INDIAN FOURS:

From Henderson to Ace to Indian, the bike changed little over time.  This shows how strong the original design was!

Bill Henderson designs and builds his 4 cylinder motorcycle in 1911 and builds them till 1917, then sells it to Ignaz Schwinn, the bicycle maker.   Schwinn builds the bike till 1931 but stops because of the great depression.  Henderson works for Schwinn till 1919.

The Ace was built from 1920 till 1926.  Henderson dies in 1922 and is replaced by Arthur Lemon as the new engineer and designer.

Pictured below is a 1920 version.

Indian builds the Ace-Indian from 1927 to 1929 at which time the Ace brand is removed.  From 1929 to 1941, the motorcycle is sold under the Indian name only.  It is a low production motorcycle because it is quite expensive.  It cost more that some automibiles and nearly twice that of a Model T Ford.  Many police departments use the bike because they were smooth running, comfortable to ride, and very durable.

The Motolux group, founded by Alan Forbes, is located in Scotland and built the Indian Dakota pictured at the right.  From what I have found, the group built the motorcycle as early as 1999 but not commercially until 2004.  Records indicate that they were made as late as 2010 by special order only.  Alan Forbes revived the brand in England and is an Indian enthusiast.  I think that I first heard about the Dakota around 2002.   What I have found out is this, Motolux has the rights to the Indian name in Europe only and therefore can not sell their machines in the US.  Forbes had considered selling the bike in the US under the name of Dakota according to one source.  The 2007 Dakota sold for approximatly $27,000 US dollars which would have been around $38,000 in 2022.  I doubt that the bike would sell well in the US because of the cost and the lack of refinnment that Americans would expect.  Horse power figures were around 74.  It does look cool and would be a novelty motorcycle but I certainly wish some had made it to America!

The Dakota was a low production motorcycle and sold only in UK markets.  It was built as early as 1999 though not commercially made until around 2004 and continued untill at least 2010. They were always produced in really low numbers. They were a special order bike only, not a production model. It's a beauty but would not be popular with most American riders because of the lack of refinement.  The builder, Alan Forbes (British), used a platform engineered by Sture Torngren(Swedish).  It was first a "Wiking" and later became an "Indian."  The engine is part Volvo with a BMW transmission. Make sure and read the material on this machine on the "More Indian's" page.