Indian

Early years

In 1897, entrepreneur and former cyclist George M. Hendee founded the company Hendee Manufacturing Company, which was engaged in the production of bicycles. Bicycles were produced under the names “Silver King” and “Silver Queen”, the name “American Indian” (very quickly becoming just “Indian”) appeared in 1898 and was adopted for better brand recognition in export markets. In 1900, engineer Carl Oscar Hedström (George Oscar Hedström) suggested George to begin production of a motorcycle with a single-cylinder engine with a volume of 260 cm ³ with a capacity of 1.75 hp ^[1] .

In 1901, a prototype and two prototypes of Indian Single were successfully developed, built and tested. The motorcycle had an advanced design for its time. In particular, a chain drive from the engine to the rear wheel was first installed on it. The first Indian Single was introduced to customers in 1902. In 1903, Carl Oscar Headstrom set a world motorcycle speed record (56 mph). In 1904, the company began to paint motorcycles in red, which will become the hallmark of the Indian brand. Indian motorcycle production is growing, exceeding 500 motorcycles per year and peaking at 32,000. in 1913.

In 1905, Indian developed its first 1000-cm3 V-Twin two-cylinder racing engine, making the factory team excellent at racing and able to set a number of records. In 1907, the company introduced a stylized racing motorcycle with a “civilian” version of the V-Twin. Also, this motorcycle could be distinguished from the race by the presence of a rotary throttle stick. The engine capacity of the production model was 633 cm ^{3 [1]} .

By the 1911 season, Headstrom had built an improved version of the motorcycle with a four-valve cylinder head. In 1911, at the Tourist Trophy (Isle of Man ), Indian riders Oliver Cyril Godfrey, Franklin and Moorehouse took the entire podium. Indian racing star Jake DeRosier set several speed records in America and England, winning approximately 900 races. He later left Indian and joined the Excelsior team, but in 1913, at the age of 33, he died from injuries sustained in an accident with Charles Balke, who later became the main Indian rider. During the funeral procession with the coffin of DeRossi, all work at the Indian production was suspended.

In 1914, Indian motorcycle production reached 25,000 a year. He was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world ^[1] .

One of the company's most famous racers was Erwin Cannonball Baker, who set many different records. So in 1914 he was able to travel to Indian throughout America, from San Diego to New York in a record time of 11 days, 12 hours and ten minutes. Later, Baker, under the leadership of Charles Gustafson, new chief designer, took part in the design of the Powerplus V-engine, which began to be produced in 1916. Its volume was 1000 cm ³ , the angle of the collapse of the cylinders was 42 degrees. This engine was more powerful (18 hp) and quieter than the previous one, delivering a top speed of 60 mph (96 km / h). Indian Powerplus was very successful, both as a serial engine and as the basis for racing motorcycles. He remained in production with slight modifications until 1924.

In 1916, the company began production of a light motorcycle with a two-stroke engine with a volume of 220 cm ³ model K “Featherweight”. The model was unsuccessful and a year later was replaced by the O model with a two-cylinder boxer lower-valve engine. Model O was produced until 1919.

To expand the company, Handy and Headstrom went for an extended issue of shares, which, however, led to the loss of control over the company. Oscar Headstrom left Indian in 1913 after a disagreement with the Board of Directors. George Handy resigned in 1916 ^[1] .

After the United States entered World War I, most Indian Power Plus motorcycles were shipped to the US government. This led to a reduction in motorcycle sales through dealerships, and therefore Indian lost first place in motorcycle sales to Harley-Davidson .

Interwar years

In 1919, the company began producing the Scout model with a two-cylinder V-shaped lower-valve engine with a volume of 606 cm ³ and a power of 11 hp. Scout had legendary reliability and became one of the most popular Indian models. Its production continued until 1949.

In 1922, the production of the Chief model began, which was an enlarged version of the Scout with an engine of 998 cm ³ . Chief was also very popular, its production continued until 1953 ^[1] .

By the end of the 20s of the XX century, the demand for motorcycles in the USA began to fall. The company tried to diversify production by mastering the manufacture of spare parts for cars and even refrigerators. However, this did not save the situation and during the Great Depression the company went bankrupt and was bought by the representative of the clan of owners of the DuPont company Paul Dupont (E. Paul DuPont) ^[1] .

In 1940, the Indian motorcycles appeared characteristic wings-skirts, covering a significant part of the wheel, and became the basis of the corporate identity of the company.

World War II

In 1940, the company began production of the Army 741 model, which was a combination of a 492 cm ³ engine with a chassis from the Sport Scout. The American army preferred to buy Harley-Davidson motorcycles, so the Indian were mainly supplied by Lend-Lease to the allies. In particular, more than 5,000 units were delivered to the USSR ^[2] .

Post-war decline and bankruptcy

After the war, Dupont lost interest in the company and in 1945 sold it to industrialist Ralph B. Rogers. Under Rogers, Indian stopped production of the Scout model and switched to the 149 Arrow light motorcycles, the Super Scout 249, which appeared in 1949, and the 250 Warrior, which appeared in 1950. In 1947, a side light appeared on the Indiana front wing, known as the "war bonnet" . Classic Indian production was extremely limited, and in 1949 the Chief model was discontinued. In 1953, all production was stopped ^[1] .

