Page 36 - Riding On Spring

7KHUH DUH PDQ\ GL໤HUHQW $PHULFDQ EDVHG PRWRUF\FOH EUDQGV Production of these motorcycles exceeded 500 bikes a year at
The history of Indian Motorcycle Company dates back to the this time and continued to rise to more than 30,000 by 1913.
HDUO\ V ,W ZDV R໥FLDOO\ IRXQGHG LQ E\ *HRUJH 0 The engines in the Single model were designed by the Aurora
Hendee and Carl Oscar Hedstrom. Originally based out of Firm of Illinois. Up until this point, the brand was seeing great
6SULQJ¿HOG 0DVVDFKXVHWWV WKH FRPSDQ\ QRZ KDV RSHUDWLRQV LQ success with its product and the public was taking notice. In
Iowa and Minnesota. 1905, the motorcycle brand produced its debut V-Twin factory
racer. Their products were well-known for being part of racing
The company was started in 1897 under the name Hendee and record breaking scores.
Manufacturing Company. It was the bicycle-manufacturing
project of George M Hendee. The products were initially given This manufacturer saw its greatest success during the 1910s.
the badge of Silver Queen or Silver King but was quickly At that time, it was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the
switched to American Indian and later reduced to just Indian. ZRUOG ,Q IDFW LW ZDV WKLV IDFWRU\ WHDP WKDW HDUQHG WKH ¿UVW
Hendee adopted this branding in 1898 because he felt that it three places in the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy in 1911. The
improved recognition in export markets. Carl Hedstrom teamed most popular models were the Scout, manufactured between
up with Hendee in 1900. 1920 and 1946, as well as the Chief, manufactured from 1922
to 1953.
The modern re-working of the classic Indian Scout
One of the most famous riders associated with this brand was
Both of the men were former bike racers and manufacturers, Erwin Baker, also known as Cannonball. He set many long-
so it was no surprise that they decided to work together distance records in his time and rode this bike across the
to produce a motorcycle designed with a 1.75 bph, one- United States, from California to New York, in just over 11 days.
cylinder engine. The bike was successfully made and Hendee His main bike became the Powerplus model, which debuted
VDZ VDOHV VLJQL¿FDQWO\ LQFUHDVH RYHU WKH QH[W GHFDGH ,Q in 1916. This was a successful bike, as a racer and roadster.
1901, the founding year of this company, one prototype It was available up until 1924, with few changes made to the
and two production units of the Single bike were designed, overall design over the years.
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of Indian motorcycles were sold to the public. These designs Racing competitions were a major part of the success of this
featured a streamlined style and chain drives. Indian is known brand. This is, in part, how it became a well-known brand. The
for its signature deep red color, which was introduced with a public saw many of their favorite racers on these bikes. Not
batch of bikes in 1904. surprisingly, they wanted their own and so sales increased.

RIDING ON 36