Sunday, January 27th, 2008 at 10:25 pm by angrybob
I while ago I wrote an article about a rumored merger between Ducati and Harley Davidson. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but check out the comment stream. Glad I could provide a medium for discussion fellas!
http://motorcyclebloggers.com/2007/06/22/rumor-harley-davidson-and-duc ati-merger/
Good call Bob,
I guess talk about Ducati and H-D really winds people up:-)
I’m guessing this Charles Strand is the new owner of the company.
Aside from confirming the financial status of his company, he manages to torch several people who don’t seem to even be part of the conversation.
The charges he makes against Tim Edmundson and Bill Rucker haven’t been posted anywhere else on the internet. Since they are both still active in the motorcycle business, I wonder if he or anyone else cares to expand on the subject.
If Iron horse only HAD copied H-D’s business model they would be doing fine, but I think Charles Strands’ attacks bring perfect clarity to the situation that Iron horse now finds itself in.
How many times have we seen these owners run their companies into the ground and immediately blame everybody but themselves?
From what I can tell, Tim and Bill left the company in 2003. That was half a decade ago! Trying to tie a failure around their necks at this point is kinda silly. Haven’t they had several new management teams in there since then?
But blaming the employees for the company being in financial trouble is absolutely shameless. Every manager worth his salt knows that happy employees are more productive, not less.
If he is going to successfully restructure the company, he will have to admit something to himself that most owners of failing companies won’t. Happy employees didn’t destroy his company, bad management did.
H-D has had good times and bad, but they’ve always tried to do right by their employees. That is the reason for the amount of success over the past century and the reason we’ve always had such great product.
T
First of all, if you guys had read my comments and understand english… I am not the new owner… there isn’t a new owner yet and when there is it won’t be me. I am the top AIH dealer and a former board member and investor… getting screwed along with the rest.
The reason HD is successful is because they figured out the retail finance side of the business. If they, like the custom market, could only finace A&B credit buyers… there wouldn’t be an HD. If the custom industry doesn’t figure that out soon, there won’t be a custom industry… either way, I’ll be just fine.
As for “blaming the employees”, again you must not have read my comments very closely. The problems AIH has are absolutely the fault of bad management, I am one of the investors who is getting screwed in the transition… not part of the management. But, the attitude that work is supposed to be fun is the problem with this whole industry. The comment I made was that the employees crying in this thread, that were laid off, were laid off for a reason and were “part” of the problem. Prior management at AIH opperated on the buddy system… now it is being based on performance and the “union attitude” that thinks employees are entitled to a good job rather than having to earn one… is being flushed out. And absolutely, many of the problems that AIH has, started with Tim & Bill as they were dishonest and wasteful with their investors money… but the mismanagement continued with most of the upper management that followed them. The current management is good… but got handed a big pile of shit and will need lots of help putting it back on solid ground, which is in the works.
And if any of you are old enough to remember, the same thing happened to HD years ago when AMF took over… it fell flat until Willie G and his group took back over and got rid of the waste. Now they are having some struggles again as the workers (unions) have reduced output and increased overhead… it is the typical cycle. Fortunately for them, HD has had such a good run that they can withstand most any down turn. I have met with HD’s M&A guys as they were looking at buying AIH at one point, they are quick to admit that without Eagle Mark (thier reatil finace arm), they wouldn’t have a company either.
There will be a big flushing of this entire industry over the next 2-3 years and as always the strong and adaptable ones will survive… the cry babies will not.
I own Iron Horse Of Texas, IHOT(dot)US, not American IronHorse… just for the record. But I have been very close to the company for the last 10 years and certainly know more about what is going on there than anyone on this blog.
CS
Thanks for the clarification Charles.
However, I think you miss the points made here.
If these employees were subject to being laid off, rather than collecting their contracted severance package and agreeing to leave, then they were obviously not in a position to make the kinds of decisions (financial, marketing, engineering, or planning) that could have brought the company to it’s knees. For that matter, even the CEO answers to a board of investors. Nothing happens in a vacuum. As I’m sure you know, smart investors don’t just throw their money into a company and hope for the best. ALL employees are accountable to the board of investors. If any of them are under performing, you fire them, with cause. You don’t just approve everything they do and then try to shoulder them with all of the accountability for the bad choices.
The kind of venom that this thread has generated isn’t the kind of stuff you hear from employees who work for a company that simply hit hard times resulting in their layoffs. It sounds more like people who saw their work place become more and more hostile to themselves and their co-workers over a period of time, and probably came to hate the company and it’s leadership long before they actually left it.
