The"new"Indian Motorcycle... will it survive?

http://www.indianmotorcycle.com/TheM...efault.aspxWow, $31K for a new"base"model Chief. I knew they were going to be high (I was expecting $20K out of the gates) as the website and owner had stated for new owners to expect a"premium price for a premium motorcycle". However, I had my $1000 deposit refunded.I'd love to own a Chief again, but I don't believe it's worth $30K-plus. You can purchase a fully-loaded (and then some) bagger HD for that. I'm going to wait to see how they do before I throw that much cash at one.My question to all, HD owners, sportbikers, etc.: Have they priced themselves out of the market? Are we going to watch them fold once again?I certainly hope they do well, for the sake of the name and the workers putting their sweat equity into the bikes, but I'm already skeptical.Thoughts?**EDIT** - Stephen-- I don't really see it as an issue of affordability. I see it as Indian saying,"we're better than HD/BMW/etc and we're going to price our bikes that way."It was a bold move (especially with high-dollar bike sales starting to fall), and I hope it pays off, but...**EDIT** - Live to Ski- Yes, they are indeed beautiful. - I was on their new CEO's email list for awhile, and he claims that they will start turning bikes out by Xmas 2008. Website mentions the same. We'll see...**EDIT** - Bluff - Yep, I do indeed remember in the late 90s when Excelsior-Henderson tried to make a go of it. By the time they were done, they were liquidating parts (telling owners to"drive your truck up here and buy what you can, cheap!") and hundreds of folks were jobless.

In order to survive, it first has to be born. They're only taking deposits (like yours) and you had yours refunded. I doubt you're the only one to ask for the refund. If they can't raise enough capital to start production there won't be anything to fold.They certainly are beautiful bikes though. So who does that leave to purchase a $30K+ bike? Jay Leno? You should be skeptical.

I think the state of the economy is going to make a big impact. As long as people were flush with money, Starbucks could sell $5 a cup coffee. Now they've closed a couple of hunderd stores because people figure they're better off spending $1 for coffee at McDonalds and the other $4 on gasoline.The ultra-rich will always be able to spend big bucks on toys, but catering to the filthy rich sector only is a very risky business move.

You can get a 110 point restoration REAL Indian chief for less than that. All you'll get from those guys is a typical Harley clone with an Indian logo on the tank

I would love to say yes, but with Harley, Victory, and other cruiser bikes on the market the new Indian is going to appeal to a very small percent of the consumers. By not making an"entry"level bike they cut a big chunk out of their would be sales, but I guess everyone has a buisiness plan and stratagy. I hope it works for them, but I have doubts.