Indian Motorcycles

About indian

Indian is an American brand of motorcycles.

The "Indian Motocycle Co." was originally 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", very quickly reduced to simply "Indian", was adopted by Hendee from 1898 onwards because it gave better product recognition in export markets.

Indian motorcycles were manufactured from 1901 to 1953 by a company in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, initially known as the Hendee Manufacturing Company but which was renamed the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company in 1928.

In 1901, a prototype and two production units of the diamond framed Indian Single were successfully designed, built and tested. The first Indian motorcycles, featuring chain drives and streamlined styling, were sold to the public in 1902. In 1903, Indian's co-founder and chief engineer Oscar Hedstrom set the world motorcycle speed record (56 mph).

The Indian factory team took the first three places in the 1911 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. During the 1910s Indian became the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world.

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 member and 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 K was manufactured for one year and was replaced in 1917 by the Model O. The Model O had a four-stroke flat-twin engine and a new frame, but retained the pivoting fork at the front. The Model O was manufactured until 1919.

Indian's most popular models were the Scout, made from 1920 to 1946, and the Chief, made from 1922 to 1953.

The Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company went bankrupt in 1953. A number of successor organizations have perpetuated the name in subsequent years, with limited success. In 2011 Polaris Industries purchased Indian Motorcycles and relocated operations from North Carolina, merging them into existing facilities in Minnesota and Iowa. Since August of 2013, three motorcycle models that capitalize on Indian's traditional styling have been built under the Indian name.

Moto blog

Indian introduces new PowerPlus engine

The apparatus with a 60-degree camber of the cylinder block can hardly be called the “little brother” of the 1811cc Thunder Stroke 111 engine - its capacity is 1769cc, but in terms of design solutions, the motors are fundamentally different. Let's start with the fact that, according to the manufacturer, the new engine is the most powerful in its class - it develops 121hp at 5500rpm and 178 Nm at 3800 rpm. PowerPlus, like the Scout motor, has an overhead camshaft, is equipped with four valves per cylinder and hydraulic compensators, eliminating the need to adjust clearances, the cooling is liquid.

2020 Indian Challenger Review – First Ride

Is it the Ultimate American Bagger? Credit: Photos by Barry Hathaway and John Burns What exactly the hell is the meaning of this, letting a 30-year old kid be the Powertrain Project Engineer for an all-new bagger? What could a callow youth who roadraces a 15-year old GSX-R600 and rides a Tuono on the street, possibly know about the bagger mentality?

Indian PowerPlus is Here

What’s old is new again in the American V-twin wars. The original Indian PowerPlus ran from 1916 to 1924. The new PowerPlus isn’t a bike at all; it’s an engine – an all-new 108-cubic inch (1769 cc) liquid-cooled 60-degree V-twin, and it’ll be powering a new fixed-fairing bagger called Challenger, “the highest-performing American V-twin ever developed,” says Indian.

2020 Indian Roadmaster Dark Horse Review – First Ride

The new American V-Twin muscle champ Credit: Photos by Barry Hathaway, Indian & Eric Putter Indian rolled into the octagon with a newly pumped-up Thunder Stroke 116 powerplant that threw down 126 lb-ft of torque, riding off with the 2020 Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (MMA) American V-Twin Muscle Grudge Match. In this piston-swinging, bigger-is-better cage match – which has become an intrastate contest of competing claims – the freshly minted 1890cc Thunder Stroke engine bested Harley-Davidson’s 1917cc Milwaukee-Eight 117 by a single foot-pound of torque. Talk about one-upmanship!

Indian has registered a new name

What lies behind the promising Challenger name? The Challenger evokes strong associations with the Dodge muscle car but obviously the world will have to expand its consciousness for the foreseeable future - apparently, Indian is preparing a motorcycle of the same name. This is indicated by a patent dated March 27.

Indian recalls 'rebel' motorcycles

3,341 bikes fell under the service action. The New World has announced a recall of Indians released from October 25, 2016 to November 17, 2017. The problem is that the switch is corroded, which can cause the engine to start unintentionally if the key fob is close to the motorcycle.

Indian 2018: arrows and tomahawks

The American brand has introduced a line of bikes for the new model year. The main model lines have innovations of various kinds. The most popular upgrade is a revised color scheme that refreshes the look of the motorcycles.

The Indian turned to the origins

Indian Motorcycle has unveiled the latest addition to its cruiser line-up. The Springfield is built on the new Chief platform with an 1811cc Thunder Stroke 111 V-twin. The bike can be easily converted from a touring to city cruiser.

Indian Scout

Jeb Skolman is the designer who brought the original custom project to life to honor the birth of the new Thunder Stroke 111 engine from Indian Co. He revealed his new work to the world that is called "Black Bullet". Jeb took the Indian Scout engine and put it in a dry frame.

Polaris Slingshot Production Begins

Polaris has begun full production of its new Slingshot three-wheeler at the company’s manufacturing facility in Spirit Lake, Iowa. 2015 Polaris Slingshot Review – First Ride/Drive + Video “We continue to introduce new, innovative products and technologies that create opportunities for growth here and around the world. Today, we are excited to celebrate the revolutionary 3-wheel, Polaris Slingshot into full production here in Spirit Lake,” says Bennett Morgan, President and Chief Operating Officer of Polaris.