The attitude that you show with statements like, if you got laid off then your value wasn’t worth your salary, demonstrates a hell of a lot of disrespect to workers who may have been laid off, not because of their lack of value but, because the business just fell down around them. Again, because of business decisions they were in no position to make.
I’m not in your business, but I’ve been involved in several startups over the years and can assure you, the best source of information about what is happening in your business isn’t the CEO, it’s the average employee. If you give him the opportunity to speak without retribution, you might find out you have a problem in time to prevent having to restructure and lay off employees.
On to a lighter note. Has the company changed management sometime recently? I see that William Garland left the company in 06. If he left the company in such a mess that it still hasn’t been fixed, then Ironhorse must be a much larger company than I thought. How many units does it put out a year, 5,000 to 10,000?
James
The employees that got laid off, certainly the ones in this thread calling the “current CEO” a “retard”, were for the most part were overpaid and part of the “fat” that needed to be cut. They certainly have no idea as to what has caused the problems with AIH. Wil Garland, who did more damage to AIH than anyone by surrounding himself with asskissers rather than competant employees was replaced by a crooked Board member who made things even worse. Only in the last year was Buck Hendrickson appointed CEO. He was formerly an opperations exec with Colt and Chrysler and does know what needs to be done to fix the company. Unfortunately, the company was in such a big hole by the time he got the wheel, it is going to need an infussion of capital to survive. In 2005 the company did 96M in sales, around 3800 bikes. Don’t know for sure sinse then as there hasn’t been an audit until now and it hasn’t been released yet. At one point the company had almost 400 employees, now has been cut to around 100 and has a realistic budget to build on and I can assure you that it will survive. I agree that some good people had to be let go recently, but good people can go anywhere and get good jobs… they were all paid well for their time at AIH… severence pay is for socialists… a company in trouble certainly needs to keep its money for the working employees and not dish it out to ones that are no longer there. A company, like a good football team or any other group effort, can’t put the blame on any one person. When a company does bad, just like a team, everyone played some role in it. And those that are left will all have to play a role in its turnaround. To side with the “workers” shows that you also do not understand what has happened at AIH. The workers all got paid, quite well, the investors who put up over $20,000,000 of their life savings all got screwed and get nothing… mostly local people. I put in $250,000 11 years ago and never recieved a penny from AIH and never will. To me it is not so bad as I have done well as a Dealer and in my other businesses… but I know of a lot of good people who lost more than they could afford to lose. I guess everyone sees things from different angles.
The problem with Strand’s comments aren’t that he strikes the wrong tone it’s that they aren’t entirely true.
The statement that prior management operated on the buddy system is incredible considering the fact that AIH suffered the transitions of five (that’s right 5) different CEOs in a four and a half year period. Add to that three different CFOs.
Wilson and Collette(co-CEOs), who took over after Bill left, did background checks on the senior management that was left. They also made them justify their positions, just as every one who came after them has. It would be impossible for a buddy system to survive under those kinds of conditions.
It’s actually testimony to the dedication of all of the managers and employees from that period that any work got done at all.
It wasn’t easy.
Every new CEO would declare the last to be a moron and change direction. Long term projects were abandoned, changed in the middle, or green lighted based on the knee jerk reactions of men who hadn’t been in the business for five minutes. This is where a lot of the investors money was lost.
To add to this stress, certain members of the board were constantly coming in and insinuating themselves between the CEO and his staff, creating a political environment where senior managers were pitted against each other.
Most of the board imagined a public offering that would allow them to cash out with untold riches. This futile endeavor is where a lot more of the investors money went.
To make the claim that the new CEO and CFO are weeding out the good ole boy mentality when they both have children working at the plant in positions that they have no prior qualifications for is kinda strange. Especially when one of the CEOs direct reports is in fact dating his daughter.
But I would suggest that none of this is even worth mentioning at this point.
The employees, ex-employees, whatever, can take comfort in the fact that it’s now all over. Everyone probably already has new jobs and AIH is not even relevant in the motorcycle industry today.
If the company is restructured and manages to survive, then god bless. But I personally don’t think that the current leadership will have anything to do with it.
It’s easy to throw stones while using an alias… “AIH Fly”, did your mother give you that name?
