siandara
indian combination IMG_7530 ccc
Every memorable motorcycle is built around a great engine, and Polaris has made a large investment in making the all-new Thunder Stroke 111 motor a force to reckon with. The engine's architecture and exterior sculpting echo classic Indian engines with their parallel pushrods and downward-facing exhausts. Engineers say it will produce a ground-pounding 115 lb-ft of torque, and it's no accident that the 111-cubic-inch V-twin is slightly bigger than Harley's grandest engine, the 110-cubic-inch twin cam.
History[edit]
Early years – Hendee and Hedström[edit]
Carl Oscar Hedström with the first prototype of Indian
1920 Indian Powerplus
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009)
The "Indian Motocycle Co." was originally founded as the Hendee Manufacturing Company by George M. Hendee in 1897 to manufacture bicycles. These were initially badged as "Silver King" and "Silver Queen" brands but the name "American Indian", very quickly reduced to simply "Indian", was adopted by Hendee from 1898 onwards because it gave better product recognition in export markets. Carl Oscar Hedström joined in 1900. Both Hendee and Hedström were former bicycle racers and manufacturers, and they teamed up to produce a motorcycle with a 1.75 bhp, single-cylinder engine in Hendee's home town of Springfield. The bike was successful and sales increased dramatically during the next decade.[3]
In 1901, a prototype and two production units of the diamond framed Indian Single were successfully designed, built and tested. The first Indian motorcycles, featuring chain drives and streamlined styling, were sold to the public in 1902. In 1903, Indian's co-founder and chief engineer Oscar Hedström set the world motorcycle speed record (56 mph).[citation needed] In 1904 the company introduced the deep red color that would become Indian's trademark. Production of Indian motorcycles then exceeded 500 bikes annually, rising to a peak of 32,000 in 1913. The engines of the Indian Single were built by the Aurora Firm in Illinois under license from the Hendee Mfg. Co. until 1906.
Competitive successes[edit]
Indian 1911
In 1905, Indian built its first V-twin factory racer, and in following years made a strong showing in racing and record-breaking. In 1907 the company introduced the first street version V-twin and a roadster styled after the factory racer. The roadster can be distinguished from the racers by the presence of twist grip linkages.[4][verification needed] One of the firm's most famous riders was Erwin "Cannonball" Baker, who set many long-distance records. In 1914, he rode an Indian across America, from San Diego to New York, in a record 11 days, 12 hours and ten minutes. Baker's mount in subsequent years was the Powerplus, a side-valve V-twin, which was introduced in 1916. Its 61ci (1000 cc), 42 degree V-twin engine was more powerful and quieter than previous designs, giving a top speed of 60 mph (96 km/h). The Powerplus was highly successful, both as a roadster and as the basis for racing bikes. It remained in production with few changes until 1924.
Competition success played a big part in Indian's rapid growth and spurred technical innovation, as well. One of the American firm's best early results came in the Isle of Man TT in 1911, when Indian riders Oliver Cyril Godfrey, Franklin and Moorehouse finished first, second and third. Indian star Jake DeRosier set several speed records both in America and at Brooklands in England, and won an estimated 900 races on dirt and board track racing.[5] He left Indian for Excelsior and died in 1913, aged 33, of injuries sustained in a board track race crash with Charles "Fearless" Balke, who later became Indian's top rider.[5] Work at the Indian factory was stopped while DeRosier's funeral procession passed.[5]
Oscar Hedstrom left Indian in 1913 after disagreements with the Board of Directors regarding dubious practices to inflate the company's stock values.[6] George Hendee resigned in 1916.[7]
Indian lightweights 1916-1919[edit]
Indian introduced the 221 cc single cylinder two-stroke Model K "Featherweight" in 1916.[8][9] The Model K had an open cradle frame with the engine as a stressed member[10] and a pivoting front fork that had been used earlier on single-cylinder motorcycles but had mostly been replaced on other Indian motorcycles by a leaf-sprung trailing link fork.[8]
The Model K was manufactured for one year and was replaced in 1917 by the Model O. The Model O had a four-stroke flat-twin engine and a new frame, but retained the pivoting fork at the front. The Model O was manufactured until 1919.[8]
World War I[edit]
As the US entered World War I, Indian unnecessarily sold most of its Powerplus line in 1917 and 1918 to the United States government, starving its network of dealers. This blow to domestic availability of the motorcycles led to a loss of dealers from which Indian never quite recovered.[11] While the motorcycles were popular in the military, post-war demand was then taken up by other manufacturers to whom many of the previously loyal Indian dealers turned. While Indian shared in the business boom of the 1920s, it had lost its Number One position in the US market to Harley-Davidson.
Menneto is confident in Indian's future prospects. "We're capable of giving Harley a run for their money in technical features," he says. The all-new Indian bike, set to debut in August at the Sturgis, S.D., bike rally, will bear the brand's heralded Chief model name. With the price starting at $18,999, Indian executives say they can break even by capturing just 4 or 5 percent of the heavyweight cruiser market. That's not enough to cause panic in Milwaukee, where Harley oversees the company's 57 percent overall market share, but the bosses in Wisconsin can't be sleeping easy with the thought of their old rival and freshly engineered Indian machinery hitting the roads.
