INDIAN Motorcycle Co. made bicycles ???

I picked up this INDIAN bicycle a while back, and I am trying to figure out how old it is. I talked to the guys at Fabers Bicycle Museum here in San Jose, they seem to think that INDIAN manufactured Bicycles from their early days through World War Two, but this bycicle doesn't look that old.
If anyone has any info or history on these products that would be great.

 

Those pictures look like ****, sorry about that.

 

The pics are too low res to make out good. Many companies made promotional bikes in the 50's and 60's. There was a pontaic GTO bike to match the car etc. Most were made by someone else and then had thier badge slapped on the thing, this looks like a English 3 speed bike common from the 60's. AMF had ones made by herculies, that were actually made by raliegh for the USA. BF Goodrich had bikes made for them by Schwinn. This thing may have been some short-lived promotion. Better pics and perhaps I could tell you more.

 

Indian
http://www.photos.indianmotorbikes.com/bicycles/index.html

 

Indian made Indian

 

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The Cl***ics: 1919 Indian Bicycle

Using bicycles in the motorcycle sales wars


You may know most of America’s first motorcycles were little more than bicycles with motors. But did you know that manufacturers actually used bicycles as part of their strategy to sell motorcycles?

Take the case of the Indian Motocycle Company, and this 1919 Indian bicycle with an attached Smith Motorwheel.
Indian’s history with bicycles actually began way back in 1889. That’s when the Hendee Manufacturing Company, which eventually became the Indian Motocycle Company, was formed to build bicycles. The company only started building motorcycles in 1902. By the mid-teens, the factory was making 30,000 motorcycles a year. To make way for that production, the bicycle part of the business was farmed out.

 

Thanks, the promotional thing sounds right, you cant make it out but the badge on the neck is the Indiand Scout logo, and someone else told me their was a ladies version called the Indian Princess.

 

The link:

http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/cl***ics/bike.asp?id=12

 

that bike looks like a schwin with a different tag on the front.the head set appears to be chromed, doubt that bike is that old

 

It looks like the pic of that second one I posted with the bend in the "boy bar" *ewww ewww ewwwwww*, but then thru the years MAYBE some way too cool kid who couldn't afford an orange crate with bannana seat and ape hangers changed some schit on it?

 

Brandy, thanks for the link. While you can't tell from the picture, if nothing else, the Indian Scout Badge is in good shape.

 

I've got one like your but a girls bike. They look 50's to me.

 

Indian-badged bikes were not built by the motorcycle company after about the early 1900's. They were built by the Davis Sewing Machine company in Dayton Ohio, and later by its successor company, Huffman Manufacturing. They were at one time the largest bicycle maker in the world and made many brands, including Harley-Davidson.

Also, there have been lots of different bikes with Indian-themed badges, including some made in Germany.

 

Yours is a 50s made English Indian. The company was the same but different than the Indian American brand. I own a 3 speed model Indian and a 70s Italian made dirtbike (licensed name) There was a Yahoo user group for Indian bikes a few years ack, might still be active.

 

His is English, as you said, the name was *****d out to many venues.

 

Not an Indian - it's a Mitchell. There must be places out there somewhere having infomation on these old 'bikes', but I don't know where they are.