I agree that the current CFO needs to go and was part of the problem, he will be gone soon. Your other comments are way off base and very innaccurate. get over the “CEO’s daughter dating a sales manager…”, first of all that’s in the past, second, it has nothing to do with anything. Both of my kids work in my business and they are 2 of the best employees I have.
You are correct that there has been a bad string of prior CEOs and CFOs and even a worse string of over paid employees with over inflated egos… I’m sure you are one of them. To say AIH is not a factor in the business anymore shows your lack of knowledge, at a minimum, they are still in the top 2 of all the custom manufacturers, and I believe, soon to be a strong #1 again… you’ll see very soon. Everyone in the custom industry is in trouble right now, not just AIH.
As you said, the employees that were laid off… if they are good workers and talented people, I’m sure they are doing just fine. The ones that are not, will continue to move from job to job blaming the management for their lack of success.
Move on, get a life, get over it…
Charles, sorry if it seemed that I was siding with the workers.
Just trying to throw an olive branch in there between you guys before somebody gets damaged financially or professionally by all of the venom.
With all of the names mentioned here on both sides, it may be too late for that.
When I mentioned severance packages, I was referring to the hired officers of the company who surely had such agreements, and made all of the relevant decisions, nothing more than that.
Hope things work out for you.
james
Sounds like the one that needs to get over it is this strand character.From what I see this guys lost alot of money and losing more as we speak, why else would he be so upset…its a BLOOOG!!If these guys feel like there getting something off there chest,let them.Obviously they couldnt speak up while they were employed at Ironhorse or they would have suffered the wrath of guys like you.Guys with big bank accounts and even bigger gums.I’m a H-D guy myself, but I respect what Ironhorse has built and accomplished.Hopefully they withstand these hard times. With that said $30,000 for a bike in these times, I wouldnt think thats atop the priority list.
I’d like to interject my two cents here since I do own the blog 
. As an outsider looking in at a situation I have seen many times over (management versus worker pissing contests), I think some shared responsibility is at hand. I’m an automotive engineer that has worked for/with the Big Three and a couple Japanese (current employer - gasp!)auto makers.
As a life-long rider, I knew very little about AIH beyond the name, including that they were/are in financial troubles. Taking everything that has been said in the comments here and the linked thread above, I have to make a few comments of my own.
On the management side, I see a common thread with the Big Three and AIH and most American companies. Sorry, not going to catch me bitching about CEO pay because I envy it. That said, I do think the problem is mostly with the CEO’s and how & why they were hired.
I have to laugh at the comments about the CEO & fiscal responsibility. Fiscal responsibility is not their job at all. If so, there would be no need for a CFO. They are ideas guys, visionaries who set the company’s agenda. Its the others’ responsibility to figure out how to make it happen within a given budget. Burning through five CEO’s in about five years though can’t be good for anyone.
American companies are famous for hiring and/or stealing others’ CEO’s. Sound good, but what if that CEO is outside of the industry??? What if something so crazy happened like if Chrysler hired the CEO from Home Depot? The guy may be a good business man, but know nothing about the core of automobiles.
Japanese companies call this DNA. All Toyota executives, for example, have been groomed over a long period of time through the Toyota system of mentoring by their superiors. Guess what…they are all red-blooded automotive guys by the time they are execs. On the flipside, GM would hire a failing Chrysler exec with failing Chrysler practices in a heartbeat. That guy know nothing about GM, its system, or its history. And guess what he’s going to do - “fix the things the last guy made”. Sound familiar? No DNA.
On the labor side, I hold great hostilities towards unions and union-think. Do not confuse this with union members (well…most of them), but rather the institution of unions. Job descriptions make me laugh. That’s not what a team should be - “I can’t do that. That’s Joe’s job”. Real competitive fellas.
I do support collective bargaining, but not in its current and corrupted package. In my world, the union positions would not be paid, and the bargaining would not leavethe company to affect other companies that have a good worker-mgt relationship. Remove all outside influences and people will come to agreements.
Unions and their employees seem to have the inability to look long term. Every decision made is about maximizing the labor income NOW, no matter the future implications regarding the company’s solvency. Heaven forbid a system that pays employees on their personal performance and the company’s overall performance. Without performance-based pay, workers will get complacent every time.
I understand from Charles Strand that AIH is not union, but had he not mentioned it specifically, I would not have know that. I get the fact that employees who are out of work are pissed off, but no one is guaranteed a job…err…unless their union. My suspicion is that if AIH was union, the company would be no longer. My guess is that the best people, however judged, were selected to stay. Period. Life’s a bitch sometimes and my advice to those who were let go is to be better at your next job.
