1917 Powerplus

[painterdale]

Thank you, Spacke2speed! That's very interesting to see. It's cool that a piece of paper inside a tool box was able to survive close to 100 years. Dale

[Spacke2speed]

Dale
While looking for stuff to take to an old car swap meet I am going to, I finally found a motorcycle swap meet box that I have misplaced. It is was a original Power Plus tool box, I took a picture of the inside of the tool box door to show you a little more of what the “Indian Guarantee and Supplied Tool list” looks like.
Spacke2speed
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14869[/Ahttp://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/bboard/attachment.php?attachmentid=14869&d=1427949482&thumb=1&stc=1TTACH]

[painterdale]

Kevin and Eric, Thanks for the replies. I have heard about the "Japan Black" but didn't know what it referred to until now. Maybe the black on mine was added later because what Eric says makes sense. Besides, would they have plated them before Japaning? Dale

[exeric]

I read that 'Japaning', or 'Japan Black' as it applies to motorcycles meant a part was submerged in a tank of black paint, and hung to dry. If you think about the painting technology of the teens, they had brushes, and dipping. Spray painting was off in the future. In regards to your spokes, I don't know if Indian was painting their spokes at that time, or leaving them in nickel. My 1924 Big Chief had black wheels, and that meant every part was black; i.e. hubs, spokes, and rim. I tend to think a 1917 Indian would have had nickel spokes as most bike manufacturers wanted the flashiest product they could make. By the time of the first world war, they wanted a product that was more plain and didn't look like it was squandering vital war materials. I know Excelsior, and Henderson were quite vocal about how conscientious they were with war resources.

[Shaky Jake]

Finally finished unlacing the front wheel. 36 spokes, only broke 3. The spokes were covered with grime on the hub end. Once cleaned they appeared to be nickel plated then painted black. Dale

Well done Dale. If I recall correctly, the old Indian catalogs mention an optional finish called "black Japan" or "Japan black," one or the other. Maybe that's what you have there.


Kevin

.

[painterdale]

Finally finished unlacing the front wheel. 36 spokes, only broke 3. The spokes were covered with grime on the hub end. Once cleaned they appeared to be nickel plated then painted black. Dale

[painterdale]

HMMMM, Interesting! The plot thickens! Dale

[c.o.]

Maybe he took the seat off the same bike the mag came off of! Dale

Stranger things have happened!!! The seat I posted came oddly enough with a first year Powerplus!

[painterdale]

Good eye, Cory! Other than the cross brace, it looks the same. I went to the virtual library and poked around and it shows the '17 Powerplus as coming with an Indian Troxel saddle. Same with '16 with some models having "Indian Cantilever Comfort Saddle". For '18 they show "Indian Mesinger Special Suspension" with "Troxel-Maslen Saddle at extra cost". So, no Mesinger 1 on a '17. Maybe he took the seat off the same bike the mag came off of! Dale

[c.o.]

Here's a couple shots of the seat I mentioned...

[c.o.]

The reason I mentioned it Dale is because it looks an awful lot like a seat I used to have. It ended up sitting on a 1920 J-Model. I'll see if I can dig up photos.

[painterdale]

Hi, Cory! I've wondered about the seat because the front mount is hokey and I've only seen pictures of one other that has the enclosed springs. You can faintly make out Messenger 1 on one side. Don't know where else to turn for info. I don't seem to have the knack that Kevin does for digging out information. (Or parts for that matter!) I'll post more pictures in the hope that maybe a J-Model guy will be able to give some input.

It looks like the spring canister shows signs of being red at one time. Dale

[c.o.]

That is a pretty amazing machine Dale. It was really great to see those photos! Have you done any research on the seat assembly? It's screaming Harley J-Model to me.

[Shaky Jake]

Keep us posted.

[painterdale]

Got a couple of cool reproduction clincher rims from Al McRoberts. Nice guy. Great looking rims. Good price. Got 'em real fast, too! Still working on unlacing the originals. Dale