Indian Chronicles, Chapter 317...
INDIAN CHRONICLES, CHAPTER 317...
JUST HOW MANY TIMES can Indian die and be resurrected? With every end seems to come a new beginning, the latest Indian acquisition at the hands of Stillican, a London-based private equity firm that counts among its assets the Chris-Craft boat company.
A company release says it has acquired “trademarks and related intellectual property.” Said Stillican founding partner Stephen Julius, who is also chairman of ChrisCraft, “Our primary goal is to return Indian to its rightful position as a premium motorcycle brand.”
They’ll be starting from scratch, as the facility, parts and tooling at the former Gilroy, California, headquarters was sold to other parties at auction.
Meanwhile, the Indianinspired, developed-inScotland Dakota 4 is going on sale in the U.S., strictly on a per-order basis. Called an Indian in England and other parts of Europe, the 1845cc inline-Four-powered Dakotas being sold stateside are assembled in Fort Worth, Texas.
The company made no attempt to purchase the Indian name for the American market. “We decided not to go down that road,” said Dakota Motorcycle USA President James Bagnard. “The name has been tarnished by the recent troubles and we’re very happy with the Dakota name in the U.S.” The first Dakota 4 machines, priced in the $30,000-$35,000 range, are expected to be in owners’ hands by the end of this year.
-Mark Hoyer