AIH probably has a tough road ahead, but at least they are not union and can manage the labor as needed. While a solid labor force is important, labor comes and goes and the best and the dedicated will stick around and be compensated accordingly. But unless they get settled on a long-term CEO who can get back to what made AIH #1 - building custom motorcycles that people want at a price people are willing to pay, no Home Depot experience will matter. Until then, nothing else really matters.
As one who is not into the custom scene, I still bleed red, white, and blue and want to see this Amreican icon survive. Harley figured out a way to stay alive through financing and accessories (t-shirts and their brand). AIH needs to firure out its way, by whatever means to do the same. Good luck fellas.
Right on target Angry Bob… sorry if I was not quite as diplomatic on your site as I should have been… but I can’t stand people that actually hope for failure just to prove they were right and management was wrong. Still a lot of good people and their families who count on the survivlal of AIH… as well as a lot of vendors.
I know it will survive, soon the whole story will be told and the critics will all realize that these things happen everyday.. capitalism is survival of the fittest.
If people want to yell about the rights of workers… go to Russia, China… well actually, it didn’t work for them either… can’t think of a single example of where it did. I still believe that it is the ones that wrote a check and lost, not the ones who got a check… that have a right to yell.
Charles Strand
A valuable resource was completely wasted; dedicated and motivated employees with the desire to see this company succeed. I have worked in the Lockheed plant in Ft. Worth and I have worked in small and medium manufacturing companies as well. Even in other industries that I have worked there is one common thing….people are there for a paycheck. Sometimes you meet people that enjoy what they do but most of the time they are ther for a check. Just like Charles said, it was work, it was not fun and wasn’t intended to be. It was completely different at AIH at least until about 3 years ago. I never experienced it before AIH and I really doubt I will ever see it again but it seemed EVERYONE loved the place and would do more and stay later and work harder to see it succeed. The name was strong in the industry and there was a workforce like nothing I have ever been involved with. It seemed like we had the momentum to get through anything. As time went by there was more and more distance between upper management and everyone else. There seems to have been alot of money spent on some managers and officers that didn’t do much good for the company. They were there for themselves, not AIH..they were ther for the check. Its sickening that such a rare and unique workforce was unable to be utilized and was never rewarded. Its very basic: most human beings react to appreciation. I managed people before AIH and I still manage people today and its the same story. An appreciated $8.00/hr employee is as productive or more productive than an unappreciated $15.00/hr employee. More production for less money….sounds like profit and a person doesn’t even have to feel like garbage.
No matter how many times a production schedule was changed and no matter how often it came down that we had to do more with less resources or with a paycut or without materials to get the job done, what was being asked for more times than not seemed to get done.
First I am going to start this saying, I am signing my name since I have the steel nads as Steve Adams and Charles Strand has shown. I am not scared to let anyone know who I am. I really did not want to write this but am pissed off to what has been said by some unknown individuals. Even though this is a blog and some need to get things out to relieve themselves, I want to give my view!
I have been a Production Line Supervisor of American Ironhorse for the past 7 years. I am saying have been because I had to give my 2-week notice due to financial struggles and raising a family. I did not have to give a notice since I was in a temporary lay off, I could of just quit and went to another job. Goodness of my heart, dedication to Ironhorse, I felt they deserved that much. It took along time to reach my decision even with the current situation. My wife does not understand my feelings toward the company and why I could not decide right away.
It was the love of the bikes that we built, the camaraderie of the employees that worked there. I HAVE NEVER worked with a better bunch with the exception of when I was in the military. I enjoyed getting up everyday and going to work. I worked NUMEROUS of hours along with many others to get job 1 done and would do it again. There were many times WE were put in a crunch, had to stay or come in on Saturday and work our ass off, with no bitches. There are some people who do not like to work, but those were eventually weeded out. As you can see I am totally agree with what Joe has stated about the employees at AIH. I can list many people that had/have pride in what they were doing.
Why anyone would want to go around and throw hate and discontent about the company is beyond reason. Those that are, are probably employees who were let go due to their production, attendance or other situations. AIH had to weed out people that were non-productive or effecient in their position. It happens no matter were you work.
I want to comment on a few statements that were made on the “other” page of this blog:
#1. DOM statement about the VP over manufacturing. Yes he did go back to Georgia BUT if you were there in the “early” years and look at what has happened to the Layout of the facility, you would see the BIG change that was made. If you new anything about how an assembly or manufacturing environment is suppose to flow you might have not stated what you did.
