[bmw_lover]

Ever since i can remember, i have always been a car guy. I have absolutely no knowledge, interest or curiosity in bikes. I am a complete Bimbo when it comes to 2 wheels. Not that i am very knowledgeable about cars but at least i can differentiate between different brands and their models with ease. When it comes to bikes i can't even guess their makes. Today i was browsing through BBT website for my next potential babe. I suddenly came across brand new bikes posted which suddenly invoked my interest. They were not regular bikes or even super-bikes. In a league of their own, they had a very distinct flair to them. They came across more as an art form rather than just some expensive set of wheels. It was the same sort of flair that a Koenigsegg One:1, Ford GT 40 or Bugatti Type 57 would possess. Classy even when stationary. A complete and only car person got hooked on to those bikes for the first time in his life and more i enlarged the attached images of every model, more they got me inclined to buy my first bike. Love at first sight.

As i realised that these are something that would suit my image and my garage, i noticed the make - Indian. Pretty damn amazing. Would be easy to buy and maintain. Maybe cheap too, at least affordable. But wait, what? An Indian company makes these wonderful things and i don't know about them? How could they escape my radar for 3 decades? Must be a new start-up, he-he. May be 2 or 3 years old, but they really developed a great product huh? Why no showrooms then? Why BBT? Some new business model?

Again i saw those images more closely. The make quality was top-notch and bikes were standing on something that looked more like international shipping type packaging. It just got me more confused. An Indian product imported from abroad? Doesn't make any sense. A quick Google effort revealed all the truth in plain sight. The company Indian is actually American. Ooohhh!! Now the price seemed justified. But really what amazing models they are. I am still swooning over them as i am typing. I was a car person and now i am an Indian person. Absolutely love them and trust me by the end of this year i am going to learn to ride a bike just so that i could purchase one of them. I have added this to the top of my bucket list.

I write this thread today because i am pretty sure many of us here would have not known about these beauties till now. And they sure are worth a mention here. Also i never came across any discussion on these bikes in this forum in my history of over 10 years with Team-bhp. The thread What motorcycles do you wish to be launched in India? started by D-Bhpian Sheel does not have any mention by any member. No mention in any auto magazines as well. How could they escape from everyone's radar for so long? I am sure it will make a very interesting read.

Indian is an American brand of motorcycles originally produced from 1901 to 1953 in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1897. These were initially badged as "American Indian" which quickly shortened to just "Indian". In 1903, Indian's co-founder and chief engineer Oscar Hedstrom set the world motorcycle speed record of 56 mph. In 1904 the company introduced the deep red color that would become Indian's trademark. During the 1910s, Indian became the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world. They specialise in heavy-weight motorcycles. The engines of the Indian Single were built by the Aurora Firm in Illinois under license from the Hendee Mfg. Co. until 1906. Since then Indian makes its own engines. 1953 is when the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Co. went bankrupt.

As US entered WWI, Indian sold most of its line in 1917 and 1918 to the US 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 taken up by other manufacturers to whom many of the previously loyal Indian dealers turned. This is when Indian lost its NO. 1 position in the US Harley-Davidson.

In 1930, Indian merged with Du Pont Motors who ceased production of DuPont automobiles and concentrated the company's resources on Indian. DuPont's paint industry connections resulted in no fewer than 24 color options in 1934. Models of that era had Indian's famous war bonnet logo on the gas tank.


Some earlier models:
The first prototype


Indian 402


Indian Chief Black Hawk


Indian Dispatch Tow


Indian Scout


Brockhouse Engineering acquired the rights to the Indian name after Indian went under in 1953. After this from 1955 - 1960, they imported English Royal Enfield motorcycles, mildly customized them in the United States, and sold them as Indians. Almost all Royal Enfield models had a corresponding Indian model in the US.

The brand went through multiple owners after this ranging from entrepreneur Floyd Clymer (63-77) to Eller Industries(1998). Between this period the right to the brand name passed through a succession of owners and became a subject of competing claims as well in the 1980s.

In 2011, Polaris Industries purchased Indian Motorcycles. Polaris has marketed multiple modern Indian motorcycles with Indian's traditional styling. In March 2013, Indian unveiled their new 111 cubic inches (1.82 l) "Thunder Stroke" engine, and began to sell their newly designed motorcycles based on it in August 2013. The Thunder Stroke 111 V-twin engine has a triple-cam design with a chain-driven center cam turning front and rear cams via gears, permitting parallel placement of the push rods to give a similar appearance to older Indian designs. It is air cooled, with large traditional fins and an air box in the cast aluminum frame. The integrated transmission is also gear-driven.

Now enough of the boring stuff. Let's see what got me hooked on to them and forget the famed HD.

Chief Classic
The standard Chief Classic has the valanced fenders and the lighted "war bonnet" on the front fender. Cruise control, anti-lock braking system, key-less starting, and electronic fuel injection are standard on this and all other models. It has a six-speed transmission and manually-adjustable single-shock swing-arm. They might have discontinued it as the company website doesn't have any information but BBT does have one. The bike seems to have music system too as i can see speakers behind the handle bars.



Chief Vintage
A derivative of the Chief Classic. May be like editions in cars. It shares the chassis, drivetrain, and styling of the Classic, and adds tan leather quick-release saddlebags, matching tan leather two-up seat, additional chrome trim, quick-release windshield, and a six-speed transmission.




