1946 CHIEF

If Indian couldn’t compete with Harley’s Knucklehead in the performance stakes, the 80mph Chief certainly could when it came to style. The big news for 1940 was the skirted fenders introduced by engineer and stylist George Briggs Weaver. Although not everyone was impressed with the look, there were others who thought the skirted fenders made the Chief the most beautiful bike on the planet and today they are iconic Indian wear. Also new that year was a plunger-sprung frame, although the forks retained the leaf spring – that all changed in 1946, however. Indian had a new owner named Ralph Rogers; times were tough and the Chief was the only model produced that year, but it came with a new double-spring girder fork with a hydraulic shock absorber, basically a slimmer version of the fork developed for the military 841. The Indian head and war bonnet fender light was introduced for the 1947 model year, but Rogers’ business was struggling – he was developing a range of lightweight vertical twins to take on the Brits and finances were tight. The Chief wasn’t listed in 1949, but returned in 1950 with new telescopic forks and a capacity hike to 1300cc. Three years later production of Indian motorcycles ended and the Roadmaster Chief was sent to the happy hunting grounds. But today the Chief and the Scout are back – big time. And you can even buy one with skirted fenders and that war bonnet light...