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

I've never come across an Indian Chief I've not liked and would say no too. I had the Harley Springer with the girder type front end and with a front disc brake when applied was always just too much retardation and found the front setup wanting , With a drum front brake I would think the Indian is much more capable of handling the braking forces generated and a more enjoyable ride..

John .... springer and girder forks are different animals ... girders will outperform springers in both handling and stability.

K

Ps ... over the years Indian had both girder and the most wonderfully bizarre springers with a quarter-elliptic spring fixed to the top yoke!!

I did a couple of laps of a dirt track in rural Victora in an early twenties Indian twin racer

Was advised to keep it wide open and use the magneto cut out (a bit of hacksaw blade earthing the mag to the handlebar) to slow it for the corners. Stayed on for the whole time....

The original owner was an interesting chap....a long term resident of the state mental asylum, they let him out on Sundays to race, took him back in at the end of the event, bandaged the burns on his shins from the stub exhausts and ley him back out the next Sunday to repeat the process

Arwyn

That is a thing of beauty!

Jens ... any chance of a pic (or two) of your Indian??

I, for one, would love to see it

K

And a few more pictures from one of our lovely Indian club meetings:

Thanks for that, it was the elliptic spring set up I was thinking about.............need to get my brain back in gear, too much Guinness (and rugby) in Dublin over Paddy's weekend. Still recovering.

That's a wonderful machine Jens .... history on wheels.

Not been to a bike meet in Europe for years ... last one was in Utrecht ... the Dutch lads liked their big-twin flathead Harleys and Indians ... the UK has a good number of 45s (mostly left over from WW2) but the big flatheads are a real rarity over here.
Thanks for the pics

K

Ps ... I think I've posted this before but it remains one of my favourite pictures of an Indian in action ... total period-piece

Fantastic bike pics, thanks for posting...

had this for a couple of years. 1974 Iron Head Sportster with 4 gears and chain drive. Introduced by HD when BSA were running riot in the USA because of the dire quality of HD bikes under the Bowling alley owners.

It was a POS as transport. Broke down every time it rained thanks to electrics. But it did get me waves from the Valley Commandos, our local patch club HA wannabees. Not really the sort of people a chap wants to associate with.