I watched a 2005 movie this last weekend called “The World’s Fastest Indian.”

It starred Anthony Hopkins and told the story of Burt Munroe.

Burt was a New Zealander who rode a streamlined 1920 Indian Motorcycle to an astonishing speed of 183 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in 1967.

Burt’s original machine was designed to go about 54 mph. Burt Munroe returned many times to Bonneville Flats during speed week before passing away in 1978.

Indian Motorcycles were manufactured in Springfield, Massachusetts, just 50 miles west of where I live. So it got me researching to find out more about this company that was at one time the premier motorcycle manufacturer in the U.S.

In the first half of the twentieth century Springfield, Massachusetts was one of the premier manufacturing locations of precision engineering in the U.S. It was home to the first national armory, and the famous Smith & Wesson Firearm company. In addition, the city was chosen by Rolls Royce of England to assemble their luxury models for the U.S. market. But it was motorcycles that put the town of Springfield on the world map.

The Indian Motorcycle Company of Springfield, Massachusetts was the most famous and successful of at one time 50-75 motorcycle companies based in the U.S. This included the Harley-Davidson company which appeared after Indians.

Passionate motorbike enthusiasts worldwide know all about Indian motorcycles. The famous bikes, including the legendary Scout and Chief versions rolled off the assembly line in the Washington Square area of Springfield, an area that was called the Wigwam.

The last of the Springfield built machines rolled off the assembly line in 1953 and the plant closed its doors due to financial problems.

The demise was blamed on poor management, bad investments, and America’s ever-growing love affair with the automobile. Since that time a number of attempts have been made to resurrect the Indian name, but stumbled because of trademark and legal wrangling.

Now, the future looks brighter for the resurrection of the Indian Motorcycle Company but it will not be based in Springfield. All the design and engineering talent for motorcycles left the Springfield area decades ago, and younger blood now reigns in the southern states.

In a July 2006 press release the Indian Motorcycle Company announced plans to open a manufacturing plant in the Charlotte, North Carolina area in 2007.

While the new bikes will probably proudly display the famous Indian insignia they will not be put on with a New England craftsman hand. The mantle is passed to our southern friends and the hope they can raise the Indian brand to its former competitive glory days.

To relive the Springfield heydays of Motorbikes you can visit the Indian Motorcycle Museum in Springfield, Massachusetts. Information can be found by clicking here.

For suggestions and ideas on other attractions and destinations in the Springfield area visit my special Massachusetts vacation page by clicking here.

Look out for more late fall ideas in New England later this week.

Cliff Calderwood
Executive Director,
New England Vacation Guide