Indian Chief

Indian Chief

Specs Mentioned:

Make/ Model – Indian Chief (1940)

Engine – V-Twin Engine – 4-stroke

Power – 40bhp

Top speed – 80mph

The Chief is an American icon and has always been Indian’s largest and most expensive model. It was introduced in 1922 and it would be the only model that Indian brought back into production after the end of WWII.

When you ask someone to picture an Indian motorcycle in their head the overwhelming majority of people are going to envisage something akin to the 1940 Indian Chief, probably in red, with its sweeping fenders, gleaming chrome work, a single sprung saddle, and of course, that thumping V-twin.

The worlds largest motorcycle manufacturer in the early 1920s, Indian was bought by paintmaker DuPont in 1930. Over two dozen color options were offered thereafter, the earlier deep red remaining the trademark color. Production of the Indian Chief ran from 1940 through 1953.

The featured Indian Chief is one of the only 5000 civilian examples with leaf springing. Registered in Ceylon in 1949, CN-1279 saw its early days in Manipay, Jaffna Peninsula, in the north of the country. It is rumored that this bike was once owned by C.S.Rajaratnam, the first librarian of the Jaffna Municipal Library. After a hibernation of 30 years, the bike has been restored to pristine condition.