Rebirth Attempts

Imported Royal Enfields under the Indian brand

After the bankruptcy in 1953, the rights to the brand were bought by Brockhouse Engineering. From 1955 to 1960, they imported British motorcycles Royal Enfield (Royal Enfield) and after easy tuning sold under the brand name Indian. Almost all Royal Enfield models had matching counterparts in the US market. There were models Indian Chief, Trailblazer, Apache (all three with 700 cc twin engines), Tomahawk (500 cc twin), Woodsman (500 cc single cylinder), Westerner (500 cc single cylinder), Hounds Arrow (250 cc single cylinder), Fire Arrow ( 250 cs single-cylinder), Lance (150 cc 2-stroke) and 3-wheel Patrol Car (350 cc single-cylinder).

In 1960, the Indian brand was bought by the British company AMC. Royal Anfield was their competitor, so they abruptly curtailed sales of all models except Chief. Plans were to sell Matchless and AJS motorcycles under the Indian brand, but in 1962 AMC was liquidated.

Import of Floyd Clymer and Alan Newman, 1963-1977

In the mid-60s of the 20th century, entrepreneur Floyd Clymer started using the Indian brand, apparently without buying it from the previous owner. Under this brand, he began selling motorcycles purchased from Italian Leopoldo Tartarini, owner of . Minarelli 50cc minibikes were sold under the Indian Papoose brand name. They were successful, and Clymer instructed Tartarini to build a full-size motorcycle based on Italjet Griffon with a 750 cc engine from Royal Enfield Interceptor.

Further development was the Indian Velo 500 with Velocette engine, Italian gearbox, Italjet lightweight frame, Marzocchi front fork with Grimeca hubs, Borrani aluminum rims and a quick-detachable seat and tank, which made it easier for the 20 kg bike. However, the death of Klaymer in 1970 interrupted this work ^[1] . 200 cars were shipped to the United States, another 50 remained in Italy and were bought by London-based Velocette dealer Geoff Dodkin. After the test, the British Motorcycle Sport magazine described them as "British engineering and Italian design in one bottle designed for the American market" and that Dodkin would like to equip these motorcycles with either a standard Venom engine or the more expensive Thruxton.

After Klaymer died in 1970, his widow sold the Indiana brand to Los Angeles lawyer Alan Newman, who continued to import Italjet motorcycles and later built an assembly plant in Taiwan. Several models were produced with engines from 50 to 175 cc, mainly two-stroke firms Italjet and Franco Morini.

In 1974, Newman decided to revive the production of Indian-900 heavy motorcycles with an 860cc Ducatti engine and commissioned Tartarini to make a prototype. The project was unsuccessful. It didn’t go beyond the prototype.

By 1975, Newman's sales began to decline, and in January 1977 he went bankrupt.

Further Attempts, 1977-1999

After that, the rights to use the brand were in the hands of several owners and became the subject of lawsuits in the 1980s. By 1992, brand rights were transferred to Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Co. Inc., led by Philip S. Zanghi.

In June 1994, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Indian Motocycle Manufacturing President Wayne Baughman introduced and tested the prototype Indian Century V-Twin Chief. Following Bowman's previous statements about building motorcycles, this was the first running instance.

However, neither Zangi nor Bowman did not start mass production of motorcycles. In August 1997, Zangi was convicted of securities fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering.

In January 1998, title to the Indian brand passed to Eller Industries. Eller Industries commissioned Roush Industries to develop a motorcycle engine and was in talks with the Umpqua Indian tribe to build a plant on their land. Three images of motorcycles (cruiser, sport cruiser and sport bike), made by designer James Parker, were shown to the press in February 1998.

Eller Industries scheduled a public presentation of the prototype of the cruiser in November 1998, but the show was disrupted by the recipient, who accused Eller of default. The contract was terminated after the company did not meet the deadline, and could not agree with the recipient on the extension of the term. Other conditions, including administrative fees and the presentation of a working prototype, were also not met by Eller Industries. Based on this, the Federal Arbitration Court in Denver, Colorado, decided to sell the brand to IMCOA Licensing America Inc. in December 1998.

Indian Motorcycle Company of America (1999–2003)

In 1999, Indian Motorcycle Company of America, an Indian motorcycle restoration company, was transferred to the Indian Court by federal court. In the same year, motorcycle production began at the facilities of the former CMC factory in Gilroy, California. The first model was the Indian Chief with a 1442 cm³ engine, transmission to the rear wheel with a timing belt and an Indian-style design from the 40s ^[1] . In 2001, the Scout and Spirit models appeared. Since 2002, Powerplus engines with a capacity of 100 cubic meters began to be installed. inches (1600 cm³). In 2003, the company went bankrupt.

Indian Motorcycle Company (2006-2011)

On July 20, 2006, a new Indian motorcycle factory was opened at , owned by London- based Stellican Limited. The factory produced limited-edition Stellican Indian Chief motorcycles with a 1720 cm³ V-shaped engine, based on the design of the 1999 model. In 2009, Indian Chief received a modernized Powerplus engine with a capacity of 105 cc. inches (1720 cm³) with electronic fuel injection.

Acquisition by Polaris (since 2011)

In 2011, Indian Motorcycles was acquired by Polaris Industries. Production was moved to Spirit Lake, Iowa, and began on August 5, 2011. In August 2013, three new motorcycle models were released, differing mainly in design: Indian Chief Classic, Indian Chief Vintage and Indian Chieftain.

• New Zealander Bert Monroe, after many years of modernization of the Scout in 1920, set world speed records (in the corresponding classes) in 1962 and 1967. The 2005 feature film, The Fastest Indian, is dedicated to these events.

• Company official website
• Indian catalog