| MODEL | INDIAN CHIEF 1200 1922 - 1948 |
| Year | 1922 - 1948 |
| Engine Type | Air-cooled four-stroke sidevalve V-twin |
| Displacement / Capacity | 1213 cc / 74 cu in |
| Bore X Stroke | 83 x 113 mm |
| Compression Ratio | — |
| Cooling System | — |
| Max Power | 24 bhp @ 3000 rpm |
| Max Torque | — |
| Ignition | — |
| Induction | Single carburettor |
| Start System | — |
| TRANSMISSION SPECS | |
| Lubrication | — |
| Gear Box | 3 speed |
| Clutch | — |
| Final Drive | Chain |
| CHASSIS SPECS | |
| Frame | Single tubular cradle |
| Front Suspension | Trailing-link fork with leaf spring |
| Rear Suspension | Rigid (unsprung) |
| Front Brakes | None (front brake not fitted until 1929) |
| Rear Brakes | Drum, 6.8 in |
| DIMENSION SPECS | |
| Overall Length | — |
| Overall Width | — |
| Overall Height | — |
| Seat Height | — |
| Wheelbase | — |
| Ground Clearance | — |
| Dry Weight | 193 kg / 425 lbs |
| Wet Weight | — |
| WHEEL SPECS | |
| Front Tyre | — |
| Rear Tyre | — |
| FUEL SYSTEM | |
| Fuel Capacity | — |
| Fuel Consumption | — |
| Top Speed | Nearly 90 mph / about 145 km/h |
Photo: Qflieger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Rikita, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Chief arrived in 1922 as a 61 cu in sidevalve V-twin and grew to the 74 cu in Big Chief a year later, which became the long-running heavyweight of the Springfield range. Early machines were rigid-framed with a leaf-sprung trailing-link fork and a three-speed gearbox. Over the following decades it gained a front brake, balloon tyres and eventually a sprung frame.
