Bosses at Indian Motorcycle have committed to a cruiser-focused future – saying that it plays into the brand’s strengths as they transition into an independent company away from current owners Polaris.
Speaking to MCN at the EICMA trade show in Milan, the brand also released a girder fork concept model (see pix below) – paying tribute to 80 years of the Chief model name.
“I think short-term, our direction is really to focus on cruiser and bagger and touring in the United States and around the world,” Director of Product Planning, Ben Lindaman said. “It’s a big market where we have our strongest foothold.”
At the beginning of 2025, Indian took the decision to discontinue their FTR naked roadster range (see pix below) – a model line first revealed in 2019 that developed to become a group of road-focused muscle nakeds, more than capable of holding their own against rivals from Europe and Japan.
They also provided an entry point to the brand for those less enamored by the laid-back Americana lifestyle, with the move leaving only the Scout and Chief cruiser lines, Chieftain and Challenger baggers, plus the Roadmaster and Pursuit touring models in the current catalogue.
“That’s where the decision was made on FTR,” Lindaman added. “We wanted to focus our resources and focus on growing there.
“And once we have that growth and once, we’ve established ourselves enough there, then we can go do anything. It’s really how we feel. But that’s kind of how we came to that decision from a product perspective.”
On top of product decision making, the entire Indian Motorcycle business is currently undergoing a period of significant change. The American name was resurrected by Polaris in 2011 before launching their first Scout model in 2014 – the first bike to bear the name in over 70 years.
Their majority stake in the business will now be sold to US private equity firm Carolwood LP, with around 900 workers moving across in the deal, including designers, engineers, and manufacturing facilities located at Spirit Lake, Iowa, and Monticello, Minnesota.
“It feels like it’s an opportunity for us to really focus on motorcycles,” Lindaman continued. “We’ve been in the bigger business, and there’s a lot of things going on. We’re here now, motorcycles is all we do, and so I’m really looking forward to that and having that focus.”
Vice President of Global Sales, Joel Harmon further added: “This is truly going to be a lifting up and a shifting of the Indian Motorcycle business to a standalone. The people, the design team, the product team, the manufacturing team, the manufacturing footprint, our dealer network, all of our sales team, everyone is coming with this sale. We’re going to be able to have just a freedom and a focus on Indian Motorcycles as our sole brand and we’re so excited about what that means for our future.”
Indian showcase girder fork concept at EICMA 2025
Alongside the launch of their 2026 Sport Scout RT and Sport Scout Sixty, Indian Motorcycle used their presence at last week’s EICMA trade show in Milan to showcase a new Concept Girder fork design, paying tribute to the past.
Discreetly placed on the stand in front of their latest, and most advanced King of the Baggers race bikes, the concept model was commissioned to mark 80 years of the Indian Chief name, which was first introduced back in 1946.
As you might expect, the funny front-end bolts into an adapted tubular chassis taken from the current five-strong Chief line-up. The engine is also the same 1890cc air-cooled Thunderstroke 116 V-Twin used by the family, producing a hefty 115lb.ft of torque.
Styling is traditional American cruiser, with a low-riding rear end and forward-mounted foot controls. The single front brake caliper is mounted directly to the girder fork leg, with the special paint said to honor the land speed record breaking streamliner of Burt Munro.
Unlike conventional forks, this new design incorporates a yellowed shock behind a circular LED front headlight. Here, the lower end of the spring is attached to the girders and the upper end to the steering stem – meaning as the front wheel moves upwards, the shock compresses to absorb and dissipate energy.
