[torotim]

The dealership that I bought my CCT from has 70 used units on hand, 45 new Indians and 58 new Vic's. The entrance is the Indian showroom then you walk into a monstrous almost arena like showroom with all the Vic's in the front followed by the Polaris ATV's, Slingshot's and snowmobiles then on to the used and dealer demo inventory. Then there's another addition that is the used showroom that's another stadium like venue. They did it right, sure Indian is up front but the Victory gallery is nothing short of impressive!

The breakdown of used inventory also tells a good story as to who showed up with what.

37 of the Vic/Indian stock is dealer demo units.

Executive Demo Blowout Sale! Mies Outland Watkins, MN (800) 324-8269

19 Vic's
15 HD's
11 Honda
9 Yamaha
6 Suzi's
5 Indian's
5 Kawi's

The Mies Outland Online Tour Gallery Mies Outland Watkins, MN (800) 324-8269

What's really cool is that this recreational giant is in rural Minnesota town with a population of 900+.....

 

[torotim]

That summary they have isn't accurate because I counted over ten used Indian bikes in my review.

Beyond that I looked up the top 25 low mileage used bikes in the group:

12 Victory
8 Indian
3 Suzuki
1 Yamaha
1 Harley

I'm sure the Vic and Indian numbers include a few demo bikes but probably only a few.

Look at the demo's and used , you'll find plenty of duplicates.

 

[torotim]

I don't know about anyone else, but I am of the opinion that this dealership in MN is a pretty impressive place. I think I could spend at least a couple of days in there just looking! I think it's interesting how they have to posh up the Indian space. This is the cookie cutter layout, too, because I have been in our local dealership and have seen pics of others and they are all basically the same. I don't mind, though, it is a nice layout and it works for me! Those bikes should have a nice show space. It would be nice if the Vics got a little more window dressing as well. They don't necessarily need it, the bikes pretty much sell themselves, but it is nice shopping in a more upscale environment. Just sayin...

This dealership is impressive. It's 250 miles from me but whenever I'm in the neighborhood I drop in. They have a mechanic in the back by the name of Raleigh who does the dyno work. I'll be seeing this spring. The guy is on smart cookie. I wanna get there for demo day's just once. A while back the had the Ness family there for the Vic demo.

Here's another gem in Sioux Falls, SD that I frequent when driving through. Their layout when you walk in is Indian on the left, Victory on the right, used and metric in the center. Not nearly as big as the previous one, but the cool part is they're right next door to the HD dealer. Lots to look at and drool over.

Dealership Information | Vern Eide Motoplex | Sioux Falls South Dakota

 

[torotim]

That MN dealer looks Awesome! WHoever said "mingle among the ATV's and weedwackers", I about crapped my pants! :chairfall1:

That was my first reaction when I was there for the first time around 10 years ago. Not everyday do you cross a bridge over an indoor creek to look at the Jackpot on the "other side"....

I forgot to mention one thing in the earlier post about the one in Sioux Falls, SD. The really cool feature isn't so much the showroom but what's on it, It is also the new home of Rusty Jones Customs! There is always a handful of consumer ready Chieftain's and Cross Country's on the floor!

 

[torotim]

Holy bald headed Jesus that MoFo is one big SOB of a dealer, that place is as big as our local hockey arena and curling rink combined!
You guys go ahead and argue over there are more of these than that or weather your pecked are longer ,I got ta tell ya that is one big shop! Did you also say the buggers treat yaa right as well?

I have never been treated as good at any dealership of any sort as well as these folks take care of you. Top tier place! I bought a used bike from them and was treated like a Red Carpet King!

 

[torotim]

My local dealer, where I bought mine, has Victory, Indian, and Slingshot. When you walk in, Victory is on the left, Indian on the right, and Slingshot in the middle. Vic and Indian have equal floor space, although they do have more Indians right now. They have more Indian accessories/clothing, but they blamed Polaris on the lack of stuff. Victory is established, Indian (for Polaris) is new. Polaris is trying to get the name back out there and overcome previous quality issues the last time they were sold.

They have two used Indians and no used Vics. I am not worried about Victory. It is normal for a company to have a huge campaign whenever a new model/make is introduced. Besides, Indians are much more expensive than Vics!

I still agree with others that noted that they are playing to two different crowds for the most part. If I could afford a second bike I'd have a Chieftain for riding solo once in a while. For no other reason than it's a beautifully styled classic. Styling and fit are worlds apart. I'm only 5'8" and I think the Indian's are too cramped compared to the Vic's. I love that stretched out feel, very roomy. And I like the edgy appearance of the Cross Country. I'll buy another CCT when mine tires out.

I have my wife with me 60-70% of the time. We've sat two up on many a bike from my brother-in-law's Ultra Classic, Indian Roadmaster, Vision's and Wing's just for the sake of comparison before and after we made the purchase. My darling bride said there is "NOTHING" as comfortable as the CCT for her. The closest was the Vision but she said even though it has a nice wrap around effect it felt too stiff. So I have to keep that consideration front and center as well.

To each his own. If I win the Power Ball I'll have to build a separate garage just for the Vic/Indian collection I'd have but I can't worry about that as I haven't purchased a ticket in years. But they are truly the only two brands that appeal to me at all.

