This weekend a new Indian will be born

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Almost everyone knows that 100 years ago, Ford was making the most cars in the world, but few now know what manufacturer was making the most motorcycles. The answer to this trivia question is Indian, in Springfield, Massachusetts, who cranked out a record 32,000 units in 1913. Founded in 1901 (the year before Harley-Davidson), Indian is also the answer to the question "Who invented the v-twin motorcycle engine?", building their first in 1905 for racing, not for the street. In its heyday, the first few decades of the 20th century, Indian was arguably the most famous name in motorcycles, as well as one of the most successful in racing.
   When the US finally entered WWI, Indian very unwisely committed the majority of its production to the US government, leaving very little for its large dealer network to sell, and many dropped the Indian line. Although Indian did well in the '20s, it could have done much better, and soon Harley-Davidson ascended to the top-selling spot.
   In one of the strangest corporate marriages on record, in 1930 Indian merged with Du Pont Motors, a tiny Delaware-based manufacturer/assembler of very pricey, high-end automobiles (in its 13-year history Du Pont produced only around 600 cars). Car production was abandoned and company resources focused on the bikes, pulling Indian through the following rough decade; in 1940, Indian came close to matching rival Harley in sales.
   Indian's smaller postwar bikes were poorly received and by 1953, the doors were shuttered on the original company. In the ensuing years, no less than nine different firms have sold motorcycles bearing the Indian name, including Floyd Clymer. Until 2011, Indians were produced in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, as low-production and expensive "boutique" bikes.
   The latest owner of the Indian name is Polaris Industries (the maker of  snowmobiles, ATVs, and Victory brand motorcycles), who moved production to Spirit Lake, Iowa, in 2011. The company unveiled its new clean-sheet v-twin 111 cubic inch engine (the Thunder Stroke 111) last year. And taking a page from the Apple playbook, Indian has not released detailed images of the 2014 Indian Chief carrying the all-new engine, at a much more attractive price point. The new bike will be unveiled at the well-known Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in North Dakota on August 3. After so many failed attempts to revive the marque, only time will tell whether Polaris will be able to return Indian to anything like its former glory but the fancy "Chief" fender ornament probably won't hurt their chances!
(text Gregory Wells)   

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