#2. LAMO statement “dropping bikes knowing they weren’t right” burns my ass. Come up front and state your name. I for one KNOW that if this would of happened they would not of made it out the door. That was the purpose of PDI and Ride Out to locate a defect or problem with the assembly of the bike. I strictly enforced that everyones job on the line relied on the safety of the rider. I will say this as it happens with auto manufactuerers and anyone else in the business. At times things happen, you can not tell me of one manufacturer that has not had problems. It can be caused by lack of testing at the Vendor level or the Engineering level. Do all HARLEY’s go without any problems? How about Ford, Toyota, Dodge, GM? Just sit down and think about what you said and things you may have bought in the past, I bet you will find something that you had problems with. Auto manufacturers have recalls, toy manufacturers, Think before you speak! I will also say that AIH has implemented extensive testing on all their bikes, products bought and made in house. Some changes happen as Production is in process but who doesn’t.
I am proud to have been involved with American Ironhorse and will gladly go back and do my job as I did in the past when things are resolved if allowed.
Mike Stutzman
EX-Production Line Supervisor/Manager
Many of the proud employees, waiting for the outcome and call!
Jeezus. All of you f-ing morons need to get a life. Who the hell has time to sit around and belly ache about total bullshit like you people do? I own stock in IH and if I was that upset how screwed up management is/was/continues to be then I would just sue them/kick their ass. I sure as hell would not sit around WINDING, which is a step beyhond whining. Idiots, get a life. And quit being such pussy’s, stick your name on your whining as blogs.
Good to hear some upbeat talk from workers and managers… there were, and are, a lot of good ones at AIH. Also, good to hear a little venting from an investor that got screwed, especially one that I talked into the deal, sorry Bob.
One thing that everyone misses in talking about the “good old days” “when we all loved our jobs…” That’s great, but the company was still losing millions at that time. A lot of mistakes were made by management, and guess what, they got fired too. I invested back when the company was getting started, 1997. I got a lot of other people to invest, all because we believed in the concept and hoped it could grow into a great company, it still can. If it comes back, many of the people who got laid off will get jobs back, the investors will never get their money back.
I think I will bow out at this point as the company still has a chance to succeed, and there are things I can do to help, I just hope everyone will hope for the best and not keep taking cheap shots at a company on the ropes… nothing to gain there for anyone.
Bye!
Charles Strand
I would just like to say after reading ALL of this crap, that I worked for AIH and yes people really DID love what they were building and enjoyed going to work each and everyday, it’s a shame what has happened in the past 2 years with the board and the management that HAD been there, good luck to you all. I really did enjoy working with you all very much and wish you the best.
Brent Sipes
Please guys.
There is no reason to analyze any of this stuff, try to make peace, or do anything other than read this crap for the humor involved.
Charles Strand isn’t some brilliant business man with an unhealthy fascination with the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche and a bunch a rogue employees that gotsta get spanked. He’s just a prick, and apparently he’s a very bad investor.
From the sound of how he’s treated his core investment, his employees, he deserves to have lost his money. If the people who do everything for you deserve nothing but their paycheck, then they owe you nothing but 40 hours. If you don’t owe them a decent and stable work environment, then all they owe you is the ability to go in there and endure it.
I’m not a fan of unions either, but from the sound of it, Iron Horse is the kind of environment that allowed those leeches to get a foothold in american manufacturing in the first place.
I wanted to know a little more about this character Strand, so I did a simple search.
His primary occupation is selling fucking water filters.
WATER FILTERS MAN! You remember those pricks that would come to your door…………….but I digress.
Apparently there has been some controversy in that business because he puts up fake product review sites that declare his water filters to be better than the 30 dollar stuff you buy at walmart. If you want to see another funny blog with Strand in it look here.
http://www.triptronix.net/ishbadiddle/archives/2006/02/24/11.09.27/
If these employees want to express their angst about taking a swift kick in the ass, and let the industry know about how fucking stupid things are at good old iron horse, let em. The dumbest thing any business man (and I’m using that term lightly in this case) could do is answer their comments on a fucking blog. Blogs are supposed to be anonymous you fucking idiot. Even the supreme court defended that position last year. Blogs allow ideas and information (yes, a lot of it is bullshit) to flow without worry of having the poster’s life destroyed even if he is telling the truth.
