By 1953 Indian was in trouble deep. The company's new-design singles and twins, meant to blunt a postwar invasion of highly competent lightweights from England, had teething problems and were dead in the marketplace. That left the venerable Chief to soldier on, a flathead design in an increasingly overhead-valve world. Not that the proud old Indian wasn't ready for a fight. The motor had been punched out to 80ci (1300cc) and an up-to-date hydraulic telescopic fork replaced the traditional girder arrangement. Styling-wise, the art-deco skirted fenders looked as good as ever, maybe even more so as the front was trimmed back and a small shroud was added to the headlight area.

Still, the financial handwriting was on the wall and Indian was not destined to survive past '53. This bike is from the last batch of 600 Chiefs produced. It wears non-standard, but period pinstriping pinstriping and has the correct Amal carburetor and controls and factory-optional Chum-Me seat with chromed grabrail.