It might not rekindle the famous "Indian wars" with Harley-Davidson in the 1920s, but it's already sparked some controversy.
On Aug. 3, Indian Motorcycle Co. will unveil its new Chief motorcycle, which is aimed squarely at Harley's lineup of bestselling bikes.
The unveiling will take place at the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, S.D., which attracts several hundred thousand people and is one of the biggest events of the year for Harley-Davidson riders.
The original Indian Motorcycle Co. went out of business in 1953 and its Indian-head logos became collector's items. Numerous attempts to revive the company failed, but Indian has its best chance under Polaris Industries, a $3 billion Medina, Minn., manufacturer that acquired the brand in 2011 and is known for snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and Victory motorcycles.
Polaris is redesigning Indian bikes from a clean sheet of paper. The new Chief will be the first in the lineup to come from the company's Spirit Lake, Iowa, factory.
