smokesignals1303web - Iron Indian Riders Australia

Transcription

Smoke
Signals
Autumn 2013 - ironindian.com.au
Inside: New engine + events + Indian Vincent
From the President
Mark Barthelmie
Well what an interesting summer it’s
been. Queensland weather in Victoria,
Victorian weather in Queensland, tropical
cyclones, tornadoes we seem to have had
it all. Trying to look for the positive in
that is its been great riding weather down
here in Victoria and we have not lost any
event weekends due to the rain. By all
accounts the Sitting Bull rally was well
attended with some interesting rides. Well
done to Robert Gosper for organising that
for us.
The Polaris Indian situation is warming
up nicely. The New Indian Thunderstroke
111 engine was recently released at
Daytona bike week to great acclaim. The
various Indian Forums around the world
have been hot with the news and rumours
about the new bike which will hopefully
been released in Sep/Oct this year. It’s
Prez Mark Barthelmie (left) and Webmaster Phil Pilgrim sealing up a tank at Ray
Drever’s during a recent ride.
interesting to note the styling cues taken
mainly it seems from the 1940s Chief
engine. It’s a very impressive design
which I think seems to be have been well
received by all in the Indian camp.
Of course all the Harley guys have a
quite different view but having also been
in the Harley camp for a number of years
I would make this insider comment: Most
Harley riders would criticise HD Motor
Co at some point for various reasons. It’s
been a free ride for H-D since 1953 so
they have been able to do pretty much
what they like. It may be that at last that
American Heritage V Twins riders will
finally have a choice.
Mark Barthelmie
P2 Smoke Signals, Autumn 2013 - ironindian.com.au
News & Gossip
Indian Oz
Indian Australia, led by local General
Manager Peter Harvey, is having a busy
time of it, opening a new web site, getting the new engine toured around the
country, and presenting the brand to inter-
ested clubs and groups. The Iron Indian
Riders was scheduled to be the first at
the club meeting on March 26, with the
Ulysses Club AGM soon after.
See IndianMotorcycles.com.au.
Our
cover
Our cover this issue is dedicated to
the biggest event in Indian history
for the last 60 years - the release of a
bespoke powerplant by a well-funded and apparently very determined
new owner of the brand.
Polaris proved with its sister brand
Victory that it could build very good
motorcycles and now it looks as
though it’s Indian’s turn.
News & Gossip
New
motorvation
Polaris-owned Indian Motorcycles has
continued the long and slow ‘striptease’
of the new generation motorcycles by
unveiling the powerplant on the first day
of the recent Daytona Bike Week.
Indian has already released a soundtrack of the engine and a lot of online
material talking about what it hopes to
achieve.
The 111 cubic inch unit(1811cc) is an
air-cooled (with oil cooler) long-stroke
design running two valves per cylinder,
operated by pushrods and three camshafts
(one for the intake, two for the exhausts).
Fuel injection feeds the 49-degree twin,
which runs 9.5:1 compression, a max
engine speed of just 5500rpm and claims
a peak torque figure of 115ft-lb (15.9kgm). No power figure has been released.
A major departure from previous practice is the conrods are no longer mounted
on the crank as an interlaced Harley-style
‘knife and fork’ set-up, but are attached
side-by-side.
The unit incorporates a six-speed
transmission and wet multi-plate clutch.
Final drive will be a belt on the production version.
Indian says it based the styling on the
engines from the 1940s, with their parallel pushrod tubes and near-vertical exit
for the exhaust pipes.
“Part of the process of building a new
motorcycle is building many pre-production and production test engines,” said
Gary Gray, Product Director for Indian
Motorcycle.
The company says it has put in the
equivalent of millions of miles of testing
of the design.
“The Indian Motorcycle engineering
team is fully conscious that every day
we are working with history,” added
Gray, “And over the course of design and
development many parts and complete
engines are built, tested, disassembled
and measured.”
In the absence of a production design
to show the public, the company rolled
out a display machine, built as a tribute to
New Zealander Bert Munro (the tribute
News & Gossip
bike is pictured at top), who was made
world famous by the movie The World’s
Fastest Indian.
Indian expects to launch the complete
production bike around the northern
hemisphere Autumn.
