The Fall and Rise of Indian Motorcycle
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2022
- Founded in 1901, Indian Motorcycle is an American brand of motorcycles. This is how they got their start, how they lost it all, and how they won it all back. The story of Indian motorcycles, and the biggest threat to Harley Davidson.
Gastro Racing - Авто та транспорт
I'm begging you to never stop making videos. I can't believe there's someone out there making such high quality video essays about motorcycles to begin with
That's what shocked me when I was educated you have just some subscribers 😢😢
lol right this is awesome
Just bought my first Indian! The Rogue has the looks, the power, and the handling I've been looking for in a cruiser. A+
Such a beautiful bike. Congrats...
I'm right there with you! I rode a honda monkey for a year as my first bike and then bought the Rouge and I couldn't be happier with the looks, the power and the handling. It's an amazing bike!
2014 Chief Vintage owner here... LOVE it!
By far…..the best video i have watched in the past 2 years……other than Brandon shaking hands with ghosts 😂
Great info on Indian "Motocycles". Like Dhruv Gangurde said, don't ever stop making videos!! Your channel is definitely a "diamond in the rough"!
This is the first time that I've seen any of your videos. This video, "The Fall and Rise of Indian Motorcycle" had kept my attention throughout. It was very informative with a splash of humor. Great job on putting this video together. I had enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you!
I love this video, great vintage photos, great vintage films, mostly excellent research, but just FYI that you have a typo at 10:09- It's "Sturgis" not "Sturgies". Other than that, WELL DONE!
As always great content! Thanks for this and I'm looking forward to the next one as promised in this video at least 😉
very well done investigated, informative and professional presented. Still 2016 I proudly own an Indian Springfield without any problems and I still love it like bought yesterday! Regards from Germany
Top quality video. Funny, informative and very slick. You must be proud of these. Well done.
Holy crap 👀 this is a really good video. Subscribed!!!! Keep it up my friend
Awesome video! Very well done and thanks for the history lesson. I love Indian motocycles!
Dude! I Totally love these videos, informative and fun. Goals
This channel will be big, just as long as you keep making the same quality vids. Thanks!
How does this channel only have 3.6K subs? Should be more like 306K. Screw you, The Algorithm™️
i love this 😂
Amazing video. Thanks for that. Apart from being one of the channels I enjoy the most on UA-cam, I feel that you make the motorcycle world so much more accessible to our generation...
How can we support you man?
salutations du Québec
you’re already supporting my man! thanks for watching these things
Very well done video, congrats and thank you 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Good to see you back love your videos man!
Excellent video. Earned a new sub from Australia.
I test rode an Indian Chief a few weeks ago. Great bike.
WOW! Thank you... this was well-paced, accurate, informative, and fun! With so many UA-cam videos out there, ones like this truly stand out. As a new Indian Scout ABS owner (2022), and a 20+ year motorcycle service shop owner... I have been doing deep dives into my memory on the transition of Indian ownership and products. This is a truly accurate video on the history, that arguably, the Indian motoR Company should embrace.
Time will tell, but like so many (senior) riders, we had all but written-off Indian. I WON an Indian Scout "glide" that Holoster Indian Powersports tricked out with an amazing custom paint scheme and color-matching Corbin faring, sear, and saddle bags. I've attended a few very large "cruser" rides (300+ riders) and here in NorCal (Sonoma), I am one of perhaps one or two other Indian motorcycles. The Harly vs. Indian rivalry is still very much alive, but this time HD is going through economic tough times.
I am very proud to ride an all-American made V-twin... and realize I am a Berlin Germany-trained Factory BMW technician who has owned and ridden almost every BMW ever made. Of course, I have several rides, and each one has a unique quality and personality.
There will be many skeptics and opinions as I ride among the crowd of HD bikes, but I have shut down several "over-eager" HD riders who invested way too much money on performance as they hit the wall in torque and RPMs. Now that the new generations of "e;ectric this and that" are making their way into the mainstream... these may be the best years or own a liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, integrated 6-speed transmission and ABS 100 HP American mage V-twin.
