Well Folks… you’re back from your extended rides out East n’ West … The weather has sucked this past weekend….. but .. good weather ahead predicted, after this coming weekend… It’s time for one the largest bike rallies in the country .. in fact, they claim, the largest 4 day rally in the country … The LONE STAR Rally in Galveston Texas!

Great Weather , Great Times, along the coast , on the Gulf of Mexico . What could be better in November? Besides the concerts night after night, the craziness on the Strand , and the expansive opportunities to find great places to park the bike and have a cold …umm… soda (?) .. ok.. adult beverages.. … In addition … Poker runs… Car shows.. Bike Shows… the list goes on and on….

“I’ve been on the Indian forum(s) for about … 6 1/2 years ( I believe there are basically three today , that most frequent). Within those forums, each has a group of people that frequent them and set the tone / direction.

I do find one thing interesting…. and you touch on it here. Historically, HD boyz have been known ( truth and/or perception ) to be pro HD and pretty much belittle everything else on two wheels. Yes.. that’s a generalization… but one that seemed true for many .. especially those that ride rice burners (guilty , for 20 years ) . Now, once you own an HD and ‘join the club’ .. you realize differently, but there are still fanatics within the ranks. There are also the posers, RUBs, weekenders, …. and .. well.. the normal guy that rides one.. because…. well, he likes them for whatever reason. He also has a supply of shirts and lil’ bit of xtra’ chrome on his bike. He’s probably your average HD owner. Interestingly, the majority are probably pretty open minded about other bikes .. Indians fascinate them or just get their attention…. but.. they have a lot of $ invested in that bike, it’s dependable… they like the fact that they ride an HD and …. belong to that club. The General public acknowledges them often.. .they .. own / ride, an HD. We all have egos. The marketing blitz and public perception keeps them smiling. And, HD makes a good bike. They are ……..happy …. content. On the HD Forums, there tends to be single thread/area where they discuss competition and Indian is discussed there…. not on every other subject as you see HD here?

At the same time…. there are the Indian riders/owners. A small group of them are off the deep-end fanatics. I love these guys. Some of them are hard core Springfield guys. Many ( most? ) of those believe the majority of us here are a bunch of posers, riding Indians that well.. aren’t really Indians.. nothing after ’53 is ( their opinion, and some Indian Haters spew the same garbage )? Then.. the Hard core fanatical Guys that started off on Gilroys… and them boyz went through some serious pain! Not only did they have the HD haters calling their bikes HD Clones, but even when Gilroy developed their own PowerPlus 100 ( based on the EVO concept ) , it had QA issues and a design flaw that had waaaay too many grenading. Most of us know the history here ( fixes,’03 closing, etc) …. Point being.. those owners earned their stripes. Then KM ( Stellican ) comes on the scene, with the new PP105 based off the PP100 with fixes and updates … and with a price tag that sent many reeling, and ill timed with the ’08 recession. More than a few Gilroy guys embraced the new KM. Awesome bikes. Approximately 1000 built , depending on how your do your math. But, they cost almost as much as a Doublewide .. lol. The pain there was actually somewhat minimal. ECU was crippled by CARB, Stage 1 was the fix, battery issue(s) and only 2 or 3 companies ever came out with aftermarket exhaust. For the most part.. there was no aftermarket. Five years… of .. well.. nada. In ’11 PI bought them, produced those beauties in low QTY for another two years before the new stuff hit the road. Now, PI has distanced itself from it for the most part ( they still support them to some extent … but … a long ugly subject ) . Now… we’ve got the SL bikes. Hell.. some of the guys riding them now started on Gilroys and/or KMs. So , they have an appreciation for their pluses ( and a few negatives.. but not many ). SOooooooooo… you’ve got those guys on the forum(s) . They’ve been in the trenches for over a decade. Many of them know each other personally. They bend over forum newbies publicly with minimal KY and put up with occasional Trolls. Most guys get blindsided that join in and say .. f*** it and move onto another forum in search of info and….. not getting their feelings hurt. The newer forums ( ie this one and another ) became populated with the newer owners that joined the Indian family via the new SL bikes….. those forums, IMHO seemed nice and calm in comparison to some of the older forum(s).

So now .. Indian is going 100mph and delivering a butt load of bikes to new owners. you’ve got a LOT of folks that have joined up …. and many …. f’ing LOVE the Indian brand .. fanatically. Rightfully so. Many came from the HD ranks. For a hundred reasons, they hate HD now ( or always did and finally got a good reason to divorce it?). Indian is clawing its’ way out there… it’s naysayers say … “its not a real Indian” … ” It’s a rebadged Victory” … ” It’s not a real bike because Polaris builds it” .. . ” it looks like jap crap ” … along with a ridiculous amount of misinformation among the motorcycling community as a whole that doesn’t know , or care to know, the history of Indian , much less what is produced /delivered today. So new owners find themselves , sometimes, having to ‘explain’ their new Indian , and sometimes, get offended. Or in my case… p*ssed off .

So , in my personal opinion.. you’ve got two types of folks here on the forum(s) that … rub people wrong. The guys that came from another brand ( usually HD ) that … see red and bash them every opportunity they get … .. along with the people that own/ride them. . and the new owner that badly wants to show off their new possession, fueled by the masses ( non riding public and other brand owneres ) that drool and crowd around the Indian bikes ( all generations ) … and ask question after question after question. It’s like being propelled into stardom and not being prepared for it. Creates a narcissism that gets spilled into other areas, including the forum(s). . (note: This is a generalization and obviously applies to some , but not most )

Me .. I think Indian Motorcycles are by far the most beautiful bikes ever built to grace our 2 lane roads. ALL generations. I have an infatuation for many of the Gilroys ( SS and PP100 powered ) .. some are just downright beautiful. Most of the KMs are works of art ( IMHO ) . Now, we’ve got tens of thousands of new SL Indians hitting the road… in dozens of configurations… leathered up , custom paint, custom parts.. you name it. Even a bone stock Classic will draw a crowd from a group of other bikes/makes ( mainly HD .. just a matter of statistics?). It’s just a fact. And that fact, fuels a lot of emotions from both sides. Then, add to that a thousand different personalities and keyboard warriors… .. on a forum.. and .. god help us

Wow… I need to put down the java… not sure where that all just came from ”

Posted earlier in the Indianmotorcycles.net forum