Indian "Rainbow" Chief
1206 cc
1951
United States
Power output: 40 hp @ 5,000 rpm
Top speed: 85 mph
Collection of Rocky Halter
unused, from 2005
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America's First Motorcycle: In the Beginning, a Genius Created a Pacer Bicycle
While the 2 3/4 horsepower single and the five horsepower twin have been retained, two new models will be presented and a seven horsepower twin. The radical changes of the Indian, however, will consist in a mechanical oiling device, free engine and two-speed gear, and a new spring fork.
-- New York Times, January 9, 1910
By the time the above appeared, Indian motorcycle riders had been roaming the dirt trails and rolling along the wagon-wheel ruts of America for almost a decade. Hitting the road in 1901, Indian was not only the first American motorcycle, it was the world's best-selling bike and, having introduced the first V-twin motorcycle to the world in 1907, the most technologically advanced.
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