Well done content! Great quality work on Indian history!
Really well made video, really enjoyed it :)
Great vid man! Worked for Polaris when the original Victory came out in 99. Was an interesting time.
Great video and channel overall..Subbed!
Dude this man is underrated!!!!!!!
Great vid.. enjoyably informative..nice work 🤘💨
What a great history lesson and an extremely well done video on Indian Motorcycle. I never knew that Victor fell on their sword 🗡️ to save Indian.
Not exactly. I ride a Victory Cross Roads Classic. Polaris is a much larger company than Harley-Davidson and manages all sorts of product lines. In the 90's, they saw HD making big money in V-twin cruisers so they launched the brand new Victory brand to compete head-to-head with Harley-Davidson. Their engineering was more modern, the style was classic, but unique - not just Harley-Davidson copies like the Japanese had made. Victory was doing well until the Great Recession started in 2008 and cratered the motorcycle market for everyone. The big knock against Victory was it had no history, no legacy. Polaris bought the Indian Motorcycle brand from a company in North Carolina that had not built very many motorcycles and Polaris started selling restyled Victories as "Indians - since 1901." Polaris soon saw Indian was mostly getting purchased by Victory owners, so they officially terminated the Victory brand on January 1, 2017. Polaris agreed to keep supplying parts for 10 years, as required by the US Department of Transportation whenever a vehicle brand is terminated (Plymouth, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, etc). So I'm riding my Victory until I can't anymore.
BTW, Victory owners were gutted by Polaris' decision since it overnight slammed the resale value of every Victory motorcycle. If you want a well-engineered, fast, large American cruiser and are willing to look online for parts, you can get a TON of good motorcycle that wears the Victory badge. A comparable Harley-Davidson will likely cost at least double, but does exactly the same job, although with more custom options on the HD. I like to call my Victory Cross Roads a "Polaris Road King." The Polaris Indian Motorcycle engines were mostly restyled and lightly changed versions of the Polaris Victory motorcycle engines for the first four years or so of Indian's rebirth.
Great video. I learned so much!
Great presenter!!! Entertaining and Educational. Thank you!
A great video to watch in the morning. Good job! I'd love to ride an Indian motorcycle one day. Greetings from Poland! 🏍
Greetings from Canada!
They just rolled Victory into Indian. The Challenger and the Scout are Victory's. The 108 is a water cooled version of the 106. The Octane was before the Scout with styling.
Best motercycle history youtuber by far thanks!
This video just made me straight up happy! I'm a Scout Rouge owner and i couldn't be happier with my bike!
Great vid, thanks mate.
Great video Sir! 👍🏻
Cool video…very informative. 🇺🇸 New FTRs and first time Indian owner.
Great video!
Just masterful story telling and editing. Not an americana expert Ill admit but to me Indian felt always so underrated compared to Harleys, now I know they certainly are
Loved your video
Great video, brother. Really appreciate it. After Indian came out with the new line up, I don't even blink on HD anymore. I honestly would say, Indian is here to stay. They do need to think on providing reverse mode and a center stand on all of them, just like the Goldwing. The bike is very heavy. One of the reasons i got the new Goldwing. Other wise, the Presuit Elite would be in my garage.
It's crazy that the Indian brand has survived its many many troubled times over the last 120 years. I freakin love my FTR though, and if they keep making bikes as great as it is, I'll keep buying them.
I wouldn't call selling and buying a "name" is being a survival.
Good video keep it up man
That was great!Thanks!
I've just bought my first Indian. 2023 Chieftain Darkhorse. I am loving it so far. I traded in a 2022 Goldwing so it has a lot to live up to but I am excited for the new experiance.
Indian Motocycle commenced operations in Springfield, MA. Watertown, CT is where George Hendee was from I believe. Harley Davison operations weren’t continuous as a company as some have mentioned in this comment section. AMF owned them for a number of years thereby breaking that “continuous” streak. Also, they had to beg the U. S. Govt for a bailout in the 80’s because the Japanese manufacturers were killing them and there was nothing they could do about it except ask the Reagan administration to put tariffs on anything from Japan 800cc or higher.
