak about the old rivalry.
All in all, Indian is offering an instant $750 bonus for any 2015 model year Indian motorcycle, with the exception of the liquid-cooled Scout. That is, this bonus addresses only Harley-Davidson owners, so some proof of ownership will definitely be required. Considering the $16,999 base price of an all-new Indian Chief Dark Horse, the incentive is really a nice hand reaching out to “steal” some riders from Harley.
A century-long feud
It’s not the first time when Indian has “brushes” with Harley, and we’ve seen more than one commercial or ad downplaying Milwaukee machinery. The whole story goes back a long time, when Indian claims that Harley somehow hijacked the “oldest American motorcycle” accolades can massively capitalized on it in various ways. Subtle expressions such as “the American motorcycle” sounded especially bad to the ears of Indian and with the new Polaris ownership, Spirit Lake is definitely seeking revenge.
Right from the start Indian went for a special kind of advertising, almost always relating to Harley. The video after the jump was until now one of the strongest attacks on Harley, and a solid part in the whole “choice is here“ concept. Basically Indian charged in the direction of making American riders and classic cruiser enthusiasts understand that Harley was no longer the only choice and a very, or should we say more interesting choice was available.
Now, if you read the Harley-Appleson and the Factory of Dreams piece, you will understand that most Harley fans will never change their bike, even if they felt like they should. However, with Polaris having invested so much in re-launching Indian, we can expect that all the historical value and vibe of this brand be exploited to the max, even if it means more or less subtly bashing the bar and shield. More similar moves are expected, as the $750 bonus Indian promotion only runs through the end of March.
Wonder how Harley will respond to this. Will Milwaukee fight back with a proper response or will the 50% market share be a shield to comfortably hide behind?
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