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Native American/Super Chief
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Indian Sport Scout & Indian Chief
Virginia DeMoss
03/01/2005
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Photography by Cordero Studios/corderostudios.com
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Native American
As the oldest brand of American-made motorcycles, born in 1901, Indians have
always carried a special cachet. Although production grounded to a halt in the
Springfield, Mass., plant in 1953, the Indian name and mystique lives on among
passionate enthusiasts, who keep more than 25,000 pre-1953 bikes registered and
running on American roads.
1942 Indian Sport Scout
Indian Sport Scout courtesy of Daniel Schoenewald. (Click images to enlarge)
Among them is this 1942 Indian Sport Scout,
ridden surreptitiously by its current owner because he refuses to have it
licensed in his name. “I don’t want to give away my title with Steve’s name on
it,” says Daniel Schoenewald of the first of dozens of Indians owned by Steve
McQueen. “This was the bike he could get on and be Everyman, not Steve McQueen
the Hollywood actor, and that’s what he liked about it.”
While it keeps both
hands and feet employed in a flurry of motion, activating the clutch, shifting
gears, accelerating, braking and tinkering with the mechanical advance for the
timing, Schoenewald says, “It’s quite fun to drive. It sounds like a hot rod
when you fire it up.”
Indian Motorcycle Company served admirably in World
War II, contributing more than 40,000 military-style motorcycles to the Allied
effort, but fell into bankruptcy by 1953. The ensuing 45 years were filled with
schemes—some legitimate, others outright fraudulent—to revive it. During that
time, the Indian logo found itself on everything from Royal Enfields imported
from Britain to small dirt bikes from Taiwan.Super Chief
Indian Chief courtesy of Michael Sarrail. (Click images to
enlarge)
The rebirth of the Indian Motorcycle Company came in 1998 when an investment
group was awarded rights to the name and began production in Gilroy, California.
While the first models offered the cosmetic appeal of early Indians, they were
considered little more than Harley clones, pieced together with aftermarket
parts and powered by S&S engines. Reliability wasn’t their strong suit,
either.
Enter the 2002 Indian Chief like this one owned by Mike Sarrail,
redesigned from the ground up and sporting Indian’s new Powerplus 100 (1,638cc,
45-degree V-twin) engine and monoshock rear suspension. Master of a website (www.ironindians.com) devoted to keeping
1999 to 2004 Indians on the road, Sarrail, like other industry observers, saw
the Indian Motor Company progressing toward more reliable designs constructed
largely of proprietary parts. But just as Indian seemed to be hitting its
stride, the money ran out; five years and 13,000 motorcycles later, it closed
its doors in 2003, precisely 50 years after the original factory shut
down.
But don’t count Indian out yet. The company’s trademarks and designs
have been acquired by London-based Stellican Limited, a private equity firm with
a proven track record for reviving storied companies such as Riva yachts and
Chris-Craft boats. Taking a slow and sensible approach to revamping the company,
investing their own money and employing a lean, mean management style, the new
owners are determined to perfect the next generation of Indians before a single
motorcycle rolls out of the factory—perhaps by late 2005.
2002 Indian Chief
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