😂😂😂. Nice try to discredit Harley. Don’t get me wrong, Indian is doing a great job, and Harley sucks at many things, but your argument against HD’s continuity is babyish.
@@donjosevalle the truth hurts for you. because he is saying the truth
@@donjosevalleand Harley sucks, how about that? Harley has used their legal team to crush any poor rider who crosses them. Imagine suing another manufacturer over their “Potato, potato” sound! Suing a man trying to sell his “Harley” to raise money for his wife’s cancer treatment because his bike had one too many non-Harley components on it. Like I said, Harley sucks. 1936 technology at it’s finest!
@@donjosevalleand Harley sucks, how about that? Harley has used their legal team to crush any poor rider who crosses them. Imagine suing another manufacturer over their “Potato, potato” sound! Suing a man trying to sell his “Harley” to raise money for his wife’s cancer treatment because his bike had one too many non-Harley components on it. Like I said, Harley sucks. 1936 technology at it’s finest!
The 4 Japanese bike manufactures had a 'pact" to sell their bikes in USA for near just the cost of making them, untll all riders buy Japanese bikes to put HD out of buisness then raise the price. That is called unfair trade! That is the reason for the Tarriff,
What an excellent review.
I traded my HD for a Indian Challenger: In my humble opinion. 1.) It’s a motorcycle made by Polaris. 2.) the fit, finish, and paint are not the best quality. 3.) Aftermarket parts are scarce. 4.) Dealerships are always an hr away or more. 5.) Ride command can be a bit confusing. 6.) need to change out handlebars. (3 hr job). 7.) why would anyone put the air filter under the gas tank? Would you like to know why I traded my H.D.?
Sure
1.) I waited a very long time for HD to bring a full liquid cooled engine to market. 2.) Heat. Over heating on hot days suck. 3.) Constant maintenance and “upgrades” of items HD should have corrected from factory. (Some needed, some wants). 4.) Comfort. The Goldwing and Challenger are miles ahead in that department. This may not seem like much but it was enough to make me give up 40+ yrs of riding HD’s.
Fit? You are kidding right? I can put Harley paint finishes over an Indian in the gloss paint department but their flat paint is behind Indian's. Harley's have NO fit which explains the aftermarket flooding of parts to make them fit. It is an old bike they bolt parts on with no thought about flow. Then they stick an overpriced sticker on it. The only bike I can think of that had fit and finish was the V-rod. I have to say Hardly's new soft tails are thought out but then they ruined them with that boat anchor M8. Polaris designs their bikes from front to back and sculpt the parts so the bike flows from front to back. It is plain as day when you see an Indian parked next to a Hardly.
@@semperfipar1299Follow up: 21 Challenger 7,000 miles. GPS failed, phantom check engine light. Overheated (possible fan failure). Not getting a warm fuzzy feeling…….hmmm.
keep going my friend
This is a fantastic video. Loved it! My wife rides an Indian Chieftain.
One question: what the heck is a "Sturgies"?
Great history lesson
got me the dark horse challenger....and i love it!
Nice video
I thank you my friend, you made clear things to me that I didn't understand how harley Davidson get buter than Indian on that time
Great commentary
Make a video of Harleys beginning to present please.
Thanks
Great video as always! As a French I'm glad to hear you speak my language 😁
One of the best in my opinion (:
Nice....👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Men! You R the best❤
Your style would be perfect for donut media 😅I literally thought you were a new person in their crew!
On a separate note, may I ask who edited this video? Wish I had an editor like that person or could edit like this!
As a proud owner of a stunning 2019 Indian Springfield in steel gray and burgundy metallic, I can attest it embodies all that is good in the Indian Marque. Cruiser Heaven, all day, every day. It is made by Indian in Spirit Lake, Iowa, as a subsidy of Polaris. The butthurt Harley guys will say it is not a real Indian, but I don't care, everywhere I go, even if it's at a Harley dealership, I get compliments on it.
indian is not the real indian from the past anymore, it has been taken over by polaris. But it doesnt matter, the indian motor cycles are beautiful, are well made, and ride really well. For me Indian still catches the old indian spirit heart and soul. Its unique, there is nothing else like it.
