Harley Davidson anybody? Even if you have no interest in motorcycles, you probably know this name. This brand can be traced back to 1897 when George M. Hendee founded a bicycle production company called the Hendee Manufacturing Company. It carried various brands but American Indian, which was shortened to simply “Indian” became its primary brand name. In the early 20th century when Harley-Davidson was an upstart company working out of a shed the Indian was the king of motorcycle manufacturers. For the next 50 years these two companies engaged in a conflict which some refer to as The Harley-Davidson and Indian Wars. 
 

The first Indian Motorcycle was sold to a retail customer in 1902 but it was two years later that the company introduced a deep red called Vermillion, which became better known as “Indian Red.” Racing victories and records helped to solidify its popularity. In 1907 two motorcycle dealers  rode an Indian Motorcycle from San Francisco to New York City in a then-record 31 1/2 days without any mechanical problems. A year later T.K. Hastings rode an Indian Motorcycle to victory in a 1,000-mile reliability trial in England.

During the 1910s, Indian became the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world.  In 1913 sales rose to  32,000 units sold. From 1917 to 1919 the company provided the U.S. military with nearly 50,000 motorcycles, most of them based on the Indian Powerplus model. Indian's most popular models were the Scout, made from 1920 to 1946, and the Chief, made from 1922 until 1953. The name of the company was changed to Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company in 1928. Over the years it published a number of periodicals which popularized its motorcycles including Indian News, Indian Motorcycle News, and The Indian Magazine.

All illustrations below are from 1914 Indian Motocycle catalog, call no. TOR n.c. 29

The company went bankrupt in 1953 but it never quite died thanks in part to fanatically devoted enthusiasts who tried to resurrect it for over a half of a century. For Fred Haefele rebuilding a 1947 Indian Chief motorcycle became more then just a restoration project. It was in fact a resurrection of a dream which once completed required a memoir.  The dream was fully resurrected in 2011 when Polaris Industries purchased Indian Motorcycles. Since 2013 it has marketed multiple modern Indian Motorcycles that reflect Indian's traditional styling.

Read more about historical and modern motorcycles in numerous trade publications covering this industry which are available at the Science, Industry and Business Library.

• The Bicycling World And Motorcycle Review, New York, 1885-1915
• American Bicyclist And Motorcyclist, New York, 1906-1993
• Motorcycle Illustrated, New York, 1906-1953
• Motor Cycling, London, 1910-1967
• The Harley-Davidson Dealer, Milwaukee, 1914-1915
• Motocycles; magazine ... illustré de la mode du side-car et du cycle-car, Paris, 1927-1930
• Motorcyclist, Los Angeles, 1934-present
• Rad und Kraftfahrerhilfe, Wien, 1939-1943
• Motocycles, Paris, 1947-1953
• Choppers Magazine, Encino, Calif., 1971-1982
• Cycle World,  New York, 1994-present