From your own comments I see that much of what your employees have posted is actually true, and it’s really funny stuff, so I for one am very appreciative that it was posted. But you have yet to take any accountability for your own actions and the actions of the rest of the people that have sat on your board.
And Charles, I don’t see how you put AIH at first or second in the custom market. I’m not sure that anybody else puts it in the top five or even ten for that matter.
That make you mad? Make you wanna fight? Good!
I agree with Brent, I also worked there for three years from ‘04 to ‘07 and it was a great place to work and I did love my job, yes I did receive a pay check as you would call it, but I took a pay cut of almost 20k just to go to work there. That was because I did love the product and wanted to be a part of it, my choice. I left because I have a family and just was not sure of the future again my choice. But you have to wonder that if outsiders are talking about the company and where is it headed, that there is talk going on, inside the walls as well and that this feeling is being put into the minds of the employees, by something going on there. It is up to the management to keep a positive and optimistic work place, so to keep good people from leaving. I hope the company does turn around, and hope that someday I would be one of the ones that would get another chance to work there again.
Mike Sheridan
Bob, I’m glad I found your blog. I like your other threads as well, but real drama is hard to find.
Maybe you could post something about chinese motorcycles and get the BMW or Triumph guys stirred up. Capitilize on the controversy!
Have a good day bro,
Akram
my masssta charles cant ride me worth a damn ..ol whiskey throttlin ass mutha fucker..but he does keep me clean
chuckys ironhorse
AGAIN WITH THE STRIPPERS!! POST SOME PICS DAMMIT!
Lol, no seriously, I’d love to see the pics.
Akram
It’s official. IronHorse is shutdown. Everyone except a few of the big salaries and accounting have been laid off.
I guess the originators of this feud were right after all.
All you had to say Charles is that they were right. Might have saved us all a lot of pain and discomfort.
From laughing so fucking hard I can’t breath, that is!
This IS, Headline News…..signing out.
you know i lost some teeth no big deal,but when they took my leg thats when charles broke it off..he said he couldnt have his wife find out he was with a gimp..sorry bastard i was putting up with his gimp ass if you know what i mean ,hehe
gimpy pooh
YEAH!!! YOU DID. YOU APPARENTLY SLEPT THROUGH A HUGE FUCKING LAYOFF.
JUST GIVE US YOUR NAME AND WE’LL ALL TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHY YOU ARE STILL THERE, WHEN THE REST OF US HAD TO GO HOME.
Mike Stutzman, I’m glad you posted to this blog.
Have you ever had your fucking brake fall off of your brand new bike when you are riding it home?
Then you haven’t had the pleasure of buying one those beauties you took so much care in making sure was right.
How about having the tranny fail in less than a month?
No?
At least now I know why.
charles strand needs to learn to stop getting so defensive on these blogs, maybe intials or an alias isnt such a bad thing, especially when your just getting owned like he is in this and his previous blog mentioned earlier on water filters.
dumbass!!!
“Have you ever had your fucking brake fall off of your brand new bike when you are riding it home?”
Yes,
Although I left you with a Backup to save yourself, how did that work out?; sorry just could not take you any longer all the yuppiness and such.
XOXOX your brake.
P.S- this is not Mike, he is a more standup gentleman than myself and much bigger :).
How about the tranny? You didn’t leave me with a spare one of those by any chance did you?
And while you go check on that, how about seeing about these lights that don’t fucking work.
Hugs and kisses my brake? How about you give some hugs and kisses to my cock.
“How about the tranny? You didn’t leave me with a spare one of those by any chance did you?
And while you go check on that, how about seeing about these lights that don’t fucking work.
Hugs and kisses my brake? How about you give some hugs and kisses to my cock”.
Shit,
not even the trannie could take you?…poor bastard/bitch/both.
The lights well, I am sure they had their reasons.
So this is the attitude that the workers really had when they built all of these piles of shit.
Since Big Dog has now bent you guys over and made you their bitch, I think I’m gonna recommend that they change the logo to two bulldogs giving each other the high five while jamming some sausage into both ends of a miniature pony.
How does that work for you?
Perry,
Although the reply to your blog may have been harsh and crude, there are reasons. Most of the people active in this blog will be, or have lost their employment with AIH. Mike signed his blog as a manager which insinuates he has suboordinates working for him and are most likely loyal. To direct an attack at one person (especially a manager) would certainly draw criticism from his loyalists.
