INTERVIEW
P80
INDIAN MOTORCYCLE'S STEVE MENNETO
Bringing
The Brand
To Life
Indian is back, thanks to Polaris
BY ALAN CATHCART
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN WING
T
he impending unveiling at
the Sturgis Rally on August 3 of the all-new Indian
Chief is eagerly anticipated by
bike fans everywhere. Powered
by the Thunder Stroke 111 aircooled OHV engine that's already
been revealed by the Minneapolis-based Polaris Industries, the
Chief's debut will mark the kickoff
in what promises to be a fascinating rematch of the showroom rivalry between Indian and HarleyDavidson that's been ongoing
ever since The Motor Company
was founded in Milwaukee in
1903 - two years after the Indian
Motocycle [sic] Company sold its
first bike in 1901.
Steve Menneto, 47, is Polaris
Industries' Vice President of Motorcycles, and as such he's the
man who ultimately sold his fellow
members on the Polaris board
the idea of acquiring Indian. Having succeeded in doing so, he's
now entrusted with the task of
making it work. Menneto has a
unique understanding of the marketplace, having started out his
business life as a Polaris dealer
in New York, before crossing the
bridge to join the company 15
years ago as director of sales for
Polaris. He took over responsibility for Victory Motorcycles from
Mark Blackwell in May 2009 and
then, after Polaris purchased
Indian in April 2011 from British
entrepreneur Stephen Julius's
Stellican Corp., was promoted
to Vice President of Motorcycles
in August 2011. In his first major
in-depth interview since doing
so, he reveals his plans for Indian
Motorcycle – including bringing
what was once America's most
famous competition brand back
to the racetrack.
Why did Polaris purchase
Indian?
In 2011 we'd been looking at