@@lexburen5932 The new Indian Motorcycle Company has done an excellent job of re-imagining the spirit and esthetics of the old Indian Chiefs that I fell in love with when I was a young lad. My Springfield is a fine specimen of what a classic big boy cruiser should be. I highly recommend a demo ride on an Indian no matter what flavor. They have some stunning bikes that compete well with all the other brands.
@@roguecheddar im full aware of that. Indian has taken 43 % of the European tour cruiser market, it is massively out selling harley davidsons. and i completely agree with you.
well burt munroe the new zealander still holds the fastest record for indian 1920 scout at bonneville salt flats under1000cc unbeaten to this day it was done in early 1960s, i bought me an indian scout december 2022 new 6months later stolen no insurance but i loved it only gripe was no fuel gauge cant go far when light comes on if in the rural areas no petrol station available.
amazing! :)
If every video on motorbikes were edited so artfully and crafted, then every non-enthusiast like me would be really mystified by this topic!
I already am drawn to indian for the looks and power--now folks like yourself disseminating the history of the brand like this is making me fall even more for it!
It's your bike and the video was really good
I had 4 Vics and now two Indians. I actually rode a 2021 Harley Road Glide Special yesterday with only 837 miles on it. I wouldn’t trade my 2020 Indian Challenger for 3 of those pieces of crap. The thing was super top heavy in the curves and absolutely gutless. The Indian Challenger is the finest American Made bike period. Notice that I said American made, that’s because I also own a BMW K1600b that is light years ahead of Indian.
Indian Springfield DH baby!
Springfield (Classic) here, I wanted all the style and shiny bits of a Harley Road KIng but with a better engine that I don't have to have the top end rebuilt after 10k miles. 😂
I love my Indian Challenger! It friggin eats Harleys for lunch!
Polaris gave Indian Motorcycles a new life. It narrowly escaped death. Damn..!
THIS VID?! ... Well, to put it bluntly, You have to put a face & speech out there that ARTICULATES the Message in a clear, concise, & enthusiastic way, without being melodramatic. The guy checked all the boxes. I may also be just a tad biased about Indian. NO, it didn't make me go out and purchase a brannykneu bike tho I did give them a thorough look over. Instead in my mature mid 70's, I went for a 2014 Indian Vintage. I shopped, shopped, & shopped summore. I found a well maintained bigbike a whatchamacallit, bagger-cruiser. I wanted to be able to hit the 4 lanes, the hills, & vales, & thoze twisties and be able to enjoy the Ride without the wind sending me off course. I did, I do. It was a good history lesson on how Indian started, fell on its face, got up a few times, fell again, got resurrected again and again to beewhatt it is 2day. thanx. .😁😁😁.
Just the fact that they helped our troops back in the day, makes it the most American brand
Greetings from England I love Indians
great video, but change the background
No mention of Briggs Weaver :(
Indian is probably my next bike. Hopefully this year.
I own a 16 Springfield. 60k miles.
I have a 2019 Indian Sprignfield, ain't they just wonderful?! It's my last bike. Every time I open the garage and see it, there's no way I would ever sell or trade it in. It's the exact look and feel of a classic cruiser that I always imagined an old 53 Chief would be.
Great job on the history and the presentation!! Just Thanks!!
I own 2 Indians... a '14 Cheif Vintage(Cheif Red) and a '20 Roadmaster(Icon Coastal Green & Ivory) that always get attention wherever I go!
Great video! Harley kicks Indian ass tho.
Only in sales and that is changing.
indian just grew 1 % in the market. slowly but steadily. Haters gonna hate anyway 😉🙃
Springfield Massachusetts not Watertown.
Well, they just scavanged on the inventions of Harley Davidson.
Anything AMC touches goes up in flames lil
Polaris is a Canadian company.
I have a 2019 Chieftain with over 16,000 miles. I fucking love it. Fuck harley :D
Good one !