Chieftain
Again finds no mention on the company website. But i think it was a very important model for the company as it had several iterations the classic, elite and the limited. This touring motorcycle is the first Indian model with front fairing and hard saddlebags. It has a stereo with speakers, Bluetooth media players, tyre pressure sensors, air-adjustable rear shock, and motorized windshield adjustment. The Chieftain was also named 2013 Motorcycle of the Year by Road Runner Motorcycle Touring & Travel magazine.

showing you the chieftain elite


now the chieftain limited



Indian Scout
Seems to me the most important model from the current line up. The Indian Scout was introduced at the 2014 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally as a 2015 model. The 2015 Scout is a cruiser with a 1,133 cc (69.1 cu in) liquid-cooled, double overhead camshaft V-twin engine and a frame formed by multiple aluminum alloy castings bolted to each other and to the engine. The Indian Scout was named 2015 Motorcycle of the year by Motorcycle.com. The editions are named Scout 60, Bobber, Bobber 20. Very stylish. Could be their entry level model raking up the volumes like HD's street 750 it is i suppose.



Roadmaster
A touring class of motorcycle like the Honda goldwing. The Roadmaster is a Chieftain with an added trunk, front fairing lowers, heated seats, heated grips, LED headlights, passenger floorboards, and a rear crash bar.





Dark Horse
They have a category called Dark Horse. It seems like a special edition of every other model. They have suffixed this name after Roadmaster, Springfield, Chief and Chieftain. Someone with knowledge might be able to throw light on this.

Chief Dark Horse

Chieftain Dark horse

Roadmaster Dark Horse


FTR1200
A sports bike?


Aren't they lovely. I wonder what will be the weight of these bikes. Maybe comparable to the Maruti 800. These will certainly garner more attention than 7 series. May be comparable to the Boxster or Z4. The price also seems comparable to other superbikes as per BBT website. I think these are the only bikes which can dethrone the HD from their top position.

As i was searching for more information, it seems that these are available in India through regular dealers as well (indianmotorcycles.in) brought here by the parent company Polaris. But then why is BBT importing them brand new from US?

For American BHPians - these bikes are also available for rentals from the company itself. They also have rider's groups just like HD. The company hosts several events through the year.

Youtube links if you want to check out their factory floor

Link 1

Link 2

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Big Bikes Section. Thanks for sharing!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by bmw_lover

.
I write this thread today because i am pretty sure many of us here would have not known about these beauties till now. And they sure are worth a mention here. Also i never came across any discussion on these bikes in this forum in my history of over 10 years with Team-bhp. The thread What motorcycles do you wish to be launched in India? started by D-Bhpian Sheel does not have any mention by any member. No mention in any auto magazines as well. How could they escape from everyone's radar for so long?

Before we start riding - almost all of us dream about sportsbikes or cruisers - because they look class. No doubt on that front - I'd surprised if anyone had kept wallpapers of a BMW GS on their desktop, as against the much more popular Panigale and Harleys of the world.

But if you see that thread - most people prefer naked bikes or adventure bikes in reality. Because they are extremely practical for our riding conditions. Even Harley hasn't found a mention there. Anyways!

From whatever I've heard - Indian sure does deserve more attention than Harley in the market, but Harley has established themselves with the first mover advantage and also the typical US origin branding. In a way, 'Indian' bikes are more beautiful and have more character than Harley Davidson. Indian Scout (matte black), for example, is a beautiful machine and I love it.

However, 'Indian' is not the first that comes to anybody's mind when speaking of US cruiser motorcycles. Cant really blame the Indian market.

After all, 'Indian' wouldn't have been born in the US if Columbus hadn't made the mistake either.

[AirbusCapt]

I recollect riding an Indian scout for a longish 200 odd kms on the Hyderabad Bangalore highway a few years back. A couple of things about the bike. Firstly the positives: as mentioned, very good build quality, fit and finish. A nice 100 bhp twin cylinder engine, leading to a healthy performance until 120 kmph, post which the upright, chest out seating makes your body a brick wall, so much so that your feet are in danger of flying backwards from the front set pegs. A windscreen is mandatory. Now for the not so nice bits: engine not built for India, in December with OAT hovering in the mid 20s, the engine overheat light came up several times @90 kmph in top gear. Ritual involved was pulling over, waiting 10 mins to cool down and then proceed, shameful on a liquid cooled engine. Second, significant vibrations on the foot pegs and seat area at around 120kmph, spoiled the entire riding experience. Third:, it's personal, but for a 6 foot frame the handle bar, footpeg, seat combination makes one sit like a bent-over ape, highly uncomfortable.

[Haroon]

Originally Posted by bmw_lover

Ever since i can remember, i have always been a car guy. I have absolutely no knowledge, interest or curiosity in bikes. I am a complete Bimbo when it comes to 2 wheels. Not that i am very knowledgeable about cars but at least i can differentiate between different brands and their models with ease. When it comes to bikes i can't even guess their makes. Today i was browsing through BBT website for my next potential babe. I suddenly came across brand new bikes posted which suddenly

Since you have taken a liking for Indian, I would also urge you to watch the movie "Worlds Fastest Indian" made on the life of the legend Burt Munro. Its a movie that can be watched multiple times!

As for the Indian brand, due to its roller coaster ownership/bankruptcy ride of the past, today it is no where close to the HD & HOG market, although both are premium lifestyle products from USA and IMPO the Indian's fit, finish & handling is a notch higher than HD. Couple of years back I had test ridden a Chieftain (with the Thunderstroke performance exhaust) and it definitely rode, handled & sounded better than the HD Roadking, but engine heat on my legs was a real concern.

But ownership in India will have a few major shortfalls. Besides, the high entry price to that Club, Parts and accessories are all priced at a super premium, engine heat to the legs is surely a concern, but the biggest issue is the low ground clearance (coupled with long wheelbase on the touring models) which will see you scrapping under body metal parts over the smallest of road humps and other ups and downs on our Indian roads. Also careful maneuvering is required in the narrow bike lanes of toll gates with the bigger touring models to avoid scratching the sides of the shiny panniers.