As the 1920s began, the Indian Scout became available for sale. This model then grew to become very famous for winning speed races. Even among the list of Indian line of extremely popular motorcycles, the 1928 101 Scout was the best.
The Chief, the Big Chief, the Four, and the Prince all started during the 1920s. The decade laid the foundation for Indian becoming America’s most famous motorcycle.
In the 1920s, Indian needed something new to replace its Powerplus engine, particularly with Harley Davidson putting out more advanced bikes. To that end, Indian charged Charles Franklin, a racer and an engineer, with coming up with new things. Not only were Harley Davidson bikes giving Indian some competition, cars were starting to be made in huge amounts also.
Franklin’s 1922 bike was based on a 1,000 cc (61 cubic inch) V-twin. It had a lower seat and a more enhanced shape than other Indian bikes, and the chain drive transmission was replaced with helical gears. Weighing in at 425 pounds, the new bike could go 90 miles per hour, unheard of at that time. This new bike was called the Chief.
On the other hand, Indian improved their motorcycle further in 1923. Even though the Chief was a great motorcycle, Indian increased the size of new motorcycle motors to be 1,200 cc or 74 cubic inches. Thus, Indian introduced the Big Chief in 1923.
The Big Chief was made to carry a sidecar, and several people used that combo for transportation, because cars were not yet dominating the individual transportation market. Although the 1923 Scout could be fitted with a sidecar, the Big Chief was better at handling the additional load.
Even so, according to a large number of individual motorcycle riders, the Big Chief’s 1,200cc engine was all they needed and it took a short time for the Big Chief to become the best selling Indian motorcycle in 1923. Other changes were to happen to Indian in 1923.
One of the main ones was that the company was renamed Indian Motorcycle Company (note the lack of an “r” in Motocycle). That year the PowerPlus was renamed “Standard” making it clear that the 1,200 cc engine in the Big Chief was the more powerful of the two engines.
It does not matter if Indian had the knowledge about it or not, the Big Chief motorbike they developed at the time was a classic. In our day, if you can find an Indian Big Chief motorbike manufactured in 1923, its selling price can exceed forty thousand dollars if it is in excellent condition.
The 1948 model Indian motorcycle was pivotal in re-establishing the brand after the second World War. To get more details about the 1923 Indian motorcycle follow the hyperlink.
More