Indian Motorcycle made their debut in our country with the Chief range and we spend a day aboard the Chief Classic
As a motorcycle enthusiast, one always gets excited, when a new motorcycle manufacturer enters our market and I was no different. Ever since the news broke out that Indian Motorcycles were planning to land on our shores with the iconic Chief range, I started day dreaming of getting a chance to ride it. Well my opportunity came sooner than I expected but more on it later. Not many motorcycle enthusiasts will be familiar with the brand Indian Motorcycles and most of those who do will know it because of the movie “The Fastest Indian”. No doubt the movie inspired by Burt Munro was a breathtaking one, still, limiting the Indian brand just to the movie will be sacrilege as the company boasts of a rich history and legacy that is beyond the movie. Let’s wind the clock back to more than a century, to 1901; when Indian Motorcycles became the first American motorcycle manufacturer.
Initially the company was christened Hendee Manufacturing Company but it was renamed the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company in 1928. In 1910’s the Indians were among the fastest motorcycles of that era and also set various land speed records in USA and UK. In fact, at the 1911 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, riders on Indian finished in the top-three places and it was the largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world in 1920’s. The Chief, the latest iteration which we rode was introduced in 1922 with a 1,000cc Powerplus engine and the trademark skirted fenders made their debut in 1940. The production of the bike seized in 1953, when the company went bankrupt as it never recovered post World War II. A number of organisations tried to resurrect the Indian brand with little success over the years until 2011, when Polaris Industries acquired it. Polaris designed and engineered the new Chief range from ground up in just 27 months!
