'03 Warwick

[c.o.]

I have a copy of the '02 Indian brochure and I think it was the first time the motorcycle appeared in Indian's advertising literature. It's really wild how things unfolded in that era. I mean really could Oscar Hedstrom in a roundabout way be credited for the design of Thor and all the other clones? I've got to start collecting the early periodicals.

Here's an old Warwick bicycle advert..........

[HarleyCreation]

Indian Type MCs (1901 & 1905)

I found both a 1901 and 1905 Model Review. Thought I had a 1903, but maybe not.

Predictably, the 1901 bikes are rather primitive, some bizarre, with French influence all over the place. Indian does not show at all. The closest to that type bike is the Hafelfinger: motor inline with seatpost, tank over rear wheel, & diamond bicycle frame. But it's only a crude line-drawing, and shows an incomplete bike at that.

By 1905 Indian is of course present with several copies of varying build closeness. The already mentioned Warwick was by then extinct, but there were plenty to take its place, including the Thor (Aurora), the Manson, the America, the Moto-Racycle (Miami), the Thor-Bred (Light), the Rambler (Pope), and the Thouroughbred (R-S).

All of these were very Indian-like in general appearance. The rest of the field (and there were several) were a variety of diamond, loop, cradle, and other frames styles but didn't follow the distinctive Indian pattern.

H-D shows up as the famous "line drawing," which some have interpreted as a racer due to the low handlebar, etc.

[c.o.]

That early period is real interesting. Somewhere around here I have a 1903 Model Review I'll try to dig out. Don't know who Indian was making stuff for, but probably anything for anybody with cash money or good credit, don't you think?

Yes it is all very interesting. I guess that the earliest of publications of the time are probably the only true means to find answers this many years later. I most definitely think that there are possibilities that manufactured parts could have been sold to other companies to bring in a little more revenue for Indian in it's infant days. I think it would be quite interesting to have a look at an early Indian vs. Clone bike and figure out the differences. I wonder how often this Warwick surfaces at the eastern meets??

Thanks for the response Herb, it's good to have a historian around.

[HarleyCreation]

Indian type MC

During the Creation research I brushed up against the whole early Indian thing and its many imitators. Seems like there were French motorcycles before the Indian with that same configuration: cylinder in-line with seatpost, bicycle-frame, and tank over rear fender, lightweight, etc. We owe a lot to the French.

As I remember, the Warwick was a close copy while some of the others were looser copies. (Thor is a whole other can of worms.) My conclusion was that Indian was early, good handling, reliable, and produced and distributed widely. For awhile the rest of the industry basically followed the Indian design as the proper way a practical modern motorcycle was supposed to look. That was in 1902-03-04. After that a different style increasingly superceded the Indian type, which in the years 1905-06-07-08 became increasingly obsolete altho Indian stubbornly stuck with it.

That early period is real interesting. Somewhere around here I have a 1903 Model Review I'll try to dig out. Don't know who Indian was making stuff for, but probably anything for anybody with cash money or good credit, don't you think?

[c.o.]

I was thumbing through the Spring 1995 issue of The Antique Motorcycle this morning and found this picture of Andy Anderson with a Warwick taken at the Hebron meet. It was a very small picture and this is the best I could do with it. Does anybody have any info on the Warwick? So far I've found that they were built in Springfield, Mass with a 1903 year model only. It also got me to wondering how many manufacturers used the Indian style camelback gas tank. Now that I've seen this Warwick I can include it's style with early Thor's, Ramblers, and of course Indian. Was the tank another item farmed out by Indian to a third party and was available to other paying customers as well? How many bikes used it???