My grandfather's 1916 Indian Power Plus coming back to life

[Grampa1916]

Hello Spacke2speed,
I am emailing with C Henn about brake drums. He has one and your info about the two types has helped me understand what I want. It looks like my drum is the outside curved.

I have the complete speedmeter and drive shaft but it appears to be bound up and I hear a clunk when I turn the indicator over. I will take a few pictures soon.

The Magneto I have does not have a generator. I think it was broken long ago and was replaced. I will be on the lookout for mag/gen when I get the bike running.

Once I get the brakes working I will investigate the electrical system and post my findings. Most of the parts appear to be there and should not take too much to get it all working.
I think I will have to reinvent the wire. Conductor inside metal spring with something for an insulator.

Stephen

[Spacke2speed]

Just to let you know, the Stewart speedometers heads have a pot-metal frame. So, depending on the environment that it has been exposed to over the years, sometimes the pot-metal will swell up a little and bind up some parts inside of the speedometer head. When you said you have the drive shaft, I am assuming you have the hard tube version? If you do have the hard tube version, do you have the axle mount for the angle drive down on the front wheel, the angle drive, and the handlebar mount for the speedometer head? If not, I can post pictures so you know what to look for.
Most of the Splitdorf magneto/generators you will come across will be the 42 degree version which is what you want, but I have seen some 45 degree.
Spacke2speed

[Grampa1916]

Just to let you know, the Stewart speedometers heads have a pot-metal frame. So, depending on the environment that it has been exposed to over the years, sometimes the pot-metal will swell up a little and bind up some parts inside of the speedometer head. When you said you have the drive shaft, I am assuming you have the hard tube version? If you do have the hard tube version, do you have the axle mount for the angle drive down on the front wheel, the angle drive, and the handlebar mount for the speedometer head? If not, I can post pictures so you know what to look for.
Most of the Splitdorf magneto/generators you will come across will be the 42 degree version which is what you want, but I have seen some 45 degree.
Spacke2speed

Hello SpackeSpeed,
I have the complete speedometer, including all the handlebar mount & axle mounts. Here is a picture of them all but the axle mount, how do they look?
Speedometer Tube.jpg Sp Top.jpg Sp clamp.jpg Speedometer Face.jpg
I think the speedometer failed and Grampa replaced the dial with a photo.

My magneto pot-metal was destroyed so I think I will need to replace some of the parts inside the dial. More on that once I get into it after the brakes.

If you see an extra Splitdorf magneto/generator please let me know. I can start saving now so I can get it once every thing else gets working.
Thank You,
Stephen

[Spacke2speed]

Stephen
The only thing missing from your system picture was the handlebar mount (which you showed in another picture), the pivoting axle mount, and the shouldered axle nut. Real shoulder axle nuts will have the thread size stamped on it, and the face of the axle nut against the rocker will be knurled to dig in and grip the rocker which it cannot because the rocker is harden. The bolts on the pivoting axle mount will be the old school high head type with a curved top surface.
You said your magneto pot-metal was destroyed. You have not stated which type of magneto you do have, a Bosch ZEV type, or the Dixie M or H type. A lot of the Dixie magneto pot-metal bases are in bad shape. On e-bay there is person in Ohio selling reproduction aluminum Dixie magneto bases plus some reproduction Bosch ZEV parts – I have not bought anything from him as my Dixie base is good enough.
Spacke2speed

[ihrescue]

Hello Ross,
Thanks for the trumpet oil idea.
What would you do for the muffler? I just cleaned out debris from the inside of the muffler and I noticed alot of grease and oil buildup on the outside of the pipes and muffler body. My concern is that once I fire up the motor, the pipes will get hot and start burning off the old buildup. The other side is that if I clean them well, they will start to rust. I don't want to paint them because then they will look too new compared to the rest of the bike.

Thanks,
Stephen

Hi Stephen - I am following your thread of the 1916 Indian build with interest. I wanted to offer that a build thread from last year had a useful comparison and experimentation with different coatings to preserve the patina. The Thread was TechNoir's 1920 Model F and the coatings discussion was on post #24 on this page of the AMCA Forum. http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/bbo...-Model-F/page3

Mike Love
AMCA 19067

[AdvenJack]

That is a beautiful motorcycle to have inherited!!!