The first Indian motorcycle was created by the Hendee Manufacturing Company in 1901. George Hendee and Oscar Hedstrom became co-founders of what was soon to be an award-winning brand. By 1919, Indian had provided the U.S. military with nearly 50,000 motorcycles to be used in WW I. However, Indian’s success ran out in 1953, when the company went bankrupt and ceased all operations and discontinued production of all models. The demise was short lived- in 1967, Burt Munro set a world record on a 1926 600cc Indian Scout. By 1998, brand-exclusive production of Indian Motorcycle models resumed. Then, in 2003, Indian Motorcycle Company of America went bankrupt again and ended production. The tumultuous history of the Indian Motorcycle Brand ends on a good note, because in 2011 Polaris Industries acquired Indian Motorcycle, and Indian has been in production ever since.
