After the temporary end in 1953, the legendary brand returned from the eternal hunting ground in about 6 years.
Those who are pronounced dead are known to live longer, especially Indian motorcycles. This year, the legendary American brand will celebrate its 120th anniversary. However, the first era ended in 1953, and it took about 6 years for the Indians to finally return from the eternal hunting grounds and continue to produce motorcycles bearing Indian heads.
Indian Motorcycle (no "r" in motorcycles since 1902) was founded in 1901, making it the oldest motorcycle brand in the United States, older than its longtime rival in Milwaukee, Harley-Davidson, whose first motorcycle came out in 1903. Walter Harley and Arthur Davidson did not officially register the Harley-Davidson Motor Company until 1907. Still, it took much longer to produce motorcycles because Indian Motocycle went bankrupt in 1953 and didn't become a permanent production brand again until 2014.
Originated in bicycle factories
Successful cyclist George Hendee founded his own bicycle factory in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1889. Ten years later, Oscar Hedstrom, an engineer who immigrated from Sweden to New York, designed an improved carburetor for the Built-in engine of De Dion-Bouton in France, which dominated the automotive and motorcycle industry at the time, and built a pacemaker for bike racing. Hendee began to realize motorcycles in 1900 and offered to partner with Hedstrom to build motorcycles for road use. In January 1901, the two signed a contract— legend has it on the back of an envelope — and the Indian Motorcycle Company was born.
The first Indians made 1.75 horsepower
They chose the name "Indian" because the company should be unmistakably associated with America's pioneering spirit. The first motorcycle was ready in May, and it was simply named indian Single, still bearing a lot of resemblance to the bike. It has an upright 213cc single-cylinder four-stroke under the seat tube, while the Camelback tank sits above the rear wheels. With an output of 1.75 hp, the motor pushes a vehicle weighing up to 43 kg to 40 km/h and starts on a normal bicycle pedal.
After two more prototypes, mass production began in 1902, and the Indians immediately reaped huge sales, selling 596 motorcycles in 1904 alone. The necessary new plant in Springfield was named "Wigwam." Hendee is responsible for sales and Hedstrom is responsible for development. Both compete and win regularly, which is certainly the best advertisement for their machine.
The Indians set several world records
Hydrostrom continued to tinker tirelessly and soon built a two-cylinder V-engine with a cylinder angle of 42 degrees, creating a 640 cm 3 displacement that brought seven horsepower. Originally used for racing, the engine was mass-produced in 1907 and quickly became a bestseller. Hedstrom previously developed a ring frame that placed the engine lower and placed a fuel tank above it. Hedstrom was quickly recognized as one of the leading motorcycle engineers and was constantly implementing new ideas, such as the four-valve cylinder head in 1911, which significantly improved performance. Longtime driver Jacob DeRosier quickly set multiple new world records in a race in Los Angeles. That same year, the Indians confidently entered the Isle of Man for the first time, the most famous race in the world at the time. The brand finished in the top three of Premium TT before the cheated English competition.
Manage disputes
As a result, Indian's sales exploded. But there is a crisis between Hende and Hedstrom. After returning from the Isle of Man, there was a dispute between Hendy and successful engineer Drosir. The company owner didn't want him to drive a new eight-valve car, and the Franco-Canadian-American Drosil was furious and switched to his rival Excelsior. Hedstrom was not happy with the departure of his friend DeRosier, and to distract himself, he focused on developing a frame with suspended rear wheels that promised significantly improved comfort. He also made the Indians more reliable through clever refinements to detail—a decisive factor in that era. Hendee pushes new models to get electric starters,
Production records
1913 was the year the brand decided its destiny. Indian set a production record of 32,000 bicycles, about half of all bicycles sold in the United States, and made a profit of $1.3 million. But for Hedstrom, who now designs and develops two plants, that has gone too far. When his old friend Drosil died in a serious racing accident, Heardstrom resigned.
As his successor, Hendy brought young Irishman Charles Franklin to Springfield, and also brought some wealthy investors to expand further. However, in the same year, Henry Ford introduced assembly line assembly, resulting in a significant reduction in the purchase price of Ford's Model T and a significant increase in production. Cars suddenly became affordable, and motorcycle sales dropped significantly.
