The Indian motorcycle trademark has been on a wild ride since the original maker of the legendary bikes closed its doors 53 years ago.
It’s been lost, found, bought, sold, split up, reunited, coveted and endlessly fought over. Twice, it was driven into financial ruin, most recently in 2003.
But the legendary Indian brand lives on.
Indian, which built a motorcycle two years before Harley-Davidson in 1901 and then battled its archrival until failing in 1953, is on the rise yet again.
The trademark, the focus of court battles in Denver since the mid-1990s, is now in the hands of a British investment firm that vows to succeed where others have failed.
Hollywood is helping out this time, purely by chance. “The World’s Fastest Indian,” starring Anthony Hopkins, was released Friday. The film is about Burt Munro, a New Zealander who rode his vintage Indian to a world speed record in the 1960s.
Devotees, who have ridden Indian’s ups and downs over the years, are either hopeful or cynical. The camp is split between old-timers who think the Indian can never be resurrected and younger riders who were stoked by the new bikes produced between 1999 and 2003.
“If someone finally did it right, they would sell those bikes. There’s something indomitable about that mark,” said Fred Haefele, a Missoula, Mont.-based writer who rebuilt an antique Indian and wrote a book about it. “It harkens back to motorcycling at its best. Wide-open America, thousands of miles to burn, cheap gas. It evokes a time that’s past.”
The bikes were first made in Springfield, Mass., by Hendee Manufacturing Co. Indian was the dominant U.S. motorcycle maker in the 1920s, with sales of 40,000 a year, but it began to decline in the 1930s.
After Indian closed, the brand faded into obscurity. Over the years, different people laid claims to pieces of the trademark – which included the Indian name, logo, distinctive design features such as the Indian chief in headdress, and merchandising and licensing rights.
The issue landed in federal court in Denver in the 1990s when one group proclaiming ownership rights sued another. A judge appointed a receiver to sort out the mess.
A bitter court battle ensued, ending in 1998 when the trademark was sold at auction for $20.5 million to a partnership between Canadian and California investors.
Litigation from the auction process and sale continues to this day in Denver’s federal court. Indian estate receiver Rick Block, who used the proceeds of the sale to pay creditors, now is trying to get them to return as much as $1 million for taxes.
Block, who studied law but doesn’t practice, calls himself a “distressed-company merchant banker.” He sometimes acts as a court-appointed receiver but also as an independent consultant and investor in failing companies.
His Denver-based Sterling Consulting Corp. was appointed receiver of the Indian estate at the recommendation of a potential buyer. He later sold the company to another buyer.
After the auction in 1998, the winning bidders formed a company in California, Indian Motorcycle Corp., and began producing several thousand new Indian motorcycles a year.
Indian purists weren’t impressed, at least at first. The bikes had been hastily designed and resembled Harleys except for the distinctive, massive fenders and other Indian styling.
But they drew a following from new converts who liked their looks and their image.
“It’s not a Harley. Everybody has Harleys. They’re a dime a dozen. This is another brand,” said Bob Flaws, who owns a Boulder publishing company and a 2001 Indian Scout. “It’s made in the states, it has great styling, a dependable engine. It’s got everything.”
By 2002, the company introduced a $24,000 Indian Chief with a powerful engine designed after the original. Some of the purists were converted.
But the venture collapsed in September 2003. Private investors had pumped $145 million into the business but needed even more to ramp up production and compete with Harley’s marketing muscle.
“I was shocked when they closed. It came out of nowhere,” said Flaws, a member of the Iron Indian Riders Association, a nationwide group of Indian fans. “September 19th, 2003, that day is like Black Friday, 1929, for us.”
Industry analysts blamed Indian’s second demise on a lack of adequate capital, failure to ignite wider public interest and Harley’s utter dominance. But many Indian fans believed management was overpaid, tried to do too much too quickly and relied too much on auto dealerships for distribution.
Stellican Ltd., a London-based private equity firm, bought the trademark in July 2004 from the Credit Managers Association of California, or CMA, Indian’s out-of-court liquidation broker. Terms were not disclosed.
Stellican is credited with restoring the Chris-Craft boatmaker, which it purchased from bankrupt Outboard Marine Corp. in 2000.
“We are long-term brand builders, obsessed with product design and quality,” managing partner Stephen Julius said after the purchase. Julius did not return calls for this story.
Block claims Stellican’s ownership of the Indian trademark is questionable because the assets were liquidated after the company failed. “There’s an awful lot of law on this that says liquidation kills trademarks,” he said.
He’s considering challenging Stellican’s acquisition, which he said was a violation of the receivership’s 1998 agreement with Indian Motorcycle Corp. and thus may not be valid.
“I don’t want to upset the sale to Stellican,” he said. “There is nothing I’m complaining about that can’t be resolved with cash.”
In January, Block filed a suit in Denver against the CMA. The suit seeks $123,545 that Block said belongs to 35 individuals who put down $3,500 to $4,000 deposits for Indians and never got them or their money back.
Meanwhile, Indian riders are watching and waiting to see if Stellican can break the Indian curse.
“They have polled our membership about design, what we would like to see,” Flaws said. “Otherwise, all they’ve really done is pump out a lot of expensive clothing and merchandise. It all waits to be seen in the motorcycles and how they establish their dealer network.”
Staff writer Greg Griffin can be reached at 303-820-1241 or at ggriffin@denverpost.com.