But you forgot to mention that Indian took the designer Ola Stenegärd from BMW 😉
And you know what ?
He’s a Swede 🇸🇪
I think my next motorcycle will be an Indian….and I’m a BMW guy 😂
Bye 👋 from Sweden 🇸🇪
So, I guess the first name of the Company was "Hendeean", but seeing the similitude, they simplified it later in "Indian", no redskins involved 😜
Now I will give you subscriber
Hello, you are very talented. Do you have a business email?
NONE of this Indian history has a damn thing to do with Polaris. Polaris should have stayed with the Victory, they would have gained more respect
Watertown, MA? Many ‘facts’ are wrong. Even your t-shirt is misspelled.
It stopped becoming an American motorcycle manufacturer back in 1953 when the last real Indian rolled out of the Wigwam in Springfield, Mass. It's just a patented brand name and trademark that has been sold several times since.
Lots of motorcycle guys are history and nostalgia buffs. Harley Davidson has a direct and unbroken lineage to the original 1903 model and the Fantastic Four Founders. The 'new' Indian does not the historical link that they're trying to sell.
But I do like what the new Polaris/Indian has done. I think the bikes are beautiful and well-engineered. I desperately want to play with one of those big motors! They are heavy in the resurgence of flat-track with their Scout model and that's terrific!!
AMF purchased Harley Davidson and made AMF motorcycles that were copies of Harley Davidsons.
@@semperfipar1299 If AMF did not purchase H-D back in 1969, it most likely would have folded. AMF paved the way for R&D of the Evolution motor which was introduced shortly after the leveraged buy-out.
aha. Just like polaris has not saved indian, there would be no indian today. You are speaking against your own argument wich isnt very smart. Semper Fipar just exposed you. at least polaris does a better job at making indians then AMF does making harleys 🙂
@@semperfipar1299 No. The Harley lineage is direct and continuous. AMF bought the original HD company including manufacturing facilities, tooling, blueprints, patents, dealer network, etc.
The only thing about the various post-Springfield Indians is the name and trademarks.
@@pb68slab18 but.....AMF made the bikes, not HD.
"They made place for another american motorcycle company to steal the show.... harley davidson" and boy did they steal the show.😂 Anyways! Im happy that Indian is back.
DADDY CAME BACK FROM LEAVING TO GET MILK!
Pls stay
More bankruptcies than 45th Prez.
Better than harley hands down
The original Indian went out of business forever inn 1953. Nothing after that with the Indian name on it was a real Indian. Gluing feathers to a turtle does not make it a canary, and that is what many tried to do, and they all failed. After Polaris acquired the "name" (and that's ALL they acquired, just the name) the first couple years of Indian "copies" they made were beautiful. They were red, with tons of chrome, and full skirted fenders. The Thunder Stroke 111 engine seemed to be reliable, and it even looked pretty good. These were nice bikes, though not "real" Indians, they were excellent copies. The one big issue I had with them is they put "since 1901" on them, in a really stupid attempt to try and connect them to "real" Indians. Everybody knew they were not the real deal, but would have bought them for what they were, a modern day version of a long defunct brand. But Polaris totally blew it. Those beautiful first bikes were soon replaced by some of the most hideous motorcycles ever made. All matte black, no chrome, they no longer had the beautiful Indian fenders, which, more than anything else, defined the Indian brand. The "Scout" engine came from the Victory Octane, and doesn't even resemble a motorcycle engine. It looks more like a car engine. The 2014 Chief was big and majestic looking. It looked like an Indian Chief should. The new "Chief" is absolutely disgusting. It's half the size of the original Polaris Chief, all matte black, no chrome, it looks like it spent a few years at the bottom of a swamp. But, to be sort of fair, H-D also makes a bunch of equally ugly bikes. The Sportster Iron models are beyond disgusting. The Japanese and European manufacturers also jumped on the YABOB (Yet Another Blacked Out Bike) bandwagon, and now it is virtually impossible to buy a motorcycle with bright shiny paint and lots of chrome. I'm just glad I already own several such bikes
It is kind of like AMF purchasing Harley Davidson. They just made copies of Harley Davidsons.
polaris does a better job at making an indian, then AMF does with making a harley.