In 1914, the founder left his company
Indian's new investors didn't like it at all, didn't care about expensive racing cars, and were only interested in their returns. In March 1914, Hendee decided to cash in and leave his company. Frank Weschler, who had previously been in charge of accounting, was appointed his successor. Four months later, World War I broke out and Indian sales plummeted.
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Indian motorcycle 120 years
The first Indian was more like a bicycle than a motorcycle, but the engine had become a load-bearing part of the frame: the seat tube terminated at the cylinder head bolted to it. The 1901 Indian Single is available in 1.75 hp, 213ml, single-cylinder, four-stroke upright with the words "Hedstrom" engraved on it. He drove the 43 kg vehicle to 40 km/h. You start with a normal bike pedal, with the sprocket having a flywheel on the pedal crank.
Shortly before that, Erwin "Cannonball" Baker completed a sensational journey from the West Coast of the United States to the East Coast of the United States in an Indian-V2 without any major glitches and appeared in all the newspapers with the Indians. But even the new 1000cc V-twin with electric start and lights couldn't stop this decline. When Harley-Davidson began to overtake, no one in the Indians' executive suites was wholehearted.
In Milwaukee, the company's management focused on racing, with Bill Ottavi building a successful eight-valve engine in the development division, and the Indians switching to a cross-brave side-valve engine. The U.S. Army ordered 20,000 Power Plus models with 1000 cc engines, saving the Indians during the war.
The battle between Indian and Harley-Davidson
After World War I, most motorcycle manufacturers in the United States went bankrupt, and Indian and Harley-Davidson carved up most of the market. In the next thirty years, a big war broke out between the two brands, which can be described as a fight. The Indians tried to get back on the path to success with a different philosophy. The cheap two-stroke Model K should have attracted more buyers, along with the 257cc lateral Model O, reminiscent of the 1904 Douglas Fee or Fairy boxer engine and three-speed gearbox, which were inexpensive but not highly successful. In 1919, Indian was sold by new investors in Springfield, and over the next two years, two key models were on the market: the 1920 Scout and the 1921 Chief. They should decisively shape the brand's history to this day.
To this day, Scout and Chief remain characteristic of the brand
The Scout is equipped with a 596cc V-twin engine with vertical valves. It was the first sporty motorcycle to be sold in large quantities, with 12 horsepower, a weight of 159 kg and a series of victories. A year later, Indian introduced the Chief, which features a 1-litre V2 engine with a cylinder angle of 45 degrees and 20 horsepower. Three years later, the Great Chief appeared, equipped with a powerful 1.2-liter engine capable of producing 34 horsepower. The engine and helical gear housings in the oil bath are cast from aluminum. The Sergeant Major weighed only 200 kg, which helped her achieve extraordinary driving performance.
Small single-cylinders were very popular in Europe at the time, and the Indians developed the Prince for the market there, powered by the 350cc 3 - the engine was ignited with four valves and a three-speed transmission. The 120 kg light vehicle reached 88 km/h, but never achieved the expected sales success. In 1926, scout displacement increased to 750 cubic centimeters and quickly became notorious for police motorcycles. She is said to have a throttle handle on her left so that police can shoot with their right hand while pursuing. However, the real reason for the left position was initially a second combined twist of the right compression valve and the ignition advance, which later became redundant with the automation of these functions. The twist handle is said to be another invention of Hedstrom.
Indian inline four-cylinder
In 1927, the Indians took over the remainder of the Ace brand, which went bankrupt three years earlier, including its remarkable in-line four-cylinder engine. The resulting Indian Ace model is powered by a longitudinally mounted four-cylinder engine with a displacement of 1265 cm3 and acceleration to 120 km/h. It's a prestigious object, but it can't recoup its costs. The bikes were getting better, but the incompetence of the management put the Indians in the red. In 1929, CEO Louis E. Bauer amassed more than a million dollars in debt, and then on October 29, the stock market crash became the black Friday of history.
E. Paul DuPont, a very wealthy motorcycle enthusiast, took over the Indians in 1930 and actually managed to restart the business. He has been taking the bestseller Scout and Chief a step further, but has also invested heavily in the four-cylinder Ace. Nevertheless, production fell to a low of 1677 motorcycles in 1933. The Indians even tried to make money using the tricycle "Dispatch Tow" from 1934 onwards, which was supposed to be the donkey of small business owners. Although the model is as elegant as sport Scout and the cheaper entry-level Junior Scout, production growth is slow.
