Motorcycle touring is popular in the North Carolina Smokies. Our curvy and scenic mountain roads are nothing short of ‘biker heaven’. Yet one group of riders drew a lot of attention when the “Blue Ridge Iron Indian Riders” thundered into the Gear Head Inn near Cherokee recently. The Whittier motel caters to motorcycle and classic car enthusiasts.

The riders were not indian, but the bikes were. They all were Indian Chief motorcycles, with their signature deeply valenced fenders.

Considered ‘America’s First Motorcycle’, Indian Motorcycles were popular from 1901 until World War II, when production shifted to supplying military and police vehicles. After the war, the company struggled to recapture its market and eventually closed its doors in 1953. The company was resurrected in 1999 and today Indian Motorcycles are manufactured in Kings Mountain, North Carolina.

Photo by Andy Jay, editor of Dashboards and Saddlebags magazine