The first motorcycle built by the Hendee Manufacturing Company used a 213cc single which fitted neatly into a bicycle-style frame. It sold for $200 and would travel at up to 25mph - the perfect speed to act as a pacer for bicycle races. Unusually, while everyone else opted to take power to the rear wheel via belt drive, Hedstrom preferred chains, and his inlet-over�exhaust valve motor was fitted with an efficient spray carburettor of his own design rather than an off-the-shelf item; just the start of a long list of mechanical innovations which would see Indian leap to the forefront of the pioneer motorcycling world.
Oh yes - why 'Indian' exactly? H&H wanted a name which was both American and yet sparkled with a little bit of European chic, so they chose Indian to signify 'a wholly American product in the pioneering tradition' while adding Motocycle (no 'R') to give it that continental panache. Thus equipped with a cracking brand name, Indian got off to a flying start in the new market. It must have been like the early days of the mobile phone or personal computer - a gradual ramp up for the first few years and then a massive surge in popularity, accompanied by blisteringly fast development which made each model thoroughly outmoded long before it was worn out.
In 1902 Indian built around 150 motorcycles; by 1905 they were experimenting with two- and three-speed gearboxes, V-twin engines and adjustable front suspension, and they were selling around 1200 bikes a year. The first Indian V-twin was a 636cc 42-degree ioe machine, rated at 4hp and capable of 45mph. This model received an enormous boost in 1907 when the inaugural 1 000 Mile ReliabilityTrial (which became famous as the ISDT) was won by a New Yorker riding an Indian V-twin. This American scored 994 points out of a possible 1000. So we Brits were beaten at our own game the very first time we played it!
Then in 1907 an American motorcycle set a world land speed record which would remain intact for nearly four decades. Never mind 'light pedal assistance' - this bike reached 136mph and no other motorcycle in the world matched that feat until after the Second World War. American motorcycles of this period weren't sedate tourers for vicars and squires to tour the English lanes. They were the fast and the furious of the frontier, built against the backdrop of a barely tamed wild west ...
For 1908 the racing development of the Indian V-twin leaped to 1000cc, 7hp and 70mph - and it weighed just 130lb (201b less than the lightest Bantam. Eeek!). A new, full-�loop frame in 1909 added weight, but the stability it provided was sorely needed to cope with the bike's improved performance: you try riding a bicycle at 80mph.
Indian's signature leaf-spring front suspension arrived in 1910, along with two-speed transmission on the single-cylinder machines.
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