Legendary American brand Indian is looking like finally making a proper comeback, after many international false starts and a long list of law suits over who owned the name.
Now based at Kings Mountain, North Carolina, the firm appears to have reasonably serious funding and says it will produce its first model, the 2009 Chief, in the northern hemisphere Autumn of 2008.
The machine is powered by an in-house designed V-twin, running fuel injection and displacing 1638cc.
While numerous aftermarket V-twin powerplants are on offer in the USA, Indian Chairman Stephen Julius said, "There's no way we could buy an engine from a third party. It's taking us longer, but I think long term we're doing the right thing."
The firm promises to offer a high degree of customizing and has ambitious plans to open 50 dedicated dealerships over a 36-month period.
Its first, near Charlotte in North Carolina, is already under construction.
Indian says it has begun testing rolling prototypes and is now starting to take deposits on the first production run, though final specs and price have yet to be announced.
Link: indianmotorcycle.com