Topic: 1941 Indian Four (Unfortunately, not mine)

[bill440cars]

No smiley Dusty, you not happy mate?

              Yeah, c'mon duster, give us a BIG  smile . or you're liable to bring us all down.

                                                 Later on, big guy,  Bill

[Terry in Australia]

                   Hey Terry, Tell your Cuz' that I'll trade him my 80' CB750k w/sidecar for that old Indian.
          Ha! Ha! Ha! That way you or your Cuz' won't have to deal with possibly selling it later   
          on. What do ya think?                   Later on, Bill

I'll ask him Bill, but don't hold your breath mate, he's an ex-bike mechanic from the 1970's and 1980's and has a pretty low opinion of Honda DOHC's, they were kinda fragile compared to his Suzuki's, ha ha! Hey if you see a CB900 or 1100 crank lying around let me know, I'm thinking (well, dreaming, more like it) of stroking that 1060 engine? Cheers, Terry.

[bill440cars]

               Sure thing Terry, if I see one of those cranks, it's yours. Hey, if you get a chance, could ya shoot me a picture of that Chief w/ the sidecar? Way back in the late 50's, my Grandfather built a trailer, for his fishing boat, and put a pair of Chief wheels w/o the drums (they bolted on to the wheels). Just thought I'd through that in there.  Later on,    Bill

[Terry in Australia]

Here you go Bill not a real good shot though! (the sidecar has been off for a couple of years now).

[bill440cars]

                That was rather rude, don't ya think! Not exactly what I had in mind.

[Terry in Australia]

Ha ha, well I don't have too many pics of it mate, and that rude feller is my one armed mate Kiwi, (from New Zealand) who can't seem to keep his pants up for very long, ha ha!

Sorry about that mate, next time I go back to my home town (180 miles away) I'll get some ass-less shots of the Indian for you, ha ha!

[Uncle Ernie]

Terry has a point, I think, about collectors.  Please don't confuse them with riders, however.  I don't think riders are that picky. That's what I've found with British, BMW, and Indian riders anyway.  Everybody knows, if you want a collectible, you can't ride it.

[82CB650SC]

There is a nice 42 on ebay if you have big bucks.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Vintage-Indian-Straight-4-1942_W0QQitemZ110006288174QQihZ001QQcategoryZ6709QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[bill440cars]

There is a nice 42 on ebay if you have big bucks.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Vintage-Indian-Straight-4-1942_W0QQitemZ110006288174QQihZ001QQcategoryZ6709QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

                     That's why I have a diecast Indian Four! It's only a little over a foot long but,
           affordable! They are sharp looking and that one looks perfect. I can only imagine how they
           are to ride. When I 1st started kinda keeping up with the going prices on them and the
           Chief, the 4's were going for from about $35,000 - 45,000 while the 46'-53' Chiefs were
           about 11,000 - 14,000. Now is a whole different story. You're looking at maybe $ 45.00 -
           about 65,000 (or so) & $ 14,000 - 18,000 (or so). It would take either pure luck (or sell
           everything I own) for someone like me to get even a basket case (and then you'd have to
           fork out some pretty good money for the parts. If I knew then  what I know now ( you
           know, "Hind Sight"), I would have tried to get me an Indian back when my Grandfather and
           my Dad had the Indian dealership. It wouldn't have been a Four though, I never even saw
           one of those until after I'd grown up and some years after that even. It would have probably
           been a Chief, a Scout (V twin or the later Vertical twin) or a Warrior. Ah well, time has past
           and I didn't get one, when I could have, so there it is.    Later on, Bill

[bill440cars]

    I have to share this.                  I went down to visit my Dad for his 81st Birthday and take him
                                     out to eat. During the course of the visit, I mentioned that I had bought
                                     a diecast Indian Four (even though it is only about a foot long)and forgot
                                     to take it with me to show him. He then proceeded to tell the only one
                                     that they ever had gotten in and about selling it. It seems that a man
                                     came in, paid cash for it and had never even ridden a bicycle before. He
                                     asked my Dad if they could put it off to the side by itself and they did. He
                                     would come in every day, on his lunch time (for a few days), and sit on it
                                     practicing going through the gears and operating the brakes. One day,
                                     he started it up and did the same thing, ( the early models didn't have a
                                     center stand, they had a rear stand that raised only that wheel) and one
                                     day after several weeks of all this, he came in took it off of the stand,
                                     started it up and rode off. I thought that was pretty incredible considering
                                     he had never even ridden a bicycle and the Fours were extremely heavy!

                                      Just thought I'd share this. Later on, Bill

[3 sticks]

Thats pretty cool!

[Uncle Ernie]

Reminds me of watching the birds in my garage learn to fly. I get at least one nest a spring.
Anyhoo- for one thing, he didn't need to re-learn anything.  Riding newer bikes for so long can really hamper learning to ride a foot clutch/hand shift. Especially ones that weren't switched- original stock bikes had the gas on the left and shifter on the right.  Mostly so police who rode could (allegedly) shoot while riding.
Also, those bikes are pretty light compared to the fat-butt bikes today. Very low center of gravity, too.

Just wondering- have you made an Indian head night-light for the bathroom yet?

[bill440cars]

Reminds me of watching the birds in my garage learn to fly. I get at least one nest a spring.
Anyhoo- for one thing, he didn't need to re-learn anything.  Riding newer bikes for so long can really hamper learning to ride a foot clutch/hand shift. Especially ones that weren't switched- original stock bikes had the gas on the left and shifter on the right.  Mostly so police who rode could (allegedly) shoot while riding.
Also, those bikes are pretty light compared to the fat-butt bikes today. Very low center of gravity, too.

Just wondering- have you made an Indian head night-light for the bathroom yet?

        Naw, the closest thiing I've go to that is an indian head that came on the Indian/Enfield Trailblazer front fender. I don't think that would go over too well, what do ya think?

[scunny]

heres a 1946 wooden replica, going for $800 NZ
 

[Terry in Australia]

heres a 1946 wooden replica, going for $800 NZ
 

What was that saying about "she'd talk to a wooden indian"? Actually, I know where there's an Indian "Power Plus" that was used as reinforcement for a concrete garage floor in the 1940's, the garage is still there and the house is a "renter", so my cousin (who's father owned the bike in question) is contemplating renting the house for the minimum term, (when it becomes available for rent again) and digging out the floor, and hopefully, the bike. Cheers, Terry.

[Terry in Australia]

Hey Bill, I rode my magnificent BMW K1100LT to Bairnsdale (home town) last weekend, and took a couple of pics of my cuz's Chief, he corrected me, it's actually a 1944 Military Chief (hence no valanced fenders) and he's taken the "chair" off for the time being, he only just got the engine back together but it's running beautifully and I love that sidevalve V twin note, it really barks when you crack the throttle!

He offered to let me take it for a ride, but I was so confused with the throttle, ignition advancer, "jockey shift" and foot clutch, I decided to postpone my embarrassment, ha ha! Hope you like the pics. Cheers, Terry.

[bill440cars]

    Hey Terry,

                  Thanks for the pictures of the old Chief. That bike is quite a sight alright. I can't imagine
         having access to something like that. I remember when I realized that the controls (throttle on
         the left and spark advance on the right) were that way. Until then I thought the throttle was
         always on the right. After being used to the newer bikes, it would be quite different to ride an
         old bike like that but, I'd sure like to try and, yes, I'd be nervous as hell about possibly dropping it
         or hitting something. Thanks again for posting it, I sure enjoyed seeing it. Hope you don't get too
         soft, riding that BMW.   Enjoy.       Later on, Bill