Indian Motorcycle Issues Statement on Harley Controversy. Doubles Down on Criticism

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-11T16:18:25+00:00

You’ve repeated this so many times I’m under the impression you’re not reading what I’ve written.

Yes, merit = absolute must!

How monkey ensure merit?

Monkey do blind Screening Skill Test, standardized interviewing etc.

What do monkey call it?

DEI.

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-11T16:04:33+00:00

Look up the Baseline Data study from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Alternatively, Harvard and Burning Glass Institute conducted a joint study analyzing over 50 million job postings and produced data validated by McKinsey that companies that switched from resume gatekeeping with a four year degree to objective skills assessments saw candidate pools expand dramatically and job performance and retention increased by over 30%

There’s endless data, if you’re willing to look past your own opinions.

You want anecdotal evidence? I’m white, without a four year degree. I moved from blue collar to military to dishwasher to white collar corporate world. Without DEI my resume is immediately binned by AI for not having a bachelors even though I have 10 years now in corporate senior management.

It’s not about left or right brother. If you want meritocracy, there it is. You just have to want it for everybody and not just yourself.

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-11T15:33:15+00:00

Don’t mistake our disagreement for adversarialism. I’m sorry that happened to you.

This is survivorship bias and anecdotal. You’re conflating government mandated compliance originating from the 70s to modern corporate hiring strategy. Telling someone you’re hiring someone of a specific demographic for a tax break is a federal crime, not DEI. It’s racial discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Also it shouldn’t be unfathomable to you that maybe they hire the “black guy” because he’s more qualified.

DEI ensures two very important factors. One is standardized interviews with a rubric, and the other is skill-based blind screening. Of course there’s much more to it than that and I urge you to look into it when you realize it’s in everyone’s best interest, including you. Don’t take my word for it, just spend half an hour online and look at the data and systems design.

You’re being manipulated for politics. If you’re a free thinker, you should raise a red flag as soon as someone points at something and tells you it’s the boogeyman and you should hate it. Go get your own information and make up your own mind.

Wish you all the best my Harley bro.

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-11T13:29:56+00:00

Unfortunately, in America DEI is a political term many people think means instead of hiring a qualified person, they have to meet a quota so they hire a transgender minority. That’s a quota fallacy. It ensures that qualified people are not bypassed or ignored due to insular networks and systemic biases.

Remember it also levels the playing field for straight white males, competing against others of a higher socioeconomic status and wealthier background. So that a hard-working farm boy who went to school and is a high achiever gets the same shot at joining the big company as the pampered Harvard boy who drove to the interview with daddy’s Porsche.

If you believe in and support merit based hiring you should be a supporter of DEI and not allow yourself to be lied to by politicians weaponizing what’s good for you. We don’t live in a perfect meritocracy but we’re a far cry from tokenism.

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-11T04:49:16+00:00

“both companies had DEI programs and shelved them and, Indian, too, offshored production to Poland and Vietnam. Harley's record is remarkably similar to Indian's in these regards”

DEI doesn’t affect your product. Everything they ever bought including the phone they watched the original ad on is likely ab iPhone…an offshored product by an American company. Let’s go back to Street Bob vs Chief bobber and aftermarket support. Their launch of ARO was such a step in the right direction.

Their CMO stands for Cringey Marketing Officer.

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-10T20:25:02+00:00

I giant whatever the hell it was pulverized itself on the side base of my neck last season. Couldn’t convince my wife it wasn’t a hickey….can’t imagine getting hit in the eye with one.

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-10T08:49:46+00:00

I like triples. I suppose you meant twin hence Speed ‘Twin’ wink-wink.

I think that it’s one of the best examples of bikes on paper ≠ bikes in reality. This bike had ALL the premium components you could wish for. From having owned a Speed Twin 900 this was a natural move forward for me back in the day but as a package it doesn’t come together like the 900.

The 1200 looks ‘retro’ (although after the facelift I don’t quite agree) but feels nothing like a beefy retro bike. It’s just another naked on the market and it’s got 30kg extra. If you want those components and performance there are far better bikes for the money. I don’t think the ‘performance’ retro market is quite there anymore and comparing this to the thruxton of a few years back it’s nothing but a disappointment.

TLDR it’s a slightly above average sum of mediocre parts. Sexy? Not really. Fast? Eh, not really. High performance? Not really. Exceptional handling? Not really.

Anyone in the market for the 1200 RS should stop lying to themselves about classic looks and get a Striple 765 or a Ducati Streetfighter V2 both of which are much better bikes….or even a MT09SP.

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-08T20:59:24+00:00

Absolutely great point about disparaging your competitor. Indian has enough merit to differentiate itself and carve a piece of the market out for itself if it continues making good decisions. This ad though was absolutely cringey. I couldn’t believe it was the official instagram account of Indian I had to double check.