From what I gathered reading this entire blog is most of these employees, aside from a few; loved their job. You may have legit gripes and concerns, but these do not belong on this blog. People commenting here have been hurt or angered by what is going on with the company already and do not need salt thrown in the wounds.
I certainly do not take interest in much of what has been discussed in this blog, but I do feel that emotions are running high. For the most part it feels like a civil war among the hobby loyalists and is quite sad; this should not be happening. Any motorcycle company suffering is bad for the whole industry and should be grieved rather than used as a tool of assault.
Amitello
Hey there guys, just wanted to drop by and tell all my IRONHORSE FAMILY to come celebrate with us this Saturday night (2/2/2008) at FireWater where our good friends, LOADED MOSES will be rippin the stage at around 11:00. I also invite all the haters to come and get the real story and hear it from the men that live it. I’m not throwin any jabs cause I think you guys have done a pretty damn good job of lookin like fools yourselves. PEACE 5000 Brothers
Best lookin guy at AIH (with exception of BILL ROSS)
Taylor
I remember Perry Edwards…total small man complex guy who felt he knew more about customizing his ride than the Factory. When it flamed, he wanted someone else to pay. A true P-O-S ain’t my fault douche bag.
By the way Perry, at the factory you are referred to as Gin Blossom. Don’t drink before you ride. Or at least don’t expect your parts to be covered under warranty!
Well guys it was a pleasure working with you all. I for one had a great crew of guys and a great group of friends. Those of you that were left were the best of the best. As Mike said above most of the people that worked at Ironhorse loved their job and this love of their job is what drove them to go above and beyond what needed to be done. I had employees that would bring me piece after piece to personally inspect because they cared enough to make sure they were using parts that were up to Ironhorse standards. Once things are resolved I too would love to be back building bikes. Most of you have my number and email so if I can do anything for any of my friends please feel free to contact me.
Sean I am truly sorry that someone had to bring your name into this as you were truly an asset to the Company and have been missed since you left.
Stephen Adams your post was inspiring. Thank you for speaking up.
Chris Ables
Subassembly Manager
By demeanor alone above, I can tell the difference between the folks who worked for a paycheck and nothing more versus the folks that worked for the company, the bike, and the brand.
Maybe AIH shouldn’t bring back some of these guys if & when things turn around.
Taylor is right…I am the best looking man here.
Short of the military, AIH has the most family like atmosphere of anywhere I have seen. I know that this does not equate to a profitable company, but it sure makes coming to work fun. We will get things turned around, and I look forward to seeing each of you back here in the factory very soon.
PS…Taylor and Chad, where are your Macs?
I don’t know Bob.
Do you think that the people who’ve been venting all of this anger about seeing a place they loved to work at were really working for a paycheck?
I don’t think the simple loss of a paycheck would take it anywhere near the kind of emotion we’ve seen here.
I know the loyalists have repeatedly chided the other side with comments about not being able to find another job, enjoy your unemployment checks, etc, but you and I know full well that if those employees don’t already have new jobs waiting they will have very soon. Nobody goes unemployed for long in this country unless they just want to ride the unemployment train, and nothing in these posts would suggest that at all.
I think both sides have repeatedly suggested that the environment and the comradery was once second to none, and is no longer.
People react differently to having to let go of something like that. Some will react with anger and defiance (which we’ve seen a lot of) and others will act with resignation and submission.
Doesn’t mean any one of them was any better at what they do, just different genetics I suspect.
And just my two cents worth here, but years ago I personally witnessed the disintegration of a company similar to what we’ve seen here. I can tell you for a fact that the last employees out the door were not by any measure the best employees we had. Many of the guys who were let go by the endless stream of new presidents and vice presidents were let go not because they were not the best at what they did, but because they dared to question the wisdom of going down the road that ultimately led to the demise of a 600,000,000 dollar company (and this was in a time when that was a large company). I was among the last to go, so I witnessed change that losing all of these guys had on the company. Quality was the first thing to suffer and ultimately led to the demise of the company. I swore then, that I would never again stay in a job that I was unhappy with simply out of loyalty for the group.
I’ve learned in my own business that those guys that raise questions and are maybe a little too rebellious for their own good are a very valuable asset. They can stop you from making costly mistakes and they can steer you in directions you could never think of on your own.
And once you get some time and experience into them you usually (not always, but usually) find them to be excellent leaders in their own right.
That being said, I do also have a lot of love in my heart for the guy that just comes to work, is happy in his job, and is perfectly content with his chosen station.