Meanwhile we’re told deposits are
already being placed for local sales.
See IndianMotorcycle.com.au.
Guy Allen
(Story courtesy of Motorcycle Trader
magazine.)
Specifications
Displacement: 111 c.i. (1811 c.c.)
Engine Torque: More than 115 ft-lbs (160
Nm)
Engine Type: 49 deg V- Twin
Cooling system type: Air Cooled with
Integrated Oil Cooler
Idle speed +/-50rpm: 800 RPM
Max Engine speed: 5500 RPM
Valvetrain
Valves per cylinder: 2
Actuation: Three-Cam, Push-rod, OHV
Lifter Type: Hydraulic
Compression Release: Yes
Bore: 3.89 in (101 mm)
Stroke: 4.45 in (113 mm)
Target Compression Ratio: 9.5: 1
Balancer Type: Helical Gear Primary
Balancer
Fuel Induction System
Throttle actuation: Electronic Throttle
Control
Throttle Diameter: 2.13 in. / 54 mm
Fuel Delivery type: Electronic Sequential
Port Fuel Injection
Fuel Type: Premium recommended
Lubrication System
Oil Type: 20W-40
Sump type: Semi-dry
Drive train
Primary Drive: Gear 55/86 ratio
No. of Ratios: 6-speed Overdrive constant
mesh
Spur/Helical: 1st Spur, 2-6 Helical
Gear Ratios (overall): 1st, 9.403; 2nd,
6.411; 3rd, 4.763; 4th, 3.796; 5th 3.243;
6th, 2.789
Final Drive: Carbon Fiber Reinforced
Belt 30/66 ratio
Clutch Type: Multi-plate, Wet clutch,
Integral Damper
News & Gossip
Vest by
Anniversary
ride
This year’s anniversary ride (the third)
was a big success. Thanks to Ian Rhook
for turning on his usual high standard of
route, with baffling backroads and lots
of places you’d never see without local
knowldge.
Chrissy York came along with a lucky
dip, featuring hand-made chocolates with
Indian bike names, while a quick visit to
Ray Drever’s paint shop was a welcome
highlight.
Zorros
After a classic bike?
classicstyle.com.au
Zorros is now offering a range
leather vests, including this item,
called the Buckle Vest. It features
a long cut so it doesn’t ride up you
bike when on the bike. Sizes are
S-3XL for $279.95.
About this mag (Apr 2013):
Smoke Signals is the journal of the Iron Indian Riders Association of
Australia and is published quarterly. The opinions expressed in here are not necessarily shared by the club or its office-holders.
Our thanks to a zillion folk who helped to sling this mag together, in particular
the authors you see in these pages. We’re always looking for more material, so if
you have a story, let the Editor know via [email protected]. All material is
copyright. Contact the Editor for permission to reproduce it.
Sitting Bull
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This year’s Sitting Bull Rally attracted a
decent group of punters, who enjoyed the
great rides out of Albury, set up by Leo
Clausen. Robert Gosper organised the
event.
The hard luck award goes to Peter
Kime, whose 1938 Chief was let down by
dud (new!) battery and spend the weekend on a trailer.
There’s talk of a new venue for next
year, possibly in a smaller town.
Meanwhile, thanks to Phil Pilgrim and
Peter Kime for the pics.
the great
Story and pics: Daryl Colt
Race
Ever fancied a gallop across the Snowies on an Indian? Daryl Colt did, and joined the annual Harley versus Indian Great Race...
You have already read the trials and
Arriving at the Station Resort in Jindatribulations of the restoration of my ’47
byne there was already a large number
Chief, so why hear about one of the best
of bikes lined up, and the start line was
weekends riding you could do in Ausset up. We checked in and unpacked, and
tralia, on old bikes to boot!
settled in for the afternoon. Already you
The great race was on my bucket list
could tell that this was going to be a great
to do, and I wanted to do the 2012 event
weekend, the people were all friendly and
but the bike wasn’t ready. The 2013
approachable, and lots of “old bike talk”
great race came around quite quickly, as
was already going on.
you need to enter in September the year
Friday night was an informal BBQ
before. As soon as the invitation was out,
dinner, and a riders briefing on Saturdays
I booked it in.
