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- Indian Motorcycle (or Indian) is an American brand of motorcycles owned and produced by American automotive manufacturer Polaris Inc.
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Indian Motorcycle is a legendary brand of motorcycles manufactured in Spirit Lake, Iowa. Explore the lineup of bikes, offers, parts, accessories, clothing, gear and history of the company.
- Lineup
Starting at $35,499 US MSRP. The new 2024 & 2025 Indian...
- Accessories
Shop a variety of motorcycle windshields and windscreens by...
- Ride Command
Use the Indian Motorcycle App to create a Group Ride and see...
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We would like to ...
- Indian Motorcycle Riders
When it comes to Indian Motorcycle, 1901 is a number with...
- Sport Chief
Sport Chief is the ultimate performance cruiser in the...
- History
Visitors are also able to view a short video tour of the...
- Scout Sixty
A bike with iconic style and an agile feel that’s easy to...
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Founded in 1901, Indian Motorcycle is an American brand of...
- Lineup
Learn about the history, vision and achievements of Indian Motorcycle, the brand that started in 1901 and became the first motorcycle company in America. Discover how Indian Motorcycle challenges itself to be the driving force in creating what's next for motorcycling and celebrates the passion of its riders and innovators.
- Early Years – Hendee and Hedstrom
- Lightweights 1916–1919
- World War I
- Inter-War Era
- World War II
- Post-War Decline and Demise
- Corporate Successors
The "Indian Motocycle Co." was founded as the Hendee Manufacturing Company by George M. Hendee in 1897 to manufacture bicycles. These were initially badged as "Silver King" and "Silver Queen" brands but the name "American Indian", quickly shortened to just "Indian", was adopted by Hendee from 1898 onwards because it gave better product recognition ...
Indian introduced the 221 cc single cylinder two-stroke Model K "Featherweight" in 1916. The Model K had an open cradle frame with the engine as a stressed memberand a pivoting front fork that had been used earlier on single-cylinder motorcycles but had mostly been replaced on other Indian motorcycles by a leaf-sprung trailing link fork. The Model ...
As the US entered World War I, Indian sold most of its Powerplus line in 1917 and 1918 to the United States government, starving its network of dealers. This blow to domestic availability of the motorcycles led to a loss of dealers from which Indian never quite recovered. While the motorcycles were popular in the military, post-war demand was then ...
The Scout and Chief V-twins, introduced in the early 1920s, became the Springfield firm's most successful models. Designed by Charles Franklin, the middleweight Scout and larger Chief shared a 42-degree V-twin enginelayout. Both models gained a reputation for strength and reliability. In 1930, Indian merged with Du Pont Motors. DuPont Motors founde...
During World War II, Chiefs, Scouts, and Junior Scouts were used in small numbers for various purposes by the United States Army and were also used extensively by British and other Commonwealth military services, under Lend Lease programs. However, none of these Indian models could unseat the Harley-Davidson WLAas the motorcycle mainly used by the ...
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 Indian over to Rogers. Under Rogers' control, Indian resumed production with only one model, the Chief, for 1946 and ‘47. 1947 was also the year the Indian-head fender light, also known as the "wa...
Brockhouse Engineering
As Rogers liquidated Indian in 1953, Brockhouse Engineering acquired the rights to the Indian name. The Indian Sales Corp continued to support the rebranded Papoose Scooter (which would cease production in 1954) and the Brave, a European-styled 125 cc lightweight bike. All other models were abandoned after reducing inventory. The Brave had been designed prior to the acquisition, and produced by an English subsidiary owned by Brockhouse. Indian had imported these outsourced models since 1951,...
Associated Motor Cycles
In 1960, the Indian name was bought by AMC of the UK. Royal Enfield being their competition, they abruptly stopped all Enfield-based Indian models except the 700 cc Chief. In 1962 AMC, facing financial issues, withdrew from all marketing of the Indian Brand name, as the company chose to focus exclusively on their Norton and MatchlessBrands.
Floyd Clymer
From the 1960s, entrepreneur Floyd Clymer began using the Indian name. He attached it to imported motorcycles, commissioned to Italian ex-pilot and engineer Leopoldo Tartarini, owner of Italjet Moto, to manufacture Minarelli-engined 50 cc minibikes under the Indian Papoose name. These were successful so Clymer commissioned Tartarini to build full-size Indian motorcycles based on the Italjet Griffon design, fitted with Royal Enfield Interceptor750 cc parallel-twin engines. A further developmen...
Apr 18, 2014 · Learn about the rich history of Indian Motorcycle, an iconic American brand that dates back to 1901 and has a rebirth under Polaris Industries. From its V-Twin engines to its racing achievements, from its design innovations to its controversies, this article covers the highlights and milestones of Indian's history.
- Kevin Duke
Feb 17, 2024 · Learn how the first American motorcycle company started in 1897 and went through several ups and downs before being acquired by Polaris Industries in 2011. Find out where Indian motorcycles are made today and who owns the brand now.
By Bradley Adams. Indian Motorcycle Reborn. From an Isle of Man TT winner to fire-breathing boardtrack racers, the wartime Scout and Chief, and even an elegant four-cylinder model, the Indian...