Read more: Born Again: The Return of Indian Motorcycles - Popular Mechanics
Follow us: @PopMech on Twitter | popularmechanics on Facebook
Visit us at PopularMechanics.com
indian combination IMG_7530 ccc
Every memorable motorcycle is built around a great engine, and Polaris has made a large investment in making the all-new Thunder Stroke 111 motor a force to reckon with. The engine's architecture and exterior sculpting echo classic Indian engines with their parallel pushrods and downward-facing exhausts. Engineers say it will produce a ground-pounding 115 lb-ft of torque, and it's no accident that the 111-cubic-inch V-twin is slightly bigger than Harley's grandest engine, the 110-cubic-inch twin cam.
History[edit]
Early years – Hendee and Hedström[edit]
Carl Oscar Hedström with the first prototype of Indian
1920 Indian Powerplus
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009)
The "Indian Motocycle Co." was originally founded as the Hendee Manufacturing Company by George M. Hendee in 1897 to manufacture bicycles. These were initially badged as "Silver King" and "Silver Queen" brands but the name "American Indian", very quickly reduced to simply "Indian", was adopted by Hendee from 1898 onwards because it gave better product recognition in export markets. Carl Oscar Hedström joined in 1900. Both Hendee and Hedström were former bicycle racers and manufacturers, and they teamed up to produce a motorcycle with a 1.75 bhp, single-cylinder engine in Hendee's home town of Springfield. The bike was successful and sales increased dramatically during the next decade.[3]
In 1901, a prototype and two production units of the diamond framed Indian Single were successfully designed, built and tested. The first Indian motorcycles, featuring chain drives and streamlined styling, were sold to the public in 1902. In 1903, Indian's co-founder and chief engineer Oscar Hedström set the world motorcycle speed record (56 mph).[citation needed] In 1904 the company introduced the deep red color that would become Indian's trademark. Production of Indian motorcycles then exceeded 500 bikes annually, rising to a peak of 32,000 in 1913. The engines of the Indian Single were built by the Aurora Firm in Illinois under license from the Hendee Mfg. Co. until 1906.
Competitive successes[edit]
Indian 1911
In 1905, Indian built its first V-twin factory racer, and in following years made a strong showing in racing and record-breaking. In 1907 the company introduced the first street version V-twin and a roadster styled after the factory racer. The roadster can be distinguished from the racers by the presence of twist grip linkages.[4][verification needed] One of the firm's most famous riders was Erwin "Cannonball" Baker, who set many long-distance records. In 1914, he rode an Indian across America, from San Diego to New York, in a record 11 days, 12 hours and ten minutes. Baker's mount in subsequent years was the Powerplus, a side-valve V-twin, which was introduced in 1916. Its 61ci (1000 cc), 42 degree V-twin engine was more powerful and quieter than previous designs, giving a top speed of 60 mph (96 km/h). The Powerplus was highly successful, both as a roadster and as the basis for racing bikes. It remained in production with few changes until 1924.
Competition success played a big part in Indian's rapid growth and spurred technical innovation, as well. One of the American firm's best early results came in the Isle of Man TT in 1911, when Indian riders Oliver Cyril Godfrey, Franklin and Moorehouse finished first, second and third. Indian star Jake DeRosier set several speed records both in America and at Brooklands in England, and won an estimated 900 races on dirt and board track racing.[5] He left Indian for Excelsior and died in 1913, aged 33, of injuries sustained in a board track race crash with Charles "Fearless" Balke, who later became Indian's top rider.[5] Work at the Indian factory was stopped while DeRosier's funeral procession passed.[5]
Oscar Hedstrom left Indian in 1913 after disagreements with the Board of Directors regarding dubious practices to inflate the company's stock values.[6] George Hendee resigned in 1916.[7]
Indian lightweights 1916-1919[edit]
Indian introduced the 221 cc single cylinder two-stroke Model K "Featherweight" in 1916.[8][9] The Model K had an open cradle frame with the engine as a stressed member[10] and a pivoting front fork that had been used earlier on single-cylinder motorcycles but had mostly been replaced on other Indian motorcycles by a leaf-sprung trailing link fork.[8]
The Model K was manufactured for one year and was replaced in 1917 by the Model O. The Model O had a four-stroke flat-twin engine and a new frame, but retained the pivoting fork at the front. The Model O was manufactured until 1919.[8]
World War I[edit]
As the US entered World War I, Indian unnecessarily sold most of its Powerplus line in 1917 and 1918 to the United States government, starving its network of dealers. This blow to domestic availability of the motorcycles led to a loss of dealers from which Indian never quite recovered.[11] While the motorcycles were popular in the military, post-war demand was then taken up by other manufacturers to whom many of the previously loyal Indian dealers turned. While Indian shared in the business boom of the 1920s, it had lost its Number One position in the US market to Harley-Davidson.
Menneto is confident in Indian's future prospects. "We're capable of giving Harley a run for their money in technical features," he says. The all-new Indian bike, set to debut in August at the Sturgis, S.D., bike rally, will bear the brand's heralded Chief model name. With the price starting at $18,999, Indian executives say they can break even by capturing just 4 or 5 percent of the heavyweight cruiser market. That's not enough to cause panic in Milwaukee, where Harley oversees the company's 57 percent overall market share, but the bosses in Wisconsin can't be sleeping easy with the thought of their old rival and freshly engineered Indian machinery hitting the roads.
Read more: Born Again: The Return of Indian Motorcycles - Popular Mechanics
Follow us: @PopMech on Twitter | popularmechanics on Facebook
Visit us at PopularMechanics.com