race. Each entrant had registered and
I entered both myself, and my wife
received their start time for Saturday’s
Jane, to ride pillion. I’m not quite sure
departure. There was also a new car park
how I convinced her to sit on the back for event prior to taking off Saturday to
two days, but I recall telling her I’ll make complete as well. A couple of beers later,
a comfy pillion seat. The seat turned out
we were tucked into bed ready for tomora treat, and was the envy of other female
rows excitement. Like a kid at Christmas,
pillions that kept sitting on it and pointit was hard to sleep!
ing it out to their partners saying “can I
Up early, breakfast, bike prepped,
have one like that”. Prior to the weekend
and off to the carpark time trial at about
we had only done a short jaunt around the 7:45am. Let me remind you that the
block a couple of times to test it out, and
whole resort is booked out to race parJane was happy.
ticipants, so it isn’t uncommon to hear
We packed up on the Thursday night,
a flathead being warmed up at 7am, and
so we could get away early on the Friday. no-one is complaining! Makes a great
The worst part travelling from Victoria to alarm clock..
Jindabyne is the stretch from Corryong to
The time trial consisted of a timed run
Jindabyne through the Alpine way, which of the length of the car park, a u turn
takes twice as long as you think it would. without putting your feet down, and
Above: Entrants looked tired and emotional after the storm. Below: Arnie Biemers.
Member Adventure
back to the start again. Closest to the 20
While at lunch the cool change had
second allowed time wins points towards
swept through, and the skies were lookyour team and marque.
ing a little daunting. At exactly 2:01pm (5
The IIRA had some real success at this, ¼ hours after start), Jane jumped on the
Straw took out first place with 20.026,
back for the next stage, and we were off.
Robert Gosper was second with 19.971,
About 15 minutes down the road, headand I was 10th with 20.143 - great effort
ing for Khancoban, the wind picked up
guys (more fluke than skill)!
quite fiercely and was spraying us with
One of the great things about this
dust off the surrounding paddocks. While
weekend is the organisation. I especially
dealing with being blown across the lane
like the method of dedicated start times.
I was trying to stay in, (damn those fancy
You have to be on the start line and ready valanced fenders that act like sails), and
to go on your start time, otherwise you
you could smell the storm coming in.
lose points. This is the same after lunch,
Yep, the rains are comin.
which is exactly 5 ¼ hours after your
Next thing you know is raindrops the
morning start time. The beauty of this
size of elephants are slapping you in
is there is no dicking around waiting for
the face sideways and you are riding
your mate to have a piss, or finish his
with your hand over your eyes peeking
coffee / beer, you leave when you are
through your soggy gloves. Fun hey! It
supposed to. For me it was 8:46am.
gets worse. Hail starts bouncing of the
Lined up, bike running and warm,
headlight, you can’t read your speedo
missus on the back, 8:46am, clutch in, 1st because it’s fogged up, and your boots
gear, clutch out, didn’t stall and look like
have filled with water and it seems like
a knob, we are on our way!
your standing in two nine litre buckets.
Off to Adaminaby for the first fuel stop, Oh yeah, I’m also supposed to maintain
then on our way to Tooma for lunch.
34mph for this stage as it’s timed. At this
The first checkpoint was as we hit the
point I was too scared to reach back to
Link Road, with a question to answer for
see if Jane was still there, as I’m sure a
points. I must admit, it is a great sight to
swift slapping was in order.
see eight or ten old bikes, throttle open,
We pressed on to the next fuel stop at
pulling up a hill, making the most wonKhancoban, fuelled up and kept going.
derful sound. It’s hard to get that image
We were already wet so waiting around
out of my head.
wouldn’t help the fact. Heading for the
Great roads seemed to keep unfoldnext checkpoint in Thredbo, the rain
ing and a short diversion for a fuel up
had eased but it was still tough going
at Cabramurra to get us to lunch at the
through the Alpine Way. Riding an old
Tooma pub. Good meal of cold cuts and
bike, in the rain, pillion, with crap brakes,
salad, a quick hydration of your drink of
on roads with 15 km/h corners was the
choice, and off to the start line on time
hardest thing I’ve had to do. You get
again.
around one corner and take a breath, then
Above: John Munn tackling the time trial. Below: Daryl Colt and Robert Gosper
Member Adventure
head into the next corner, for two hours
solid! By the time we got to Thredbo a
shower sounded like bliss. Thredbo back
to Jindabyne was also a timed stage with
an average speed of 44mph. Bugger that!
