The American motorcycle brand Indian was born in the town of Springfield (Massachusetts) and was founded by George Hendee and Oscar Hedstrom. The company was established in 1901, just two years before one of its greatest competitors: Harley-Davidson.
George Hendee was a U.S. champion motorcycle racer, and Hedstrom was an important engineer. He was the one who designed the first Indian motorcycle prototype. In the year of its founding, two versions of this prototype were marketed, but the first true Indian was the 1904 Single model, which featured the brand’s iconic classic red colour.
But that wasn’t the end of it — the company decided to go even further. In 1906, Indian built the first racing motorcycle equipped with a powerful V-twin engine. Thanks to a long list of victories and records, the company grew rapidly and increased its motorcycle sales across the United States.
By 1916, before the country entered World War I, the brand had already sold around 35,000 motorcycles. It was a time when motorcycling was expanding, and Indian managed to reach a market share of over 40% while competing against 20 other manufacturers. Once the war period began, production shifted towards supplying the U.S. military, significantly reducing retail sales.
To recover after the war, the brand launched its first Indian Scout in the early 1920s, as well as the Chief (1922), the Big Chief (1923), the Prince (1925), and after purchasing the manufacturer Ace Motor Corporation, the Ace also emerged (1927).
Such was the success of its flagship model that the company decided to change its name from The Hendee Manufacturing Company to The Indian Motorcycle Company.
Not only that — its success was so great that, alongside Harley-Davidson, it was one of the only two motorcycle manufacturers that survived the Great Depression. However, years later, the company could not withstand the severe financial blows of that period and ultimately closed in 1953.
In the decades that followed, several companies acquired the trademark and sold their own versions of Indian Motorcycle. But it wasn’t until 2011 that Polaris Industries purchased the company, triggering its greatest resurgence.
Today, Indian Motorcycle offers around a dozen contemporary models, some of them based on classic designs and others blended with a more modern style.