We all have a place in a productive company, but it all must be held together by leaders who don’t simply lead, but inspire their employees to put their hearts into achieving the goal.
THESE LAST FEW CLOWNS WERE SAY THEY WERE THE BEST OF THE BEST ASS KISSERS AND DICK SUCKERS MAYBE..THATS FUNNY
Cohn - well said. It does appear that the company’s problems stem from mismanagement at the top. But the pissing and moaning above is probably only because they didn’t get picked to stay. They only wish they were the ones being called dick-suckers.
Who in the fuck is Bill Ross, Chucks suckass brother and what has he done for AIH except be a pretty boy??????? you all have done a great job of taking care of your dealers. hahaha
Hey “AIH INSIDER”, why don’t you try this new thing that’s been going around…it’s called GRAMMAR!! You know, all that funny stuff with periods, commas, nouns and verbs. If your intent was to sound like a complete idiot…well, mission accompolished.
P.S. Let me know if I used too many “big” words and I’ll rewrite it just for you.
Hey Junior, why don’t you take that cock out of your mouth while you type, it might make it easier. Maybe if you didn’t rip AIH off for so much warranty money you would still be a dealer.
WHY DON’T YOU ALL SHUT UP AND TAKE CARE OF YOUR OWN BUSINESS IF YOU STILL HAVE ONE? YOU AT AIH SHOULD WATCH YOUR MOUTHS AS YOU MIGHT NEED US FOR A JOB SOMEDAY.
HAHAHA, you said it ANONYMOUS… “mind your own business” So why don’t you butt the fuck out!?!? We didn’t ask for your input.
Well Taylor, I can’t speak for you, but I would LOVE to apply with Mr. Anonymous. I can tell from his most enlightened blog comments that he is articulate, and educated, a real leader of men. Mr. Anonymous, would you be so kind as to post an on-line application? And just how much does being a shit eating dog pay?
Please forgive me Mr. Anonymous. I MEANT to ask how much does it pay to be a ” paid practitioner of coprophagia”? I hope you will forgive my political incorrectness. But hey, what can you expect from one of us “ass kissing, dick sucking clowns”?
ANGRY BOB,
I now have 2 comments for YOU.
1) EXPLOITATION. Aside from the fact that you are truly relishing your new found fame by being the owner of this blog “at the top of a Google search” (paraphrase), Many responsible blog owners close a thread when it becomes vulgar, posts character assassinations, or just gets totally out of control. I think it is about time you close this thread.
2) IDENTITY THEFT. After reading so much of this infantile , rarly pithy, but totally furious exchange, do you plan on changing your moniker? Maybe SOMEWHATPISSEDOFFBOB, or ANNOYEDBOB, or my pick NOTASANGRYASTHOSEGUYSBOB, would be more appropriate. 
I AGREE THAT AS A CASUAL OBSERVER THAT IT IS TIME TO END THIS . TOO MUCH VULGARITY AND OUT OF CONTROL.
Just read that crap about Perry Edwards. So funny. Saw him shit faced in the Fort Worth stock yards, and dropped that Slammer on BOTH sides trying to start it. What? you pegged that guy!
“Hey Junior, why don’t you take that cock out of your mouth while you type, it might make it easier. Maybe if you didn’t rip AIH off for so much warranty money you would still be a dealer“.
Agreed my brotha!!!!!!!!!.
Well fellas, its been a lot of fun to read this stuff in a WTF? kind of way, but I do think its time to end the love fest. I had intended to end this thing tomorrow, but at the suggestion of others here and through email THIS THREAD IS CLOSED.
what? - it took a lot of self control to just sit back and watch the village idiots do there thing (not all of course). Yeah, you got me…I did relish a little bit. One of the other contributors/authors here held the record for number of comments at around 40 or so. I just wanted to pad my new lead a little.
(618) (20) (43) (51) (89) (27) (16) (27)
Powered by WordPress 2.3.1
Rendered in 15 queries and 1.724 seconds.
CleanBreeze Theme
Bad Behavior has blocked 927 access attempts in the last 7 days.
Permalink
Filed under:
Bob,
Weird comment thread there! People at H-D must laugh themselves silly over the travails of those who copy
H-D’s perfected theme and still manage to fail.
Frankly, I was hoping the Ducati / H-D tie-up would really happen just so I could watch the Ducati faithful’s heads explode but reading about corporate guys spending money on hookers and Las Vegas is almost as good.
Doug