At 55mph the Chief was singing down
the road with a hot shower in mind. Jane
couldn’t get in there quick enough.
An eventful day 1, but still great fun.
The Sunday started the same except
half an hour later, and no car park challenge. 9:01am, clutch in, first gear,
clutch out, didn’t stall and look like a
knob, we are on our way to day two! No
timed stages today, so all we had to do is
make it to lunch in Dalgety.
Firstly it was into Jindabyne and heading towards Berridale, hang a leftie and
pick our way up to Eucumbene Dam
for the first checkpoint at the lookout.
A quick check by the officials that our
horns worked and we were off again. It
was funny to hear all the differing sounds
that resembled a horn. A couple of “uga
uga’s”, the more modern honk of the
electric horn, but the funniest by far was
the water logged old school rubber trumeverywhere. Riders were relaxed not
pet! Took a couple of squeezes to drain,
having to worry about departure times,
but worked.
and a great lunch was had in the local
From the lookout we headed back
hall. It only took a small announcement
south and took the back way into Berto move out and all the bikes fired to life.
ridale and through to Jindabyne. Fuelled
Ten minutes down the road heading for
up and headed past the Station Resort
the Maffra turnoff, a line of bikes two
to Dalgety for lunch. The Sunday was a
abreast formed at the top of a reasonfar cry from Saturday, the sun was out, it
able decent. This was the beginning of
was calm with limited wind, and perfect
the rolling race. Points were scored for
riding conditions.
the respective marques of who could roll
Dalgety took on an awesome atmosthe furthest down the hill. Bikes, engine
phere for lunch. 130 odd vintage bikes
off and with limited pushing would head
lined the streets leaving black spots
down the hill one at a time. The downhill section flattened off about halfway,
then proceeded to descend again, before
finally hitting an uphill section to pull
everyone up.
Jane was a little unsure about this, and
I suppose I didn’t help the situation by
me saying, “I’m not touching the brakes
during this at all darling.” Anyway we
saddled up and waited for the Harley
in front of us to get to the allocated
distance ahead, and proceeded with the
unorthodox Fred Flintstone shuffle to get
Member bikes lined up before the start.
us moving. As we gradually picked up
speed, I could see the Harley starting to
loose speed on the flat section ahead of
us. Gave Jane the rudimentary tap on the
leg, and the signal to tuck in a little. Well,
halfway down we sucked the headlight
of the Harley that was ahead of us, and
continued on motoring down. We didn’t
win, but it was a fun barrelling down a
hill with the engine off, listening to the
chain rattle and the tyres groan in some
Member Adventure
Above: Mark Barthelmie and Daryl Colt. Below: Pilgrim and his Vindian at play.
Member Adventure
sort of weird harmonic.
After the rolling race we fired the Chief
up and headed to Cooma, through some
rolling hills and scenic countryside, a really pleasant ride sitting on 50mph soaking up the sights. Fuel stop at Cooma,
and a final checkpoint on the way out on
the back roads. This would have been
an easy checkpoint to miss as it was not
the most direct route back to Jindabyne.
Headed to Berridale once again, and on
to Jindabyne for the home stretch.
On pulling back into the Station Resort,
it was hard not to think what we had
achieved that weekend. A year ago, my
bike was in bits. This year, my wife and I
had just completed 650km of some of the
hardest riding I have ever done. All this
was topped off by a 66-year-old bike with
no real brakes, pulling both of us over the
Snowy Mountains all without missing a
beat! To anybody wondering whether to
do this or not, don’t hesitate.
Sunday night was the gala dinner, with
all the relative winners receiving their
trophies. As far as the overall winner, I
must regret to inform that Harley with a
score of 71.55 took the win from Indian
with 69.76
Special note – Ian (Reg) Rhook handpainted the start sign.
