Indian Motorcycle

 
The Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company was a motorcycle manufacturer in Springfield, Massachusetts. Indian was America's oldest motorcycle brand and was once the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world. The most popular models were the Scout, made prior to WWII, and the Chief, which had its heyday from 1922-53.
 

Indian was founded as the Hendee Manufacturing Company by George M. Hendee and Carl Oscar Hedström. Both Hendee and Hedström were former bicycle racers who teamed up to produce a motorcycle with a 1.75 bhp, single cylinder engine in Hendee's home town of Springfield. The indian motorcycle was successful and sales increased dramatically during the next decade.

In 1904, the so-called diamond framed Indian Single, whose engine was built by the Aurora Firm in Illinois, was made available in the deep red color that would become Indians motorcycles trademark. By now, the production was up to over 500 bikes annually and would rise to its best ever 32,000 in 1913.
 

In 1907, Indian motorcycle built its first V-twin, and in following years made a strong showing in racing and record-breaking. One of the firm's most famous riders was Erwin "Cannonball" Baker, who set many long-distance records. In 1914, he rode an Indian motorcycle across America, from San Diego to New York, in a record 11 days, 12 hours and ten minutes. Baker's mount in subsequent years was the Powerplus, a side-valve V-Twin, which was introduced in 1916. Its 61ci (1000 cc), 42 degree V-twin engine was more powerful and quieter than previous designs, giving a top speed of 60 mph (96 km/h). The Powerplus was highly successful, both as a roadster and as the basis for racing bikes. It remained in production with Indians Motorcycles with few changes until 1924.

Competition success played a big part in Indians Motorcycles rapid growth and spurred technical innovation, as well. One of the American firm's best early results came in the Isle of Man TT in 1911, when Indians Motorcycles riders Godfrey, Franklin and Moorehouse finished first, second and third. Indian star Jake De Rosier set several speed records both in America and at Brooklands in England, and won an estimated 900 races on dirt-tracks and boards. He left Indian Motorcycle for Excelsior and died in 1913, aged 33, of injuries sustained in a board-race crash with Charles "Fearless" Balke, who later became Indian's top rider. Work at the Indian factory was stopped while De Rosier's funeral procession passed.

Oscar Hedstrom left Indian Motorcycle in 1913 after disagreements with the Board of Directors regarding dubious practices to inflate the company's stock values. George Hendee resigned in 1916.
 

The Scout and Chief V-twins, introduced in the early 1920s, became the Springfield firm's most successful models. Designed by Charles B. Franklin, the middleweight Scout and larger Chief shared a 42 degree V twin engine layout. Both models gained a reputation for strength and reliability, which led to the old Indians Motorcycles saying: "You can't wear out an Indian Scout, or its brother the Indian Chief. They are built like rocks to take hard knocks; it's the Harleys that cause grief."

In 1930 Indian merged with duPont Motors. duPont Motors founder E. Paul DuPont ceased production of duPont automobiles and concentrated the company's resources on Indians Motorcycles. duPont's paint industry connections resulted in no fewer than 24 color options being offered in 1934. Models of that era featured Indian's famous head-dress logo on the gas tank. Indian's huge Springfield factory was known as the Wigwam, and native American imagery was much used in advertising.
 
In 1940, Indian Motorcycle sold nearly as many motorcycles as its major rival, Harley-Davidson. At the time, Indian represented the only true American-made heavyweight cruiser alternative to Harley-Davidson.
 

During this time, the company also manufactured other products such as aircraft engines, bicycles, boat motors and air conditioners.

In 1945, a group headed by Ralph B. Rogers purchased a controlling interest of the company. On November 1, 1945, duPont formally turned the operations of Indians Motorcycles over to Rogers.

Under Rogers' control, Indian discontinued the Scout and began to manufacture lightweight motorcycles such as the 149 Arrow, the Super Scout 249, both introduced in 1949, and the 250 Warrior, introduced in 1950. These bikes suffered from poor quality and a lack of development.

Production of traditional Indians was extremely limited in 1949, and no 1949 Chiefs are known to exist.
 
Manufacture of all products was halted in 1953. Brockhouse and Royal Enfield bikes were imported from England and badged and sold as Indians Motorcycles through the rest of the 1950s. After this the Indian name passed to the company that imported Matchless motorcycles into the US, however it did not attach the name to any motorcycles, and it went into liquidation in 1962.
 
From 1968 publisher Floyd Clymer began using the Indians Motorcycles name, apparently without purchasing it from the last known legitimate trademark holder. He attached it to imported motorcycles, including a single-cylinder Velocette model in 1969. Clymer's widow sold the alleged Indian trademark after his death. It passed through a succession of owners and became a subject of competing claims in the 1990s, finally decided by a US court.
 

On July 20, 2006, the newly formed Indian Motorcycle Company, owned largely by Stellican Limited, a London-based private equity firm, announced its new home in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, where it plans to resurrect the iconic Indian Motorcycle Brand (refer to the "July 20, 2006 - Press Release - Indian Motorcycle Company Announces New Home" on the official website). New Indian has goals of producing a new Chief using a modern fuel-injected 100ci V-Twin engine which they are building in-house. The new Chief will have the classic valanced fenders. However, New Indian plans to offer several variations of the Chief including a more modern style without the valanced fenders. New Indian also plans on offering an accessory line for both the New Indian and the Gilroy Indian motorcycles built from 1999 to 2003.

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