Baker's mount in subsequent years was the Powerplus, a side-valve V-twin, which was introduced in 1916. In 1914, he rode an Indian across America, from San Diego to New York, in a record 11 days, 12 hours and ten minutes. One of the firm's most famous riders was Erwin "Cannonball" Baker, who set many long-distance records. The roadster can be distinguished from the racers by the presence of twist grip linkages. In 1907, the company introduced the first street version V-twin and a roadster styled after the factory racer. In 1905, Indian built its first V-twin factory racer and in following years made a strong showing in racing and record-breaking. Competitive successes ġ912 Indian Board Track Racer, on display at the California Automobile Museum After 1907, Aurora could make its own complete motorcycles, which it did as Thor, and Indian began manufacturing its own engines. Aurora was also allowed to sell Indian design engines to third parties and pay Indian a fee. until 1906.Īurora produced engines under license for Indian from about 1901 to 1907. The engines of the Indian Single were built by the Aurora Firm in Illinois under license from the Hendee Mfg. Annual production of Indian motorcycles then exceeded 500, rising to a peak of 32,000 in 1913. In 1904 the company introduced the deep red color that would become Indian's trademark. In 1903, Indian's co-founder and chief engineer Oscar Hedstrom set the world motorcycle speed record of 56 mph. The first Indian motorcycles, having chain drives and streamlined styling, were sold to the public in 1902. In 1901, a prototype and two production units of the diamond-framed Indian Single were successfully designed, built and tested. The first Indian prototype was then built and completed on May 25, 1901, by Hedström at the old Worcester Cycle Manufacturing Company in Middletown, Connecticut, and the first public demonstration was held on Cross Street in Springfield, Massachusetts at 12:00 noon on Saturday, June 1, 1901. The motorcycle was successful and sales increased dramatically during the next decade. Both Hendee and Hedstrom were former bicycle racers and manufacturers, and after building three prototypes in Middletown, Connecticut, they teamed up to produce a motorcycle with a 1.75 bhp, single-cylinder engine in Hendee's home town of Springfield. These were initially badged as "Silver King" and "Silver Queen" brands but the name "American Indian", quickly shortened to just "Indian", was adopted by Hendee from 1898 onwards because it gave better product recognition in export markets. The "Indian Motocycle Co." was founded as the Hendee Manufacturing Company by George M. ( November 2010) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This section needs additional citations for verification. History Early years – Hendee and Hedstrom
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