2013 Great-Race Individual Winners
Car Park Time Trial
1. John Straw 1928 Indian 101
2. Robert Gosper 1953 Indian Chief
3. Mark Fitzgerald 1940 Harley WL
Top: Dalgety Pub hosted one of the
lunches. Above: Proof that it doesn’t have
to be shiny to compete. Opposite: Daryl
and Jane enjoying the countryside.
Overall Saturday
1. Craig Sinclair 1942 Harley U
2. Chris Wells 1928 Harley JDH
3. Darren Young 1942 Harley WLA
Concours Indian
Matt Willis 1939 Indian Chief
Concours Harley
Billy MacNamara 1944 Harley WL
Rolling Race 1st Indian
Dugal James 1950 Indian Chief
Rolling Race 1st Harley
Shane Hem 1948 Harley FL
Spirit of the Event
The Breen Family
Indian Overall
1. John Straw 1928 Indian 101
2. Bianca Bonner 1927 Indian Scout
3. Dave Arnold 1938 Indian Chief
Harley Overall
1. Chris Wells 1928 Harley JDH
2. Michael Johnson 1935 Harley VL
3. David Cooper 1936 Harley RLDR
Indian-Vincent
The bike that could have been
A weird story to save two factories that ultimately failed, lots of patience and an
incredible piece of luck lead to Phil Pilgrim owning this bike...
This story has two beginnings one in
1949 and one in 1970. We shall start in
1949.
Ralph Rodgers, manager of the Indian
factory in Springfield was met by Philip
Vincent with a view to Vincent Motorcycles being distributed in the USA by
Indian Motorcycles.
Apparently the two got along very well
and in fact a joint proposition was put
forward that possibly a Vincent could be
made to suit more American tastes. This,
unbeknown to Vincent, would help pull
Indian out of a sales slump due to their
lack of developing an OHV engine to
compete with Harley-Davidson on more
equal terms.
ForVincent this would give access to a
massive dealer network in which to sell
his product, including the supply of engine units. Unfortunately for Vincent he
never realized that Indian at this time was
close to being broke. Both men seemed
happy with this agreement. It was decided that two proto-types be engineered,
one in a standard Indian Chief frame (the
Vindian) and one to be Vincent framed
(the Indian-Vincent) with Indian electrics, converted to left-side gearshift. Not
many people realize that this model even
existed.
In 1949 a crate arrived at Stevenage
from Springfield containing a complete
Chief. Also included were the relevant
bits to make the Indian-Vincent. Phil
Irving mentions in his autobiography that
a machine was taken from the service
department F10AB/1/3492, which in
fact is a misprint as this was not made
till late 1950. The machine used was
F10AB/1/2492 and this is easy to prove
from the original photos which, thanks
to today’s technology, can be used to read
the engine number quiet clearly.
As Phil mentions in his autobiography, this eventually became the machine
with a Blacknell sidecar attached that
he returned to Australia with in 1949. It
was easy to track the Australian registration number (VIC 53148) and confirm
the engine number - I now have a copy
of Phil’s original registration certificate
dated 17 March, 1950.
The story of the Vindian has been well
documented and the photos of Irving
astride this machine are common. After
the photos were taken the machine was
stripped, the engine returned to its Vincent frame and assembled with the parts
Indian supplied from an Indian vertical
twin.
The machine F10AB/1/2492 was in
fact a Series C touring Rapide and so was
already fitted with touring mudguards and
crash bars, wide handlebars and 3.50 x 19
front wheel and 4.00 x 18 rear wheel.
As a 1949 model it had a plain motor.
This was the transition period between
Above: The Indian-Vincent prototype. Below: A series C Vincent Rapide.
Indian History
HRD and Vincent trademarks and the
and it is now part of the Du Pont family
motor was HRD. Ground off crankcases
museum, previous owners of the Indian
were being used in the meantime, so it
Motocycle Company.
had a later die-cast kickstart cover and
Phil Irving left England in October
Vincent timing cover fitted.
1949 and brought with him the IndianAlthough the Vindian was fitted with
Vincent, which had been returned to
a HRD timing cover, some photos exist
standard specs. He eventually traded the
with a Vincent timing cover fitted. Suroutfit for a Vauxhall Wyvern car in 1953
prisingly, plain rocker caps were fitted.
and lost contact with the motorcycle.
