The Indian Motorcycle Company was one of Americans first motorcycle companies, beginning in 1901 under the name of The Hendee Manufacturing Company, and at one point becoming one of the world’s bestselling motorcycle companies. The name was later changed to Indian Motorcycles in 1928.
Unfortunately, due to an increase in competition by companies such as Harley-Davidson and imports, the company went into decline in the late 40s. After World War II Indian experienced an additional decline in quality thanks to poor management decisions, and the company was forced to close its doors in 1953.
The Beginning of Indian Motorcycles
Based in Springfield, Massachusetts, Indian Motorcycles was founded in 1901 by George Hendee and Ocsar Hedstrom under the name The Hendee Manufacturing Company. Like most manufactures at that time, the motorcycles were basically bicycles with small engines on them. The first motorcycle had a small 1.75 bhp single cylinder engine, which was officially sold to the public in 1902.
Hendee’s motorcycles were an instant success and it was during the early 1900s that sales boomed to the U.S. market as well as throughout the world, peaking in 1913 with 32,000 sales worldwide.
In 1920 Indian released the Scout, designed by Charles Franklin, with a 600cc engine. Throughout the 1920s the company released and improved upon the Indian Scout, upgrading to a 750cc version in 1928. The Scout, according to an article by Randal Montgomery, could be regarded as “Indian's best handling if not best-ever motorcycle.” Also in 1922 Indian released the Chief, a larger V-twin with a 1,000cc engine, later enlarged to 1,200ccs.
In 1927 Indian purchased the Ace Motor Company and released the Indian Ace, boasting an inline four cylinder engine. The Ace was renamed the 401, then finally named the Indian Four before being discontinued in 1942. In 1932 Indian merged with DuPont Motors. Thanks to DuPont, for the right price, Indian Motorcycles could be purchased in a variety of colors, although it was most common to see them in the red tones most are familiar with.
World War II
Like other motorcycle companies during the time, Indian made versions of its motorcycles for military use. The company sold a version of the Scout called the 640, as well as a sidecar version of the Chief. The motorcycles were sold not just to the U.S. military, but to the Canadian and European allies as well.
After the war, returning soldiers had money to spend and a penchant for action. Both Harley and Indian received a boost in sales from soldiers buying and customizing cruisers and racers. The boost to Indian was short lived though, and sales quickly began to decline in the late 40s and early 50s
The Decline of Indian Motorcycles
Unlike many companies who made money during the war, Indian did not come out of the war with a huge profit from its military contracts. Even with a brief bump in sales by returning soldiers, Indian struggled within the market.
The company was sold to Ralph Rogers, who spent a large amount of his own money to update the motorcycles in the company’s lineup. Unfortunately, the company rushed many of the revised models into production without spending the necessary time to work out any quality issues. Quality on the new lineup of motorcycles was poor and they developed a valid reputation for breaking down.
British manufactures like Triumph and Norton were importing light and fast motorcycles to win the market for racers, while Harley-Davidson had a strong grasp on the American market for custom choppers and cruisers. The company eventually went bankrupt and closed its doors in 1953.
The Revival of Indian
Multiple companies and people attempted to purchase the rights to Indian throughout the years since 1953. The first was Brockhouse Engineering, which released the Indian Brave, another poorly designed and unsuccessful motorcycle. In 1959 Brockhouse was bought by AMC, which went into liquidation only a few years later.
After AMC was sold off, Floyd Claymer began using the Indian name on a 50cc bike, without having rights to use the trademark. After Floyd’s death a lawyer named Alan Newman continued to import the small motorcycles made by ItalJet under the Indian name, according to an article by Dawn Martin. The company went bankrupt in 1977 and the name was passed around to a succession of companies claiming ownership.
A merged company eventually was awarded the trademark in 1998 by the courts, and the Indian Motorcycle Company of America was officially reborn. The first modern motorcycle was released in 1999 as the Chief, and later a Scout and Spirit were also released. As with previous attempts, once again, the company went bankrupt in 2003.
In 2004, Stephen Julius and Steve Heese began obtaining property and trademark rights to the company, officially forming in 2006. The new Chief, under the latest owners, began production in 2008 with the first motorcycle rolling off the production line later that same year. Instead of focusing on mass production, the new company focused on releasing a small number of high-quality motorcycles. The motorcycles utilized the same model designs as the previous owners until 2009 when the newly redesigned 1,720cc India Chief was released.
The Indian Motorcycle Company of America, now based out of North Carolina, has five versions of its Chief available. The engines feature a 105-cubic-inch PowerPlus engine with electronic fuel injection and powerful 1,720cc engines, available at 23 dealerships in the U.S. and Canada. It appears that Indian might be here to stay this time around.
Milo Denison - Milo is a photographer and writer with an expertise in photography and a passion for classic motorcycles.
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