Indian Photo Album:
Indian History Photo Gallery
As was with all the early motorcycles, development was slow. Indian, however was a leader until the end of the 1920's. Money, politics, internal theft, and bad business hurt the company greatly. The losses were so great that the company never returned to their top position in the motorcycle industry. Pictured below are some great models from the past as well as a few of the specialty bikes which emerged prior to the return of 1999. Note pictures of the 2015 Scout below.
The 1910 single above was a modern and reliable bike in it's day.
The 1925 Scout pictured above is one of the most beautiful Indian motrcycles ever made!
Below is a "Royal Enfield" Indian dated from 1955. The faithful did not appreciate these British versions of the old bike.
Italian Indian mini bike:
At one time these bikes were thrown away, not they are quite collectable.
Below: 1955 Indian-Enfield Woodman:
At this time, the Indian name was used for commercial purposes only.
Sales ad from the mid 1950's:
Below is an Indian prototype from 1974 or 5 using a Ducati engine!
This Ducati-Indian was another attempt to use the Indian name. According to a good source, this bike was an offshoot of the Clymer efforts to sell the brand name after Clymers death in 1970. It used a 900cc Ducati V-twin. It also appears to have a fiberglas body. This motorcycle was shown in a number of 1974 motorcycle shows and was in a 1975 magazine showing new motorcycles.
Information indicates that Floyd Clymers lawyer Alan Newman had the motorcycle built by "Italjet." The Taiwan company was building mopeds for Newman. It was designed by Leo Tartarini of Italjet and the effort was gone by 1977. I wish it were known where it is!
This is a 1935 Chief. The full fenders didn't come till the 1940 models:
In it's day, most racers felt that the Indians were faster than the Harleys. It became a matter of tuning.
This 1945 Chief is a beauty!
This Indian will never be very collectable!
This 1980 Indian moped is a novelty only.
Sammy Pierce Indian:
Sammy Pierce built Indians from mostly old stock parts. He sold around 50 of them from the late 1950's through 1965. His bikes are not listed as manufactured bikes because they were just specials build for old Indian enthusiasts. They were sold for around $1,000 each. Sammy got his start in Kansas City. Many Indians survived because of his efforts to not only save parts, but to make new parts which were needed. Check out the Sammy Pierce on the "Experimental" page. It is another variation of this same motorcycle.
The Dakota Indian:
Above is a picture of the "Dakota Indian." The Dakota is supposidly a machine designed by Sture Torngren (from Sweden) called the "Wiking." The engine is claimed to be an altered Volvo power plant with big fins for cooling. Torngren built his machine and Alen Forbes (UK enthusiast) turned it into an Indian. Forbes is a vintage Indian restorer and loves to tinker with motorcycles. He ownes the Indian name in the UK. The bike is around 1845cc producing around 74 h.p. and was first marketed in 2004. Around 99 hp is claimed when it uses fuel injection. Production stopped in 2010. It is quite interesting and I wish it had continued on! Check out this video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7UwmmbfSrk
Make sure to read about this bike on the "Indian Fours" page located toward the lower part of the page!
Below is the 1,200cc 2015 Scout!
The 2015 Indian Scout looks sleek, historic, and modern. Below is the new 2016 Sport Scout "60." It's a 1000cc version of the 2015 Scout. Priced at $8,995, hopefully it will sell well!
The Scout models are available in "60" (980cc) or the 1,200cc models (1130cc). The larger model claims 100hp while the "60" claims 78hp. Originally offered in 2015, the Scout 60 came in 2016. They have proven to be some of the most reliable motorcycles made today!