1920 Indian Scout Motorcycle

Manufacturer: Hendee Manufacturing Company, Springfield, Massachusetts, US
Engine: Side-valve, V-twin, four-stroke, air-cooled
Displacement: 606 cc (37 ci)
Bore and Stroke: 69 x 78 mm (2.75 x 3.0625 in)
Power: 8.2 kW (11 hp)
Transmission: 3-forward, manual
Weight: 142.88 kg (315 lb)
Original Cost: US $295

Introduced in 1920 when Indian was America’s leading motorcycle manufacturer, the Indian Scout was an instant success due to its reliability. The lightweight Scout was a popular “working” motorcycle for companies that needed an economical, easy-to-handle vehicle for in-town deliveries.

Sporting a Great Northern Railway (GNR) decal, this particular bike was likely used in the 1920s to deliver telegraph messages. The Great Northern Railway operated railway lines from Duluth, Minnesota to Washington State.

This motorcycle has the Great Northern Railroad emblem painted on both sides of the fuel tank. This bike was likely used for railway maintenace patrol duties in the Pacific Northwest. This model of bicycle is also known to have been used by the Northwest Mounted Police in Canada for patrol.

1897 - Hendee Manufacturing Company was founded by George M. Hendee to manufacture bicycles.
1901 - First Indian motorcycle produced.
1902- First Indian motorcycles sold to the public.
1903 - Indian's chief engineer, Oscar Hedstrom, set the motorcycle speed record of 90 km/h (56 mph).
1904 - Indian introduced the deep red paint colour that became their trademark.
1905 - Indian built its first V-Twin factory racer.
1907 - Indian built their first street version V-twin and a Roadster.

1917-1918 - Indian sold most of their bikes to the US military for use in the First World War.
1920 - Scout and Chief V-twins introduced.
1923 - Company name changed to Indian Motorcycle Company.
1930 - Indian merged with DuPont Motors.
1945 - Company bought out by Ralph B. Rogers.
1953 - Financial problems and poor sales ended in the demise of Indian. Product manufacturing ended and Brockhouse engineering acquired the rights to the name Indian.
1955-1960 - Brockhouse imported English Royal Enfield motorccles and slightly customized them and sold them as Indians in the US.
1960-1963 - Indian name was purchased by Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) of the UK but by 1962 were facing financial issues and stopped producing anything under the Indian name.
1963-1970 - Floyd Clymer imported motorcycles from Italy and branded them as Indian.
1969 - This motorcycle was purchased by Stan Reynolds from Washington State.
1970-1977 Clymer passed away in 1970 and the Indian name was sold to Alan Newman from Los Angeles, who continued to import bikes from Italy and later created an assembly plaint in Taiwan. The company declared bancruptcy in 1977.
1977-1984 The Indian trademark was purchased by American Moped Associates who manufactured a moped under the Indian name until 1983. By 1984 the Indian name was no longer used.
1984-1999 - The Indian brand went through several owners.
1999-2003 - The Indian Motorcycle Company of America was formed from a merger of nine companies but went into bankruptcy in 2003.
2006-2011 The Indian Motorcyle Company was started by parent company Stellican Ltd.
2011 - Polaris Industries bought the Indian Motorcycle company and moved production to Iowa, USA.