When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Exclusive. American Iron Horse Motorcycle Closing Its Doors
Published by Cyril Huze February 4th, 2008 in Editorial, Customs and Builders.
Sad news at a time where we are in Cincinnati celebrating our love for the V-Twin industry. American Iron horse was the main competitor of Big Dog Motorcycles in the market segment of "production custom motorcycles". Follow the confirmation I received from one of their employees. " American IronHorse closed its doors officially this past week. Laying off pretty much everyone with the exception of a couple of big salaries. Employees were told possible return in march but nothing definite . This during a 2 week layoff already in place. Doesn’t look good
I believe the truth is somewhere between the two conflicting stories. AIH did shut down production for a short period of time (no different then Harley in December).Textron owns AIH, supposidly down to 12 employees at Ft Worth, 300 bikes sitting between Ft Worth and the Textron warehouse in Kentucky. My inside source claims AIH will be fire selling bikes at Daytona Bike Week (similar to what they did at Sturgis 2007). Time will tell, but Textron will be feeling the bump with floor planning 100's at dealerships nationwide.
if american ironhorse has any pride they will stay closed! i own one and you talk about a sorry piece of crap! there isnt a part on this bike i don`t thing i havent had to replace! the dealer acted like i was his bastard step child when it came time for warranty work (come to find out the reason he didnt want to do it was because ironhorse didnt want to pay their dealers for doing this work) and the factory wouldnt return a call when you had any type of issue with your bike. aih has to be one of americas sorriest businesses ever. the only way i got them to do the repairs on my bike was i ran a negative ad on ebay and then they were begging me to allow them to fix it, what a shame a person has to resort to such tactics to get service. i personally amhappy they folded, they deserve it.
I had an 04 texas chopper for 3 years and now an 05 LSC. I have had minor problems with each. The 04 needed the speedo replaced 3 or 4 times, but the last one seemed to be great. The 05 needed a new speedo and needed a crank position sensor. All problems were handled very well by my dealer. Most bad experiences seem to be related to bad dealer service. Anybody remotely close should check out Mark Long AIH, Fredericksburg VA. I doubt you will find better service/people. I also know several other AIH riders and not one of them thinks their bike is a "sorry piece of crap".
i hads an 04 texas chopper that was the biggggggggggggggest piece of crap i ever owned bought it brand new and it didnt even make it home the damn inside of the tank coating was pealing off and pluggin fuel filters and a ton of electrical problems
oh you do know people that are happy with their american ironhorse bikes huh? well i hope they like them now that the company folded and they can take their warranty paper work and use it has toiletpaper. i`d also bet for every "happy" person you can find i could find 20 that would state the opposite! if you find one of these "happy" people that wants another "good" bike tell them they can buy mine!!!
I actually posted this information several days ago on a couple of different sites. But this thread is the nail in the coffin I was waiting for, and hadn't heard yet.
Again, this is the problem with so many "factory customs". They build expensive, though nice bikes, and end up being too costly to sell, especially when HD has come out with so many new and affordable bikes.
Another problem is dealer service, which ultimately falls onto the factory. If the factory won't back them, they usually can't or won't back you. Hundreds of us had this problem when Indian went south (again) a few years ago.
I just hope that everyone with AIH has a good relationship with their dealer, and their bikes run forever.
Glad I joined the forum as I had not heard anything about this. I had some minor troubles with my 02, but I would say it was more the dealer service I had a problem with.
Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Becomes a Dark, Decepticon-Inspired Custom
Slideshow: Killer Custom's latest build relies on styling changes rather than performance upgrades, giving the cruiser an entirely different personality.
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.