The Indians went bankrupt in 1953
World War II again brought military orders to the Indians, but this time Harley-Davidson performed significantly better than World War I. Indian produced 33,000 640B, 741, 841, and Chief models for the U.S. Army, while competitors from Milwaukee produced 55,000. After the war, Ralph Rogers, who had no experience in the motorcycle business, acquired the Indians and initially continued to build only chiefs. The development of new, lighter motorcycles cost $6.5 million, culminating in 1949 with the Arrow with a 220 cc single cylinder and the Scout with a 440 cc straight twin cylinder.
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120 Indian Motorcycle II
Today, Indian motorcycles have been successful on the flat track. These machines drift wildly in curves. Almost from the beginning, the Indians engaged in epic battles with their nemesis Harley-Davidson.
Both models have a lot to fall short of in terms of performance and reliability, and customers are disappointed. Rogers left the Indians in debt and made many bad decisions, and in 1950 he gave up, and the Indians were divided into two divisions: production was controlled by Titeflex, which manufactures actual parts for aviation, and sales were sold by John Brookhouse, who also imported British brands Royal Enfield, Norton, Matchless, AJS and Vincent into the United States. Indian desperately tried to give the Chief a new look with a shock fork and a larger displacement, but in vain. In 1953, Indian Motocycle, once the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer, discontinued production in Springfield and filed for bankruptcy.
Trademark rights are held by many parties
Over the next six years, trademark rights passed to the Indians like challenge trophies. Beginning in 1955, Brockhaus offered The Royal Enfields imported from the UK with the word Indian and sold them under new model names such as Indian Trailblazer, Apache, Fire Arrow or Woodsman. In 1960, the British company AMC acquired the trademark rights of the Indians, and in 1963 they were taken over by American publisher and racing driver Floyd Kramer, who supplied Italy with the famous mini bike. After his death, his widow sold the rights to lawyer Alan Newman in 1970, and he also sold Indian brand mini bikes.
After Newman's bankruptcy in 1977, trademark rights were owned by the Mopeds of America, Philip Zanji in 1992, Wayne Bowman in 1994, and Eller Industries in 1998, but none of these were mass-produced motorcycles for various reasons. It wasn't until the end of 1998, when nine companies merged to form the American Indian Motorcycle Company and a factory was set up in Gilroy, California, that Indian finally came off the production line again. The Chief appeared in the elegant style of the 1950s, and Scout was quite successful. However, both models were very expensive, so the attempt ended in disgraceful bankruptcy in 2003. From 2006 to 2011, a London-based investment firm based in Kings Hill, North Carolina, branded Indian Motorcylce Company, tried to sell purpose-built Chiefs in small quantities.
Polaris once again built the Indians
It wasn't until 2011, when snowmobile and ATV maker Polaris Industries bought the rights to Indian Motocycle, that the old brand breathed fresh air again. Polaris already has a motorcycle brand in victory Motorcycles' portfolio and has had experience in motorcycle manufacturing since 1998. But the legendary Indian brand (now the full name "r") was certainly more popular, so Victory was eventually liquidated, and polaris began stringing Indians in 2014.
Back in 2013, at the world's largest Harley-Davidson Festival, Indians showed a 1811 cm 3 V2 engine called thunderstroke to the new Chief in all areas of Sturges, South Dakota. The new Indian factory is located in Lake Spirit, Iowa, and Chief offers Classic, Vintage, and Chieftain versions from the start — all three of which are very beautiful vintage bikes. A year later, the smaller, cheaper Scout was followed by the 1133cc V2. Since then, both model families have joined the program in various versions, and in 2019 joined the flat-gauge FTR 1200 with the 120 hp 1203cc V2.
A bright future
Since Polaris took the helm, the future of Indian motorcycles has been bright again. Although the sales figure of about 32,000 units is at a fairly low level compared to timeless rival Harley-Davidson, the Milwaukee brand finally has six decades to show itself. It's remarkable when a brand is so dazzling that it hasn't lost any charm for over 120 years.