Polaris Sell the Indian Brand

Carolwood LP buy Americas oldest motorcycle company.

The faster you ride, the quicker you'll get there...

It could be the forces of darkness moving in on one of our favourite motorcycle brands or it could be incredibly good news, only time will tell, but a company called Carolwood LP has closed a deal buying Indian Motorcycles from the Polaris group.

The new venture is being led by an Irish American (five generations and seven times removed from the O’Kennedy clan of Gobbeldyhork in County Hell), and industry veteran, Mike Kennedy. A little known fact is that a dude called Charles Franklin introduced the first Scout and Chieftain models back in the day. Not only was he Irish, he was from Dublin and not only was he was from Dublin, he was from the Northside, not only was he from the Northside, but he was born ‘between the canals’ in Phibsborough. So it’s good to see the ‘old country’ getting a look in again.

"This is the first time I've gone to work without wearing a tie since I finished college!

Under the ownership of Polaris, the sister company, Victory, was quietly taken outside and ‘Kirsti Noemed’, so having Indian as a stand alone company would appear to be very good news for the brand indeed.

Over the last decade the company has delivered a string of new and revised models that have been exceptional, while still honouring what the brand has always been about. Indeed, heritage is important, but so is modernising the range. Indian have done both.

Born in the Wild West

Donnie is going to be happy as the company have committed to staying in the US from a manufacturing point of view with the Illinois and Minnesota factories. There are over 900 employees in the company and rumours that only people who come to work wearing a Maga hat are safe from redundancy are completely unfounded. They’re planning on keeping things going onwards and upwards with significant investment in R&D, at their Swiss development lab, and growing the global dealer network.

Nobody say anything about the road being AI generated. Nobody!

“It’s an incredible honour to take the helm of Indian Motorcycle as it celebrates its 125^th Anniversary, empowered by a sense of gratitude and opportunity, and the support and ambition of a well-resourced, highly motivated ownership team,” said Mr Kennedy, “2026 will be a special year to honour our history, but more importantly, to drive the brand into the future with a renewed level of commitment, focus and clarity that can only be found as a stand-alone company.”

...and that's the staff canteen over there.

 “America’s first motorcycle company will put America first,” he elaborated. “Our brand and business will be grounded in our American identity and more importantly, American manufacturing. ‘Built in America’ is not a slogan. It’s a competitive advantage, and we intend to use it.” Yep, he’s definitely an Irish American…

Everyone is staying nice and quiet about how much Polaris were paid, but they’re off to concentrate on building quads and such. Meanwhile Franklin Motorcycles are the official Indian store in Ireland. You should call Keith on 015385005 and ask for a test ride. They’re a very impressive bike to ride.