Indian Motorcycles is back!

A couple of years ago Polaris Industries bought the rights to Indian Motorcycles, one of the most historic motorcycle brands the world has ever seen. Polaris did something similar with Victory Motorcycles over a decade ago and has seen them come back to the forefront. Indian motorcycles date back to the early 1900’s and have become a cult classic because they dominated the racing scene in the United States well into the 1950’s. Although new versions of the Chief have hit the market since then none have been as revolutionary as the 3 new versions Polaris has helped launch.

Indian currently has 3 models; the Chief Classic, the Chief Vintage, and the top of the line Chieftain. The prices are well under the previous owner’s prices, the previous price for the Vintage topped $36,000 but Polaris managed to price this newest version at an astonishing $20,999. A price drop of roughly $15,000. The prices for the Classic and Chieftain start off at $19,000 and $22,999 respectively. Remarkably, Polaris has managed to bring these models to the showroom from their conception in a speedy 27 months, about half the time it normally takes for other manufacturers to do the same.

Indian is paying their heritage some respect by keeping some styling cues from the past. First, their engine, the Thunder Stroke 111 pushes out 119 ft-lbs of torque and features styling of engines past. Second, all three models are still using the very traditional “war bonnet” that Indians of the past were known for. Third, the classic elegant fender skirts are still present in the new models. Indian wanted to make sure that their customers were getting a classic Indian look but with a modern motorcycle. Unlike the heavyweight manufacturer in the cruiser market who’s selling classic motorcycles with modern features, Indian has updated their motorcycles from the ground up. Indian is selling modern motorcycles with classic features and this, they hope, will gain them a bigger share of the market over the next few years.

It has been a long time coming for Indian motorcycle’s resurgence but it took a good investor to bring them up to modern standards. Now that Indian is back, some dealers are having trouble keeping them in their showrooms because they’re selling so fast. If you’re in the market for a new cruiser, take a good look at what Indian has to offer because they’re sure to take a bigger share of the market in the next few years. If you own an Indian Motorcycle and are looking for saddlebags, please visit our Indian Motorcycle Saddlebags Section here.