 

[torotim]

I've seen a lot of people say this for a good while now. Has anyone actually substantiated this claim? Not saying you're wrong, but I'd like to read from Polaris that this is indeed what happened.

I think it's all rubbish. They're investing to much into outside ventures for a company that's about to throw in the towel. Acquiring Brammo, racing sponsorship and so on. Not what a dying brand usually does.

 

[torotim]

I see what you're saying but I also see other factors. Some other things I know for fact: 2006 was the first year Victory turned a profit for Polaris. The lineup in 2006 was V92TC, Vegas, Kingpin, Hammer, Jackpot. That's it. Since then because of development costs being ammatorized and economies of scale, they're selling Vegas/Highball/Gunners at a lower price, and probably more of them, than they were Vegas/Kingpin/Jackpots in 2006. But I have no doubt Victory's best seller is Cross Country / Magnums. Indian's best seller, probably still the Chieftain, and Harley's best seller is still the Street Glide. Even though I believe the fad is changing, it's still a Bagger world we're riding in. But along the lines of things changing I do think smaller, more fun bikes are the next big thing. I can't count the number of guys I know that used to ride al the time but now hardly ever do. They went from dirt bikes to Japanese street bikes to a Harley cruiser to an Ultra Classic or Goldwing. But once they get "traded up" to a 900 lb touring bike they just don't ride as often or enjoy it as much. Go figure. Baggers are still the bread and butter profit cash cow but I think fun bikes are the future.

I may be totally wrong, but I have a very different outlook. Bikers aren't getting older, new ones replace old ones just like they always have. Economic prosperity isn't "manufactured", it's real. There are 14 million people with jobs today that didn't have them not long ago. There are currently 5,4 million job openings in the USA. Consumer confidence and spending is at or above where it's been in a very long time. Harley has one huge serious issue, and that isn't the economy. Harley's issue is they helped create "the lifestyle". In this lifestyle only one bike mattered. "If I have to explain you wouldn't understand" was the often repeated refrain from the faithful, only one bike was a "real" bike. The campaign was so successful that V-Rods and Sportsters are sneared at as not real Harleys. But this isn't the worst situation Harley has faced. They will get beyond this and they will be fine. It's just that this self errected hurdle is something Victory and Indian don't have to jump over. In the short term these two brands have an easier path to market share than Harley does. Aint no big thing really, just means that we all have some cool motorcycles to look forward to.

One last thought, if you think I'm nuts about what I just said, one word: Slingshot. It doesn't matter what anyone's personal opinion is of this machine. In interviews Polaris exec's expressed if they could sell a couple thousand units a year it would be profitable and represent a success for "pushing the envelope". They recently recalled over 7000 units for some electrical item. So much for a couple thousand units a year and so much for people not having disposable income or fears of spending it.

So what you're saying is they blew a lot of money on a dead horse. I say they're gonna tank in the next couple of months.........

 

[torotim]

We all know just how over priced anything for a Vic is from the dealer. I paid crazy prices for the passenger grab handles and the rack on the trunk was ludicrous .... Have I bought anything else NO... Way over priced....
Wait I lied .... I bought a Victory Jacket with 2 liners, and a Victory brain bucket.

I would have liked to have the CB when they had it listed. It was over priced and didn't work right. Major complaints of no output power. And on top of that they didn't sell it as a complete kit. No you had to buy wiring harnesses ect ect ect. But they didn't tell you all the items you needed to wire it up on there web site..
I bought the Bluetooth dongle. Then they took weeks to find out I also needed a special over priced cable too. And in the end it didn't work..

So I hold them at blame for dismal accessory sales. Poorly done web sites. Pisss poor descriptions and pictures, lack of nessesary information to go with the incomplete kit you were trying to buy.

Just another devision that needs a kick in the asss and some people fired...

I just went through researching the Dongle idea, pros/cons and so forth on another thread and I agree with you. By the time I would have got done what I wanted to accomplish (wife and I simply tuning in to local stations simultaneously through our headsets at road speed rather than blaring the bikes speakers to hear them through the shield and padding of a helmet and doing so with the handlebar controls) 2 Dongles, Y harness, main harness, friggin' near $500!!!! Too many parts to order, too much monkey business and for pete's sake "NO INFORMATION ON THE PRODUCT PAGE TELLING ME WHAT I NEED TO BUY TO DO A SIMPLE TASK"!!!!!

Solution? doing the same thing sharing TuneIn or Iheart radio app from my phone to both helmets @ $00.00.......

 

[torotim]

Here's another bone to pick at for those of you that think the weather is the cause for any stock valuation issues. Yes, weather does effect sales. But Polaris has beat Wall Street predictions for something like 23 quarters in a row now. We've had plenty of weather fluctuation over the last six years. At issue right now is the value of the dollar. In yet another sign of the strength of the American economy investors are abandoning their holdings in other currencies and flocking to the dollar. Strong dollar = good for American consumers of imported products as our dollar buys more than it used to. Bad for American manufacturers that export as the foreign currency doesn't buy as much American goods as it did. So worldwide investment is driving up the value of the dollar, which hurts the profitability of companies like both Polaris and Harley which count a substantial amount of their business from worldwide sales.

BTW iabob, dammed glad you stuck around!