After Indian went out of business in the late 40s and they were scooped up by a British firm, they sold off the remaining “true” Indians and created a new model before starting to sell rebadged Royal Enfields like the Tomahawk and the Lance. That model was the Indian Brave, designed as a low budget runabout for the American market.
The Brave featured a 248cc flat head thumper (producing 8.25 horsepower) with a 3-speed transmission. According to a review in 1952 by Cycle magazine, top speed was 68 miles per hour and the bike returned 82 mpg. MSRP was just $443, but that didn’t seem to help sales, which topped out at around 14,000 over about 4 years. This ’53 model was the last year the Brave was produced, before Indian switched over to R-E bikes.
This specific Indian Brave (VIN: 248M7502) has 18,868 miles but has just enjoyed a total restoration. The seller says that mechanically the bike needs nothing, but then notes that parts for the speedometer drive are NLA, so the speedo doesn’t work. I guess we have different definitions of a bike ‘needing nothing’, but it still looks absolutely fantastic.
Find this Indian Brave for sale in Paynesville, Minnesota with bidding up to $3,050 and the reserve not yet met
