Injuns

Fast Eddie

Fast Eddie

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A guy was admiring my Harley recently and then confessed he was actually considering an Indian Chief of some description, and asked me what I thought of them.

“No idea” was my honest reply.

But they do look ‘ansum. That great big, fake flat head, engine looks the bollox.

Anyone here got or had one? Anyone know what they’re like?

And NO, before anyone says it, this has nothing to do with the current woke thing !!
 
1723834794832.jpeg
 
Only thing I know about them is that my Aunt and Uncle had matching ones in the 50s. The bikes were giant (from the standpoint of a kid looking at them)! My Aunt was about 5'6" and maybe 110 pounds. The bikes had hand shifters (suicide). Three speeds forward and one reverse. Even as a kid I was surprised to see my Aunt backing the bike into the garage under power - my uncle did too - why not when you have reverse!
 
My buddy and I bought new Indians in ‘22. I bought the FTR and he bought the Chief. We both had some taillight issue fixed under the same factory recall. Other than that the bikes have been flawless. Fit and finish are equal or better to Harley and I own a Harley to compare with. If I had the room I’d buy a Chief. One thing that bugs my friend is the Apple Play connectivity or interface. Says it drops out a lot but I dont listen to music when I’m riding so not an issue for me.
Injuns
 
speirmoor said:
My buddy and I bought new Indians in ‘22. I bought the FTR and he bought the Chief. We both had some taillight issue fixed under the same factory recall. Other than that the bikes have been flawless. Fit and finish are equal or better to Harley and I own a Harley to compare with.
View attachment 115856
Click to expand...
IF I was going to buy a new bike, out of ALL of the new bikes in the world, it would be an FTR
 
 
Last edited:
speirmoor said:
My buddy and I bought new Indians in ‘22. I bought the FTR and he bought the Chief. We both had some taillight issue fixed under the same factory recall. Other than that the bikes have been flawless. Fit and finish are equal or better to Harley and I own a Harley to compare with. If I had the room I’d buy a Chief. One thing that bugs my friend is the Apple Play connectivity or interface. Says it drops out a lot but I dont listen to music when I’m riding so not an issue for me.
View attachment 115856
Click to expand...
I like engines - does this have one or is it an EV.

Just kidding - it's a cool looking bike but like most modern bikes looks more like a wasp than a motorcycle and it's like the desire is to hide the engine. From the exhaust I assume a V-Twin engine.

If you look at a Zero Motorcycle from the side - similar except no exhaust.

zeromotorcycles.com

Zero Motorcycles SR/F - Electric Motorcycle Company

The unprecedented combination of industry-leading power, control, and connection.
zeromotorcycles.com zeromotorcycles.com
 
Went and had a look at a dealers today who had a whole tribe of Chiefs !

Nice things. Fabulous looking engines.

But (understandably) they still look and sound like modern retro bikes and I guess they’d feel like it too. Whereas my twin cam Fat Boy S looks, sounds and feels a lot more ‘genuine old skool’.

Interestingly (regarding the ‘woke’ topic) there were two guys there looking to trade their Harleys…
 
An old friend of mine has recently sold his Powerplus Indian and he really rated that one, but it wasn’t a flat head.
 
Flatspot said:
An old friend of mine has recently sold his Powerplus Indian and he really rated that one, but it wasn’t a flat head.
Click to expand...
Do you know what year it was?
Prior to the 'Polaris' Indians, there were the 'Gilroy' Indians.
They had a 'Powerplus' engine AKA the bottlecap engine.

Indian PowerPlus 100 problems & solutions

Indian engine problems, solutions and test results from Blackhawk Motor works.
www.blackhawkmotorworks.com
www.advrider.com

Bottle cap Indians, Gilroy and Stellican.

Having seen one recently here I realised I know nothing about them. I'm not even sure any made it to the UK, don't think I've ever seen one on the...
www.advrider.com www.advrider.com

Indian is one of the few marques that has a more contorted ownership than 'Norton'...
 
MichaelB said:
Indian is one of the few marques that has a more contorted ownership than 'Norton'...
Click to expand...

Wow! Just read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Motorcycle

I guess it shows the power of a name. Dead many times, resurrected many times, re-imagined many times but always keeping the native American naming theme. It would have been cheaper in most of those cases just to choose a new name and quit buying the old one - but I guess marketing rules.

If they become much bigger, the woke will be after them for using the terms "Indian", Chief, Scout, Brave, etc.!
 
marshg246 said:
If they become much bigger, the woke will be after them for using the terms "Indian", Chief, Scout, Brave, etc.!
Click to expand...
That worm has turned.

The Indians (native Americans) have made it ABUNDANTLY CLEAR that they appreciated the respect and admiration of those who chose to "enshrine" their existence in this country.

The woke can go to ... somewhere else, not here.
 
grandpaul said:
That worm has turned.

The Indians (native Americans) have made it ABUNDANTLY CLEAR that they appreciated the respect and admiration of those who chose to "enshrine" their existence in this country.

The woke can go to ... somewhere else, not here.
Click to expand...
Absolutely, at least most, if not all of the native Americans had no trouble with the Washington Redskins football team name and at least some were happy to be thought of - but the woke fought hard enough to get the name changed!
 
Ditto problems with our local Premier league rugby team, the Exeter Chiefs, the fans are no longer permitted to use their tomahawk chop and Native American headdresses. Also gone is their “big chief” mascot.
Who complained?
 
When I was a kid, the first bike I had was an Ex 500cc WW2 Indian Scout. My mate had a 750cc WLA Harley. The Indian was much better engineered, and they both had the same lack of speed. The clutch and primary drive on the Harley were abysmal. The Indian primary cases had bolts right around it's perimeter. The Harley cases did not even hold oil. In those days we only had motorcycles because people gave them to us.
 
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