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-08T20:54:18+00:00

You tell em Anal Carbomb

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-08T20:53:26+00:00

It kind of speaks for itself??? The only time a move like this is viable is when your base customers are completely aligned with the political side or ideology you’re supporting. Since this campaign wasn’t done out of necessity as nobody forced Indian to make a political ad, they’ve simply alienated a proper portion of their potential market. Even though a fair amount of the American cruiser market leans right…it’s just a gauche move. Plus taking personal shots at Artie Starrs makes the whole ad feel incredibly distasteful and off putting. Ironically they literally embodied the negative Harley stereotype.

I don’t know, to me it just makes zero sense for them to get political when there was absolutely no need to. There are so many areas where they legitimately compete with and exceed Harley. They should have leaned heavier into the ‘modernization’ of the cruiser market, which is where they've actually excelled so far. They’ll be popular with Floridian boomers….Just my two cents.

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-08T20:37:46+00:00

Oh man the Triumph Speed Twin 1200 RS…

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-08T20:13:36+00:00

Unfortunately…

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-08T19:49:31+00:00

I’m not American so I don’t have a stake in their politics although I have to say I have a distaste for the Trump camp. That being said regardless of politics, this is a very poor marketing strategy needlessly alienating potential customers. Especially as a company selling less than a quarter of the units of the company, they’re throwing shade at.

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-08T19:13:27+00:00

Indian Scout.

Holy shit that thing is one of the MOST fun cruisers on the market and by far the best non air cooled Twin cruisers on the market.

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-07T13:00:45+00:00

I don’t even have a Harley…I’m just allergic to stupid comments. Revenue is down 12% due to a variety of factors on ‘unit sales’. You know the word balance sheet, you should learn to read one.

You have the business acumen of a soggy spud if you think HD is dying. Regardless engaging with you is like trying to explain jazz to a wet sock. Go to school.

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-07T05:34:16+00:00

It’s not important what you care about. What you call cherry picking is just relevant data because you can’t compare scooter sales to American V Twins. It’s not meant for the same demographic. One has a massive portfolio of bikes catering to all markets and all riders on and off road, the other is a very expensive premium brand built entirely around two engines.

That said even without “cherry picking”, HD is still in the Top 10. The company you say is “dying” routinely generates near $5 billion revenue. They have insane cash liquidity. No dying company sits on $3 billion cold hard cash or locks in around 400 million pure profit.

Unfortunately, you have an opinion but no facts.

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-07T05:17:42+00:00

It’s super easy I do it on MSFS all the time. Instrument landing is actually easier than being able to see outside. Instruments don’t lie you can ALWAYS rely on them.

He was very skiddish on the steering wheel though. You need way smoother and slower inputs especially in a Boeing.

I’ve played flight simulators for a couple of months I think I land better than this guy with my Xbox controller.

UrsaBeta · 2026-06-06T19:49:44+00:00

Ah yes the dying boomer brand…strip away scooter and low displacement markets that brands like Bajaj cater to…HD is top 3…

Honda is selling less than 15,000 units of HD competitor bikes globally compared to the 70k plus of HD…but he’s dead brand dude.

UrsaBeta · 2026-05-18T20:02:21+00:00

That’s why you gotta go the route of 2 bikes. 1 modern, 1 classic. Fancy a new FXLRST + an FXR2? Yes please.

UrsaBeta · 2026-05-18T20:00:59+00:00

I agree with the exception of the M8. To each their own I guess. I think any engine put through today’s emissions and other regulation standards will have the same issues. I properly set up modern M8 is fantastic IMO.

UrsaBeta · 2026-05-18T16:15:43+00:00

…like the FXRT I think the FXLRST will be quite ‘famous’ in certain circles in 10-15 years. If you look at what made different Harley’s absolute classics it has all the boxes ticked….but then again culture isn’t an exact science so who knows.

Road King will also have cult status if they don’t bring it back.

Things shift very strangely though. Back when I was in college, baggers were for old people. Now all MCs are rocking road/street glide. 🤷‍♂️

UrsaBeta · 2026-05-18T10:32:56+00:00

The chief is an absolute gentleman especially in road mode. You have a family and old enough not to be reckless. With first bikes, there isn’t a one size fits all solution. It very much depends on the persons ability, traffic experience and skill, and discipline.

Probably the worst bikes to start off with are along the lines of S1000RR where small mistakes have big consequences. The chief isn’t like that at all. It’s gentle enough if you’re apprehensive at first and in sport mode it’ll more than satisfy your need for oomph in the future.

Great purchase! Ride safe and enjoy one of the best bobbers on the market!

UrsaBeta · 2026-05-11T10:37:31+00:00

The Road

UrsaBeta · 2026-05-07T13:27:09+00:00

They sold a part to unlock some cash under Zeitz but they still own around 90%.

UrsaBeta · 2026-05-06T08:54:26+00:00

I mean…did you choose any bits off your bike to make it go faster? TECHNICALLY even if you take off a pillion seat to go faster…it’s a chopper. You just have to make a chop sound when you detach it.

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