Indian relaunches the Chief

Indian has relaunched its Chief with its own engine replacing the aftermarket unit which has been used since the firm was brought back from the dead in 1998.

The 1638cc 45° V-twin air-cooled unit, called the Powerplus means the Chief will be the biggest mass-produced American bike on the market.

The firm is concentrating on sales in the U.S. for now, but says it will be trying to sell to us Brits within three years.

A spokesman for the firm said: ” We know the Indian brand is strong all over the world so it’s a natural step that we start selling in Europe. We want to make sure we have everything in order in the U.S. then we’ll be looking hard at it. ”

Indian lasted from 1901 to 1953 before going bust, but it was revived in 1998 in a Californian factory, not its famous original base in Springfield, Massachussets.

There are two versions of the Chief, the Deluxe and Roadmaster. The Deluxe is £15,000 or you can spend an extra grand to get a screen and passenger backrest on the Roadmaster.