Harley Davidson makes the best bikes my friend……facts💯👊🏾
Indian went out of business in 1953. What this video is about is Polaris motorcycles.
You know Hardly is an apparel company. This is all Harley fanboys have in the Harley verses Indian debate. Polaris makes a better running machine.
@@semperfipar1299 I agree. I rode a Victory Cross Country Tour for 8 years. I did many trips on that motorcycle, including riding across the country and back. It was a great, and reliable motorcycle. The only thing I have against Indian is their price.
@@Chance-ry1hq moan about price. You cant afford one anyway
@@lexburen5932 Because we are frugal doesn’t mean we can’t afford things. I retired in my late 50’s, what are you doing, Mr moneybags? In debt up to your ears?
This video just convinced me to never buy an Indian thanks 😂
Well then, you are truly missing out.
Men, women, vegans...
Lol 🤣🤣🤣
Lmao there's nothing relating the Original Indian Motocycle Company. That company is long gone. Polaris is the company that just bought the brand.. Original Indian Motocycle company was great, thats their legend not Polaris..
So, when Polaris buys Hardly Davidson does it stop being Hardly Davidson?
@Semper Fipar lol trying to find justification for the only thing makes it an Indian is the name? To answer your question, if it still retains the people and infrastructure like AMF bought Harley Davison in the 70s, then no. It's still a Harley Davison because it is still being designed and rolling out of the same factory. Harley is not going anywhere soon, especially not to Polaris. In the Indian case throughout the decade, passing through hands. It never retain anything but the name. Nice try, though. Weak rebuttal.
@@TheLeftwing71 Especially not to Polaris? If Polaris offered enough money the shareholders would sell in a heartbeat. A bunch of bean counters own Harley Davidson. Any company can resurrect a brand.. Polaris is living up to the name of the brand they bought, Indian.
@Semper Fipar what you're talking about all speculation. There is no actual talk that will or would happen. Of course, most companies have a price, and if they pay them enough. Who wouldn't sell? You're talking like a fool. If that is what you think about Polaris and your Indian makes you feel better about it, then ok. However, many people have complained about how cheaply and plastic they feel the Indian bike feels. I'll say it again, it's a Polaris bike, the only thing that it had retained was the name, nothing more. Further, more any can resurrect a brand , that's given. Like I said it's just that brand. Doesn't mean it an original like Harley Davison. Following it tradition, design, and history. The original Indian company is long gone. The history of Indian band does not actually belong to Polaris.
@@TheLeftwing71 You are a knucklehead fanboy. Polaris is a better motorsports company than Harley ever was and they make a better machine. Their Victory line was a superior bike to anything Harley produced and still is better. They bought the name and the history of Indian and resurrected it. My point is "IF" they bought Harley they would have done the same thing. Would it still be a Harley? Yes, because that was the intent of the original makers of the brand. If they bought Royal Enfield or Triumph, a motorsports company like Polaris put the intent of the original manufactures into the bike. Why do you think all of the Indians look retro, like an Indian air-cooled motor from the time period? Why do you think all of the other Indian makes before Polaris were a failure? It is because they made a clone of another bike and slapped an Indian name on it. Even the S&S Indians were just Harleys with an Indian name. Polaris scrapped all of that nonsense and redesigned what an Indian would be today and they did a really good job. All made in house in America. Have you noticed something about Harley? The apparel company has been slowly erasing the history of Harley. Just look at the logo. It is an outline of what it was and it sucks.
Indian died seventy years ago.
Well, Polaris brought them back. What's your point? They can't use the name? If Polaris bought Hardley Davidson would it still be Hardly Davidson?
@@semperfipar1299 my point is that Indian died seventy years ago, as you already obviously saw.
What is your point?
Polaris resurrected Indian. That is my point.
This is about Indian.
Draw yourself toward yourself.
Insulting Harley-Davidson merely displays your ignorance.
@@semperfipar1299 tell someone who cares.
Nothing can ever change the fact that Indian died seventy years ago.