Another strange thing was a handful of
engines were manually stamped VIN1970-on
CENT, as in America the name and place In 1970 Philip Vincent wrote an article
of origin had to be cast or stamped on the for Motorcycle Sport Quarterly, an
crankcases as well as the manufacturer.
American magazine, titled The Indian
The proposed orders from Indian were
That Might Have Been. I bought this
50 Vindians and 20 Indian-Vincents a
magazine. I wondered why the Indianweek. This was a fairly good deal for
Vincent had never been produced. Little
Vincent, but unfortunately never came to
of the technical specs were available but
fruition. Vincent had in fact bought and
detailed shots of both sides of the two
ordered the material to produce these
machines were included.
machines, but never received the order
In 2001 I bought a Vincent motorfrom the financially cash-strapped Indian
cycle in pieces that had been raced in its
Corporation.
earlier years. It was basically all there
This put Vincent in a bad position, so
and I remember thinking of how much
bad they were placed in the hands of the
trouble some one must have gone to
receiver, EC Baillie. Meanwhile the phomake up a die to stamp VINCENT on
tos were taken of the Indian-Vincent. It
the crankcases as it was an excellent
was close to standard specs but it was not job. I was also amazed that the pictures
road tested as thoroughly as the Vindian,
in Motorcycle Sport Quarterly of the
after the orders were cancelled.
Indian-Vincent’s crankcase were stamped
Philip Vincent gave orders that the
in the same manner.
Chief be returned to the Indian factory
Months later in an article in M.P.H.,
complete with its original Indian engine
the Vincent Owners Club magazine, I
and the extra pieces supplied for the
discovered that it was in fact a factory
Indian-Vincent. There is speculation that
modification used on engines numbered
Indian did in fact fit a Vincent engine
between 2000-3000.
back in this frame, as at this time Indian
I contacted Robin Vincent-Day, Philip
started distributing Vincents in America
Vincent’s son-in-law, as he was advertisand therefore would have been capable of ing a INDIAN-VINCENT tank decal and
doing this. In fact this machine still exists I asked him to send a photo. I also asked
if he could send me any information
about this little known Vincent.
Robin was very helpful and in fact sent
me not only the information but also four
previously unpublished photos of the left
side and front of the Indian-Vincent. At
this time I casually mentioned the way
the Vincent crankcase was stamped in
the photos was the same as the machine I
had. Could it possibly be the same one?
I told him the numbers on my engine
and he then sent me blow-ups of the
crankcase numbers in the photos. We
were utterly amazed when they turned
out to be the same number. I remember
running out to the garage as the enlarged
photo came up on my computer screen
checking and rechecking that the numbers were in fact the same. I am indebted
to Robin and Deidre Vincent-Day for the
help in confirming the history of my bike.
This news put me in a dilemma as to
how to restore the bike. I had two options. I could build an Indian-Vincent or
restore it to Phil Irving’s original outfit of
a touring Rapide with Blacknell sidecar.
However I decided Phil’s outfit would
look just like any other Vincent with a
Blacknell sidecar attached so this left the
only other option, to restore the original
bike I had wondered about all those years
ago.
I had a lot help locating all the Indian
parts and some areas, such as the gearchange conversion, proved to be tricky.
The brake swap was achieved by using
a Comet brake cable and the generator
conversion by jack-shaft is strange.
Indian History
The ignition/light switch mounted
in the center of the handlebars is very
weird considering it’s a Lucas magneto,
the taillight is a real bolt-on afterthought
and I can see why those lugs were cast
but never used on the Girdraulics for
the headlight - this is the lug used in the
Indian application.
In January 2004 I was lucky to get
copies of the photos that I first saw in
Motorcycle Sport Quarterly. These were
excellent for detail and proved invaluable
in restoring this unique motorcycle.
Well I decided that the restoration of
this bike should change in detail specs
for practibility. Airfilters are a must here
so I fitted optional Amal filters. The paint
work was originally black. I know both
Vincent and Indian listed Chinese Red
as a colour option. Vincent painted some
bikes all Chinese Red for the American
market but some others were “multi-coloured”, that is mainly black with red tank
& mudguards (fenders). I decided the
red was a good idea so I went with this
scheme, as it is a simple job to repaint
these parts later.
