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During 1920 Indian Motorcycle came out with a superb motorcycle which was called Indian Scout motorcycle and was used by everyone from police to motorcycle racer. This motorcycle which was in use till 1939 had a low frame and better handling. India was also producing engines for aircraft and motors for boats, air conditioner and cycles during World War II.

Indian Scout motorcycle had 37 cubic inch (596 cc) engine when it was initially introduced in 1920. Later when popular American motorcycle Excelsior Super X was introduced with 45 cubic inches (745 cc) engine, Indian Scout also changed its engine to 45 cubic inch in 1927.

A second response was the 1928 introduction of the 101 Scout, which some fans believe to be the height of Indian Motorcycle technology. There remain, however, enthusiasts who are pleased with Indian’s use of the frame from its other superstar model, the Chief, in the Scout line starting in 1931.

Possibly as a appeasing move for its fans Scout came out with smaller models between 1932 till 1941with 30.50 cubic inch. These had engines which were smaller and were called Scout Pony, the Junior Scout, and the Thirty-Fifty.

The two heavyweight motorcycle companies Indian Motorcycle Company and Harley Davidson were trying to out do each other in America in the early years of 20th century. The rivalry was well known and was written about in a book called Harley-Davidson and Indian Wars by Allan Girdler. The run away success of Scout was fiercely opposed by Harley Davidson.

One testimony to the speed and ruggedness of the 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle was racer Burt Munro’s use of a modified 1920 Scout to set land speed records between 1962 and 1967. Munro’s under-1000 cc world speed record in 1967 still stands. At the time, Munro, a New Zealander, was 68 years old and was riding a motorcycle that was 47 years old. This and other feats were dramatized in 2005 in the movie The World’s Fastest Indian.

The company Indian Motorcycles witnessed a series of trouble and was finally declared bankrupt in 1977. In 1935 controlling interest of Indian Motorcycles was sold and by 1946 it stopped manufacturing any motorcycle. After that till 1977 it changed hands several times. Through out 1980s and1990s the company was fighting court battles over the ownership of the brand name.

The claim of ownership came through in 1988 when IMCOA Licensing America won the trademark by the Federal court in Denver. A nine company conglomerate was set up to form Indian Motorcycle Company of America. From 1999 the manufacturing of Scout Motorcycles were started and went on till 2003 when the company again had to announce bankruptcy.

In 2006, the company re-formed and set up shop in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. Though the Chief model is being reconstructed, the Indian Scout motorcycle is no longer made.

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