Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Riding vintage Indians...

For the motorcycle lovers here.
Beautiful filmed:

I ever loved the the baroque look of the Indian Big Chief.

One day a customer offered me to drive his Indian.

After he told me about the heavy clutch and after I have seen the condition of this bike and the fantastic condition all his other bikes (he was a former mashine company owner and a millionair).

I did not take this chance.

My bike-mad Yorkshire Nephew organises a 'deliberately slow ride' where he and some like-minded pals on old machinery have a toddle round the country lanes just enjoying smelling the flowers and stroking passing lambs🙂 ... bit of an antidote to hammering it everywhere .... a regular attendee is the guy who lives round the corner from him on his lovely old Scout




K

PS ... love the vid ... have road-tripped a lot of those roads (recognise Bryce Canyon .. very distinctive landforms) ... there's a real sub-culture in Japan around vintage/classic Yank/Brit bikes ... a bit ironic really 🙂

They do look interesting but the ones that I have ridden were dire in the dynamic sense. A case of form over function.

Had a Triumph Speedmaster for a year or so, and that got reasonably close to the American style whilst actually handling bends acceptably but the 1200cc parallel twin was not a pleasant engine and the limited suspension travel ( to give the hardtail look) on british potholes was "interesting".;

Howard ... the Indian is pre-war by a good margin and was a sporty and good-handling bike of its day .... this is my Nephew's recent acquisition for the 'Deliberately Slow Ride' ... a wartime M20 put into trials trim just post-war when, being sold off for a few pounds each, these thumpers gave many a returned serviveman a chance for some weekend motorsport .... if you think a modern Triumph 'chopper-a-like' is poor dynamicaly then you'd hate this!! 🙂



K

Perhaps it`s just an age thing, when young and I saw a machine in that condition, my first instinct would be to attempt to restore it to improve it`s overall appearance. Now a few decades on I look at it with a sense of wonder, it`s condition causing me to contemplate, if only it could talk, what might be the stories it could tell....? (-: It seems as I aged I prioritised patination over perfection to some degree... ? (-:

I tend to spray everything Satin Black. It covers a multitude of sins and upkeep is easier. All my bikes were/are Satin Black. So far I have resisted with the Morgan and MG but only a matter of time.......

Rest assured it will be retaining its 'lived in look' 🙂

K

My 2 most favourite bikes to look at and admire, not necessarily most enjoyable to ride are the 1965 Harley panhead Electra glide the first year of an electric starter and the 1950's Indian Chief with the front telescopic forks setup.

I prefer the grider fork of my 46 Chief to the later telescopic fork. Especially for optical reasons, with the telescopic fork the Indian looks too modern for me. Well maintained, it also works very well and responds well to all bumps in the road. For a large motorcycle that is now almost 80 years old, the Chief handles good. You quickly get used to the foot clutch, hand-gearshift and manual ignition adjustment and it's part of the fun.