Now you may ask if this bike would
it have saved Indian. Well it would have
had to have more development on the
gearchange. The bike never had a formal
road test like the Vindian.
I think Indian did the right thing in the
end by just importing standard Vincents.
The Indian-Vincent would have been still
unfamiliar to the traditional Chief/Scout
owner.
Possibly for Vincent it was easier to
sell complete machines, which would
have been cheaper to produce than a hybrid of both manufacturers, but Vincent
would probably had got more out of the
arrangement than Indian ever would.
Phil Pilgrim
Top left and right: the original prototype. Above: Pilgrim with daughter
Bonnie and the restored proptotype. Above left:Indian Vincent at the fore,
beside a Vindian, with a Gilroy Chief in the background.
Opinion
Classic failure
One marque’s failure is another’s treasure
“Come over here,” a mate invited,
“Bloggs is going over your bike, pointing
out all the reasons why it’s not a correct,
locally-delivered model.”
“No,” was the firm reply, “I already
know.”
It was a (non-Indian) marque rally, and
one of the better ones where people bring
the odd original, plus a host of modified
versions.
“Go on,” my friend appealed, “He
knows every detail – it’s amazing to
watch.”
“No.”
Bloggs is a marque savant and I already
had a good mental picture of why and
how the bike in question wasn’t a ‘correct’ local example. The exercise would
be a great demonstration of what’s immature with areas of the classic motorcycle movement, and I was not going to
support it.
There were better things to do, like
find a decent coffee. I already knew the
bike was a camel and never pretended
otherwise.
By way of contrast, another bloke with
wider allegiances was watching this little
interlude and quietly sidled up afterwards. “Our club actively discourages
that. It scares people. They don’t come to
these events to be told their bike is shit.”
Amen.
Over the years, I’ve lived and had a
live investment in a few different motorcycle worlds, varying from the cutting
edge and new – as a reporter/tester, PR
wallah and real-time buyer – through
to growing classic movements centered
on England, Italy, Germany, Japan and
America. Italy is my weakest subject.
In any case, I’ve emptied my wallet on
product from all of those countries.
The one consistent theme is you have
to take the long view. Telling someone
their choice is ‘incorrect’ might be entertaining that day, but it could be wrong in
10 years and helps no-one.
There are so many examples of this,
it’s difficult to know where to start.
Harley-Davidson Panheads were almost
free 30 years ago, and now they’re worth
a fortune.
Any bevel-drive Ducati vee from the
seventies and now eighties can’t be had
for reasonable money.
Go back earlier. A Vincent Rapide in
working order cost about the same as a
used late-model Kawasaki Z900 of the
time, and is now worth three to ten times
as much.
But there are folk chasing impossible dreams. Many Japanese classic
collectors, for example, currently prize
originality over everything else. I suspect
that’s down to the recency of the movement and a lack of confidence. It will
change. They’re in a well-worn path,
most notably followed for eons by collectors of Meriden Triumphs, often for the
wrong reasons.
It’s time we all relaxed and stopped
Is it 100 per cent original? Who cares? Just get out there and enjoy it!
being so precious.
Yes, if the bike is a rare edition and
goes like the clappers, it deserves recognition and should be celebrated. So
does any good survivor, no matter how
humble.
But, really, do you want to spend the
rest of your life chasing down the last
left-threaded thermon-grommet to make
it absolutely as it was delivered by the
factory, only to have Bloggs tell you the
pitch of the thread isn’t quite right?
Perhaps it’s a left and right-brain thing.
For me, the whole issue of ‘factorycorrect’ is becoming a massive pain in the
arse. And here’s a shocking bit of news:
the factory often got it wrong. I can
mention several models from my own
experience where they cocked it up and
effectively used customers as part of their
development.
Collectors of historic Vincent, Harley
and Indian – to name a few marques –
have moved on. Their view is a good
working example, probably with a few
practical modifications, and maybe even
a couple of period accessories, is just
fine. Welcome to the club. That you
ride the thing, and treasure it, really is
enough.
So maybe it’s time we cut the crap and
just enjoyed our working historic toys,
no matter how ‘correct’ they are. To do
anything less is a classic failure.
