AMERICAN MADE : Indian Motorcycles

AMERICAN MADE

In 1897 a gentleman named George Hendee began a bicycle company named The Hendee Manufacturing Company based in Connecticut. He branded his bicycles as Silver Queen and Silver King, later replacing these names to simply American Indian. To make this even smoother for product recognition he shortened the name to Indian. An interesting story lies behind these names. Mr. Hendee wanted a completely American made product. He could think of no better way to make this point than to name his models after the Indian culture, as this was as American as it got. The story is told that when Columbus landed on American soil he thought he was in India. When he encountered the natives he called them Indians, thinking India people. The name stuck even after he realized his navigation had been off. Somewhere in Mr. Hendee’s life he became enamored of Chief Sitting Bull. When he determined to set up his company as American specifically, he asked Chief Sitting Bull for permission to use the Indian name and their cultural identities for his company and products as a way to honor the American natives. Permission was granted. In 1923 Hendee Manufacturing Company officially changed the name to Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company.

In 1900 Mr. Hendee acquired a business partner named Oscar Hedstrom. Both of these gentlemen were well acquainted with bicycles as builders and racers of bicycles. After building a few prototypes, they settled on a design and produced an American made motorcycle. They were not the only company creating and producing motorcycles at the time. Mr. Harley and the Davidson brothers were also beginning their motorcycle business. Keep that in mind as we move back to the Hendee road.

The first motorcycle produced by Hendee and Hedstrom had a simple engine design and was quite successful. These motorcycles were sleek in design, chain driven and painted a deep red color which would later become the Indian trademark. It was at this point that Hendee Manufacturing Company began to sub-let its business and parts production components. The Indian motorcycle was reported to be the highest quality bike available, a product known worldwide. Their business practices did not fare as well as the product. It depends on what history report you read, but there were several entities involved in the company’s management and parts production which ultimately led to Hedstrom’s resignation in 1913. He claimed the board of directors were not legal in the way they did business. Mr. Hendee resigned in 1916. The company retained the Indian name.

World War I claimed nearly all of the Indian motorcycle inventory, leaving the American dealers with little to sell. After the war Indian could not recover enough to keep up with Harley-Davidson. As new models were created the Indian theme was continued with the Scout model and the Chief model. The factory was known as the Wigwam. The motorcycles were well made, strong and reliable, but they still trailed behind Harley-Davidson. When World War II demanded product, Harley held first place with the United States military. Indian picked up a small amount of the provision but was forced to expand to the British armies and other combat allies.

It seems that Indian struggled to keep up with new designs and marketing plans that might pull them ahead in the motorcycle competition, but never quite succeeded. In 1953 they called it quits, filing for bankruptcy. Indian Motorcycle Company went through

several hands over the years, moving to different cities while remaining an American company. New models were named after the Indian theme such as: Chief Classic, Chief Vintage, Chieftain, Chief Dark Horse. Polaris Industries bought Indian in 2011 and it seems that Indian Motorcycle finally has a leadership with financial and quality stability. Maybe not drinking buddies with Harley-Davidson, but not trailing behind either.

Janith Emm

Sources: Wikipedia and Pack Up & Ride. Tennessee Full Throttle Magazine www.tnfullthrottle.com 41