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Recently picked up a 1948 Indian Chief. It had been in garage storage for the last 40+ years. It was partially disassembled but seems to be 99% complete. The engine number is "CDH 5xxx" and the frame number is "348-5xxx. The numbers appear to be old, original factory stampings making it a matching numbers bike. The previous owner stated when he purchased the bike in the late 1960's, it did not have a speedometer. He found one at an old Indian dealer in Crawfordsville, IN. The dealer was Red Chaney, who was in business until the late 1980's I believe. The speedo appears to be a 1941-45 Indian Corbin. It has the following unique features that many believe make it a factory police bike:
1. The rear fender has two slots in the lower left front corner. One for the rear wheel speedo drive cable, and one for the siren rod.
2. There is an extra two-position switch bolted to the handlebars. There is a hole in the handlebars that the wires from the switch go into.
3. There is a bracket mounted under the battery box that comes out and partially around the frame tube. There is a hole in the bracket. The hole reminds me where a threaded battery hold-down rod would go. Did police bikes use bigger batteries?
4. There is a chum-me seat bracket mounted to the frame above the battery area. The bracket has a wired fuse block that hold several glass fuses.
5. The top frame rail between the gas tanks is not a 1948 style with the large front wheel speedo drive cable hole/dash mount. It has a 1947 style downtube/dash mount. I have checked the downtube closely and see no signs of anybody tampering with/changing it. It appears to be factory. Speculation is that the 1947 Indian Corbin police speedo with max. hand was much more accurate than the 1948 S-W front wheel drive speedo with no max. hand and if a police dept. wanted that style, the factory would build it for them.
The bike is in Illinois and has a clear Illinois title. Price is 15k/offers. PM with your email for more info and/or pictures.
1. The rear fender has two slots in the lower left front corner. One for the rear wheel speedo drive cable, and one for the siren rod.
2. There is an extra two-position switch bolted to the handlebars. There is a hole in the handlebars that the wires from the switch go into.
3. There is a bracket mounted under the battery box that comes out and partially around the frame tube. There is a hole in the bracket. The hole reminds me where a threaded battery hold-down rod would go. Did police bikes use bigger batteries?
4. There is a chum-me seat bracket mounted to the frame above the battery area. The bracket has a wired fuse block that hold several glass fuses.
5. The top frame rail between the gas tanks is not a 1948 style with the large front wheel speedo drive cable hole/dash mount. It has a 1947 style downtube/dash mount. I have checked the downtube closely and see no signs of anybody tampering with/changing it. It appears to be factory. Speculation is that the 1947 Indian Corbin police speedo with max. hand was much more accurate than the 1948 S-W front wheel drive speedo with no max. hand and if a police dept. wanted that style, the factory would build it for them.
The bike is in Illinois and has a clear Illinois title. Price is 15k/offers. PM with your email for more info and/or pictures.
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