(Thanks to Motorcycle Trader mag for
the use of this story from its regular Travels with Guido column.)
Gizmag
gizmag.com
in the News
A lot is being said about Indian Motorcycles at the moment, with the
imminent relaunch of the brand. Here are a couple of snippets...
Forbes magazine
forbes.com
One of motorcycling’s oldest and moststoried brand names has been revived
(again), and is just about ready to hit the
road. Indian Motorcycle, now owned by
Medina, Minnesota-based Polaris Industries Inc (NYSE: PII), revealed the 2013
Indian Chief Vintage Final Edition at the
recent International Motorcycle Show in
Long Beach, California. The limited edition bike will be sold through Indian Motorcycle dealerships in North America,
with a list price of $37,599 in the US and
$39,599 in Canada. Indian has 20 dealerships up and running right now, with eyes
toward having a presence in the top 150
motorcycle markets in the US.
The first Indian Motorcycle was built
in 1901 in Springfield, Massachusetts,
and bikes went on sale to the public in
1902 — a year before the official founding date of Harley-Davidson. Indian built
a strong following, with a reputation
based on racing success. An inescapable
slide in sales forced the original company
out of business in 1953, but the brand has
lived on. The Indian name was pasted on
various bikes built in England, Taiwan
and Italy between 1953 and 1977. From
1977 to 1998, the Indian name appeared
on more legal documents than motorcycles, until the formation of the Indian
Motorcycle Company of America. IMCA
began building Indian Motorcycles in
Gilroy, California in 1999, but ran out of
funds and ceased production in September of 2003. In 2006, London-based
private equity firm Stellican Limited put
Indian back together at a new plant in
Kings Mountain, North Carolina, and
started producing Indian Chief motorcycles again, in limited numbers. Polaris
Industries swooped in in 2011, purchasing Indian Motorcycles and relocating
operations to Spirit Lake, Iowa.
Polaris, the powersports giant, has
already staked a claim in the motorcycle
industry with its Victory brand. Victory
Indian Motorcycles has once again risen
from the dustbin of history. Purchased
by Polaris Industries in 2011, the 2014
model year involves a complete redesign
of the Indian motorcycle line.
The most notable new feature is the
new Thunder Stroke 111 V-Twin engine...
The first Indian Motorcycle was sold in
1902, which, as Indian enthusiasts enjoy
pointing out, was a year before HarleyDavidson was founded.
The company was bought by DuPont
Motors in 1930, which then stopped making cars and concentrated its resources
on Indian. The brand met with considerable success, to the point that in 1940 it
sold nearly as many bikes as did H-D. In
1945 the company was taken over by the
Rogers Group, which proceeded to run
it into the ground with a series of poorly
designed and built-light motorcycles. The
original company went bankrupt in 1953.
Since that time, the brand has been
owned or claimed by no fewer than nine
separate companies, which have sold
a variety of small imported cycles and
Harley clones. Stephen Julius and Steve
Heese, who had previously revived the
Chris-Craft and Reva luxury boat brands,
bought the Indian brand in 2004. In 2008,
they began selling their Indian Chief
motorcycle in various levels of accouterments.
Regarded as a huge step backward
(that’s a good thing!), the Kings Mountain Indian Chief is a refined bike which
has been called the Bentley of motorcycles, the product of levels of manufacture
and quality control that remind one of the
Indian’s heyday.
was established in 1997 in Spirit Lake,
Iowa with Harley-Davidson’s share of
the V-twin touring and cruiser motorcycle market as its target. Though Victory
lacks the heritage and marketing muscle
of Harley-Davidson, it has established a
toehold of sales and critical respect with
continually improving quality and innovative design. Victory’s 2013 motorcycles range from the $12,499 Vegas 8-Ball
to the $28,999 Cory Ness Cross Country
Tour.
The 2013 Indian Chief Final Edition is
the same bike that was built in the Kings
Mountain factory, “designed to commemorate the end of one era in motorcycling,
and the beginning of another,” according
to a company press release.
Support our sponsors
Richard Schönfeld

smokesignals1303web - Iron Indian Riders Australia

Transcription

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