Forked tongues

[exeric]

I had a strange encounter with a guy at an auto parts store yesterday; that I'm sure many of us have had. I had taken the Chief and of course it got the usual amount of attention from parts store cowboys that insist on telling me what year it is, and about the one their uncle has that looks just like mine. This young guy tops them all and tells me there is a place in north Sarasota that offers parts and service on old Indians. He says these old guys line their motorcycles up out front and sit around shooting the breeze all day. Inside there is a cornucopia of parts from floor to ceiling. He even gives me detailed directions for it's location. Well, I always check out these leads ASAP if it's within a 25 mile radius. . . . Of course it was b.s. and there were no buildings or streets that matched his detailed description. After one of these wild goose chases, I always ponder the psychology; or should I say pathology of people that feel compelled to lie to impress strangers. It's a weird world.

[rwm]

you should have just looked him in the eyes and said thats my place!

[Buzz Kanter]

Know what you mean. I suspect it is more often the case of one person telling another, who tells another and the details get inflated and mixed up.

But, lik eyou I always try to check them out ...just in case. That's how I bough a pair of 1920s Harley Js backin the early 1990s. Still have them both.

[46EL]

Once I ran cross town after work as I was told there was an "Old Indian Motorcycle" for sale leaning against a tree for 200 bucks. Got there and it was a 70's Dirtbike or something. Another time I heard of another old Indian for sale up in Mass. Traveled 2 hours up near Boston and did the detective work in a neighbothood for another 2 hours. I ended up coming home with a 42 Civilian Skirted Chief one of probably only 300 made that year and I got it for peanuts. The owner was more of an Antique Car guy. He mentioned it to everyone in his car Club and nobody wanted it. I never look at an unsucessful trip as a waste of time. If you are always thinking positive you will have your day sooner or later.

[bmh]

My absolute favorites are the types who cross an entire parking lot just to tell me how nice my panhead is...........when I'm seated on a shovel. I just nod and smile, people are truly amusing at times.

[chicagohen]

Years ago there was an old Indian dealer in Sarasota, don't know if his shop was there or he retired there. I went to his place once with a buddy who had heard of him and made an appointment. It was his house and the attached garage held the parts. At the time of our visit he didn't have a lot of good stuff left but by the shelving he probably did have a pretty good pile in the past. Eric, I wonder if this kid heard the story and embelished it. Still no excuse on his part to pass it to you. Was at least ten years ago that I was there.

[bill campbell]

I seen couple of photos showing a garage full of Indian stuff some where in Florida my fiend had taken them with his father in law they showed a garage loaded from floor to ceiling with new old stock wheels there was a couple of stacks that he bought at the factory when they closed the doors along with lots of parts that he loaded in on top of everything, out back on the patio was his son's car that was getting the clutch replaced I can remember seeing it with the tranny beside the car I guess the son died getting the clutch and the old man couldn't care less about the parts I never found out where they were as my friend passed away with the info.could be the same stuff Chicagohen look at

[exeric]

Steve, I know about the old guy that had the Indian stuff. He had a small engine repair shop at his house here in Sarasota. I know a couple of guys that got most of the good stuff years ago and even they don't have much of it left. I never got a good answer about where the old man got it from but someone thought he brought it down from up north.

Billy, I saw a tremendous pile of Indian stuff that came out of a defunct Miami Indian dealership. This was in the mid to late 70's and the story was, the dealers wife was tired of living in a run down house with a husband who was getting increasingly demented and dangerous. She offered the pile to a friend of mine with the stipulation that he fix the roof, replace old appliances, and paint and repair the outside of the house. My friend did all of this over a period of time and the wife was true to her word and let him take the stuff. Even if only half of the story was true, what I saw was quite impressive.

The last pile I'm aware of was George Hopps incredible collection of bikes and parts. George Hopps was a Harley Dealer from some mid-western city. He retired to Anna Maria Island, just north of Sarasota and opened a bicycle shop. I was never in the place but I have been told that he had a large building with bikes parked side to side following the walls, and a shelf with more motorcycles above. I owned a series 20 Excelsior that came from George, and I have seen at least 5 bikes that came from him. He and his son used to bring Indian 4's and Hendersons to the old Horseless Carriage meet in Tampa, and I just remembered that Bruce Palmer bought a '35VL from George.

I know the good stuff used to be here but I think that generation of crazy old motorcycle collectors is gone and so are the motorcycles.

[Pete Gagan]

George Hopps came from Pontiac Michigan. I met him in 1959 when the Indian Four Club began. At age 19, I was a charter member, and the first vice president. George gave me a lot of the parts (NOS) to restore a '38 I had. I was just a kid, and all the others were old guys and very kind to me. I remember a wall in George's garage that was stacked floor to ceiling with Indian four crank-cases. I suspect he had been an Indian rather than Harley dealer, as Indians were his passion.
Pete

[fillibuster]

G.J. Wykopf comes to mind, from the early 70's while I was in the Army near Yorktown Va. Three 4's in his barn, plus another or two in the middle of a large outdoor pile of iron and parts. I was too poor to negotiate an angle for myself then, and some 10 years later when he was deceased his wife told me that Chuck Myles had since acquired a large share of it all at auction. Somebody else here tell me that was a great party!
When I die I hope everybody shows up to fight over my parts too, ... if they're worth fightin' for.

[Ross]

Hey Pete my new bride and I visited George Hopps at his Florida shop and it definitely had an Indian flavour. He had a young mechanic working steady there.I needed most of a Hedstrom carburetor for a 1913 Indian and he just gave it to me. Maybe because I was driving a 1963 chevy handi van towing a garden trailor in February with a 1943 WLC on the trailor all the way from Manitoba.I wanted to ride Daytona.That was 1978. Still have the Indian and the wife. I have never forgotten his kindness.

[Alf]

HI Ross: I am a new member to the AMAC. I have found the group to be very interesting and informative. While doing research for a video documentary that I am working on, about 100 years of motorcycle racing in Manitoba, your name kept popping up. Would it be possible to talk to you more about what information you have about the early days of racing in Manitoba?

Alf
AMAC #18632