Indian motorcycle 9

 

Indian Motorcycle, one of the oldest motorcycle manufacturers in the world, is based in Springfield, Massachusetts (USA). The company was founded in 1901 by George Hendee and Carl Oscar Hedstrom. In 1897, George Hendee founded a bicycle production company called the Hendee Manufacturing Company. The bicycles carried names such as the Silver King, Silver Queen and American Indian. However, the name was shortened to simply ‘Indian’ and this became Hendee’s primary brand name.

In 1901, George Hendee hired Oscar Hedstrom to build gasoline engine-powered bikes to pace bicycle races. The machine he created, called 1901 Single was powered by a 1.75 horsepower engine. It proved to be powerful and reliable, establishing the company’s reputation for outstanding performance. Later that year the company’s first factory was established in downtown Springfield.

The first Indian bike was sold to a retail customer in 1902 and later that year, an Indian Motorcycle won an endurance race from Boston to New York City in its public racing debut. Racers went on to win events and establish records riding Indian Motorcycles: In 1903, Hedstrom himself rode one of his motorcycles to a new world speed record of 56 mph and won an endurance race from New York City to Springfield and back. Later in 1906, George Holden and Louis J. Mueller rode an Indian Motorcycle from San Francisco to New York City in a record-breaking 31 days without any mechanical failures. The following year, American rider T.K. Hastings rode an Indian Motorcycle to victory in a 1,000-mile reliability trial in England.

In 1906, the first V-twin factory race bike was built. A version of the racing engine was introduced in consumer models for the 1907 model year, making Indian’s 633cc, 42-degree V-twin the first American V-twin production motorcycle engine. By the time 1914 came, the Indian production facility in Springfield had over 3,000 employees and the company was forced to stop its racing activities in order to support the American war effort by supplying the army with 41,000 vehicles.

The early 1920s were crucial years in the rise of Indian bike as several iconic motorcycles were introduced to the public during the decade. In 1920, the company released the first Indian Scout. This fast, reliable and manoeuvrable bike enticed many people to start riding. This was followed by the Chief (1922), the best-selling Big Chief (1923), the Prince (1925), and, following the purchase of Ace Motor Corporation, the Ace (1927).

Indian bike introduced its legendary 750cc V-twin engine in 1927. This larger version of the Scout engine would go on to be seen as one of the best engines Indian Motorcycle ever built.

Indian two wheeler, throughout its glorious history, underwent numerous changes of ownership due to its bankruptcy in the early stages. However, despite several failed attempts, things took a turn when the brand was purchased by Polaris Industries in 2011. This resulted in the operations of Indian two wheeler being shifted to Polaris’ existing Minnesota and Iowa facilities.

In 2013, Polaris India Private Limited, the company that had already established a name in India for its rugged off-road vehicles, announced its plan to launch the Indian Motorcycle brand in India. Thus, in 2014, Polaris launched the brand in India and the first Indian bike models offered were the Chief Classic, Chief Vintage and the Chieftain. The bikes were brought as CBUs and were built around Indian’s new Thunder Stroke 111 engine.

Indian Motorcycles opened its first dealership in Gurugram followed by the second facility in Bengaluru. As of 2018, the brand has more than 10 dealerships across the country.

The range of Indian Motorcycles in India consists of the Scout, Scout Sixty, Scout Bobber, Chief Dark Horse, Chief Classic, Chief Vintage, Springfield, Chieftain, Chieftain Dark Horse, Roadmaster, Roadmaster Classic and the Roadmaster Elite which form the company’s 2018 product line-up.

Indian bike prices in India start at around ₹11.1 lakhs for the 2018 Scout Sixty and go up to ₹48 lakhs for the 2018 Roadmaster Elite. All Indian bike price listings can be found on the website of autoX.