Unobtainium – Vincent–Indian Collaboration Featured Motorcycle

Very few people know about a possible merger between two Goliaths in the motorcycle industry that could have changed the face of motorcycling as we know it

The successful relaunch of the Indian brand by Polaris Corp. marks the latest chapter in 115 years of tribal turmoil representing the fortunes of America’s oldest and most historic motorcycle marque, ever since the Indian Motocycle Company was founded back in 1901 in Springfield, Massachusetts. This time around, though, Indian really is back for good and already poses a serious challenge to the two-wheeled supremacy of its two years younger Harley-Davidson rival.

But imagine shoehorning a Ducati V-twin superbike engine into the rolling chassis of a modern 2016 Indian Chief, replacing its pushrod overhead-valve (OHV) motor with a smaller-capacity yet higher-performance powerplant aimed at securing bragging rights over its Harley-Davidson rival. Unthinkable, right? Yet that’s today’s exact equivalent of what happened seven decades ago, when Indian combined with Britain’s illustrious Vincent marque – the world’s leading sportbike brand – to create the one and only Vindian.

Rivals at War

The fact that Indian survived the Great Depression, which left only Indian and Harley still standing out of the 20-plus American manufacturers at that time, was thanks to wealthy investor E. Paul DuPont, who bought the company in 1929. In DuPont’s hands, Indian matched Harley-Davidson for production volume and profitability throughout the 1930s, with 8,883 bikes built in 1939, which was 500 more than Harley. But after building 42,044 Indian Scouts for military use in the Second World War, the end of hostilities left Indian in no condition to resume its pre-war battle with Harley for market supremacy. With a rundown factory and decrepit tooling worn out under the demands of the war effort, along with DuPont’s health in decline and serious financial problems, the company’s very survival was at risk. Few examples were built of the single model available: the pre-war flathead 74 cu. in. Chief with the large skirted fenders that had become a company trademark. The popular Scout was dropped from the lineup in 1945, a foolish decision that caused outrage among the returning GIs with money in their pockets and no Indian to spend it on. Just 6,974 Indian Chiefs were built in 1946 – against 15,554 Harley-Davidsons – shrinking to 3,000 in 1949.

In October 1945, Ralph B. Rogers, a 35-year-old investor with no experience in the motorcycle industry, purchased Indian from the DuPont family. He decided to focus on building small and midsize British-style bikes, and instructed his team of engineers to create lightweight singles, like the 13 cu. in. (213 cc) Arrow 149 and 26 cu. in. (426 cc) Super Scout 249, leaving Indian dealers unable to meet the huge postwar demand for traditional heavyweight V-twins. Production began the following October, after what proved to be a suicidally short development time, which meant that it was the company’s first customers who discovered Indian’s new Torque engines wouldn’t stand up to hard use. The production shutdown, and the time and money lost in addressing these problems only added to Indian’s financial plight.

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