Indian Summer On the Way

INDIAN SUMMER ON THE WAY

Development of the new Indian Century V-Twin Chief continues, and a running prototype will appear at a June 11 bike show in Albuquerque, New Mexico, along with a full line of Indian apparel, says company owner Wayne Baughman.

Baughman agrees that there have been as many skeptics as there are challenges in developing the new motorcycle, but he insists financing and everything else is in good order.

“It’s all going very well,” he says, “Everything is right on schedule. Nobody will be disappointed or embarrassed.” New Chiefs, costing around $15,000, will be shipped this fall to 50 dealers across the U.S. and Europe, according to Baughman.

Several dealers traveled to Michigan in February to meet with engineers at the

Batten Corporation, designers of the Indian’s 1660cc, three-valve-per-cylinder wouldn’t Twin. Company give a specific president horsepower Cyril Batten figure, but said it would be less than 100. Baughman says only, “It’ll be plenty powerful. It’ll get your attention.” Batten’s company is no stranger to attention-getting engine design. It helped

develop Oldsmobile’s Quad4 engine, and built the engine that powered the Olds Aerotech to a host of world speed records, Wayde Beechy, a partner in an Indiana dealership, was among those making the

trip to Batten’s Detroit-area headquarters. “They’ve got some good, professional people up there,” says Beechy. “They’re not taking shortcuts, they’d rather wait and get the final product right. Their plan is to build only five bikes per day at first.” Motorcycle industry analyst Don J.

Brown says Indian could well be a success as a small manufacturer.

“If they play it right, there may be a business there,” he says. -Robert Hough

Robert Hough