INDIAN'S WHICH COULD HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE:

One of the differences between Harley and Indian was this, Indian tried a number of radical departures from their standard motorcycles to revive their business.  Harley made slow, incremental, and minor changes over time with few significant innovations.

In 1948 Indian sent an Indian Chief to England to have Phil Vincent place a Vincent engine and gearbox in a bike.  The hope was to find a competent replacement for the old side-valve Indian mill.  The engine/transmission unit fit fine and would have made for a much faster Chief.  The Vincent engine unit would have been a great way to update the Indian, the only problem was that the Vincent engine required more maintenance and was not as reliable as a daily runner.  It was just not to be!

As Torque Industries was working on the British styled vertical twin, they were also working on an in-line four.  The Torque In-Line Four could have been a new chaper continuing the Indian Four series.  Never built beyond a test bike in 1945, the new four was never a potential new model.  Again, what a loss for both Indian and history!

If only Indian had pursued the Chief-Vincent set up, there might have been an entirely new chapter to the Indian story.  Indian would have again become the performance king.  Could you imagine what these bikes would be worth today!

 All that remains of the Torque four is one running prototype and a seperate engine.  The prototype did show potential but was under developed.  Again, money and slow business prevented the continued experimentation of the motorcycle.

Vincent motorcycles are one of the most collectable motorcycles today.  Any Vincent will bring huge amounts of money.  If Indian had sold several thousand Vincent engined Chiefs, there is no doubt that they would be not only very collectable, but pricy as well!

Floyd Clymer, an interesting motorcycle personality in his own right was a serious innovator as well.  He attempted to revive the Indian name by building several new versions a marketable Indian motorcycle.  He used Velocette engines, Horex, engines, and Royal Enfield engines to create new Indian models.  It is estimated that around 170-200 Velo Indians were built, about 20 Royal Enfield Indians were built, and only about 2-3 Horex Indians were ever built.

Floyd Clymer was a Ford Model T dealer at the early age of 15.  By his late teens, he was a motorcycle racer.  Clymer was never one of the great motorcycle racers, but was one who won his share of important races.  Clymer was an owner of several motorcycle dealerships over the years which included both Indian and Harley Davidson motorcycles (certainly not at the same time).  Clymer owned Cycle magazine for years and was a promoter of many motorcycle related activities.  He is listed as a leading figure in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.  Clymer is best known for his books.   He either authored or published hundreds of books on automobiles and motorcycles many of which are still in print.   One of his last efforts was to revive the Indian brand.  Using British, Italian, and American parts, Clymer attempted to create a new line of Indian motorcycles.  The Clymer-Indian below was a worthy machine in 1969-1970 when it was built.   He died in 1970, so the bikes were never built in large numbers, but what if they had been marketed in larger numbers?  I think they would have revived the name and possibly allowed more development to occur.