best year indian

[Paps]

What is the best Indian ?? The one I wish was in my garage !! LOL !! I perfer HD but Indian is a passion with me also. If I named all the bikes I like, this topic would go way astray. Paps

[INLINE4NUT]

Ok Im sorry it should be about all american MCs! now Ive opened a hornets nest !!!

[DWN]

I gotta agree, Hendersons now have a spot in my heart, and garage. That's not to say I don't enjoy slobbering over other's garages and bikes.

I'm a relative new-comer at this antique thing, the only other antique (according to AMCA) I own being a Honda 750 that was nearly new when I got it in '75. I also dabble in Honda CBXs.

Being a newbie at this, I'd have to vote for whatever Indian is the easiest to ride. Controls most like modern bikes, foot shift, hand clutch, etc. To be honest, I don't even know what models that might be, if there are any. My guess would be the later ones.

When I grow up I want one of everything......

[Paps]

From one corner of the earth to the other......If we have to define the scooters, as best ?....Old Iron says it all. Them are some purty lookin scooters !! Great Class ! Awesome ingenuity !! Fantastic engineering of the times !! Shoot !! That is why I am here ! LOL!!! Pour Me Another Glass Of Parts !! Paps

[HarleyCreation]

I don't own any Indians and for some unknown reason I'm referred to as a "Harley" guy (why?), but I feel myself being irresistably drawn into the Indian universe by some uncanny & powerful influence!

Here's my top picks:

1) Early diamond frame Indian single because they are such an important historical artifact & critical step between the pedal bicycle and the modern-type motorcycle.

2) 1909 Indian loop-frame twin. Cuz it just looks so perfect and maybe better than the "other guy" (censored) that it belatedly copied.

3) Classically styled vintage 1930s Scout, Chief, or Four before the "voluptuous" fenders came along (which I personally do not care for but that do shout "INDIAN" and no mistake).

[c.o.]

Oh..Oh.........Herb it sounds as though you may have been bitten by the "Crimson Steed of Steel"........ It's another serious affliction in the Antique bike world...... It happened to me long ago. I grew up around folks that rode Pans and generator Shovels with the odd Brit chopper thrown in to round things out. It was basically all I knew for motorcycles at the time and they were (in my head anyway) the cool bikes to have.

Then one day I spied the cover of "Canadian Biker Magazine". It had a group of "Laughing Indian Riders" standing with their bikes in a Vancouver neighborhood. After that simple sighting I was forever more an Indian fan.

Anyway back to your bike picks. In my opinion any Indian is a worthy mount. '30's Chiefs, Scouts and Fours are beautiful and very functional machines. But if I had only one to pick it would be the infamous 101 Scout. They have developed a loyal following even to this day. The 101 is on my list of "bikes to get". I also think that having an "early one" in the stable would be cool just to do a little "time" traveling on.

Let us know if an Injun infiltrates your stable.........

Oh, it seems to me that I saw jurassic's dispatch tow on the back of a "Walnecks" for sale awhile back........maybe another choice for winter transportation......

[HarleyCreation]

Originally posted by c.o.
Oh..Oh.........Herb it sounds as though you may have been bitten by the "Crimson Steed of Steel"........ It's another serious affliction in the Antique bike world...... It happened to me long ago. I grew up around folks that rode Pans and generator Shovels with the odd Brit chopper thrown in to round things out. It was basically all I knew for motorcycles at the time and they were (in my head anyway) the cool bikes to have.

Then one day I spied the cover of "Canadian Biker Magazine". It had a group of "Laughing Indian Riders" standing with their bikes in a Vancouver neighborhood. After that simple sighting I was forever more an Indian fan.

Anyway back to your bike picks. In my opinion any Indian is a worthy mount. '30's Chiefs, Scouts and Fours are beautiful and very functional machines. But if I had only one to pick it would be the infamous 101 Scout. They have developed a loyal following even to this day. The 101 is on my list of "bikes to get". I also think that having an "early one" in the stable would be cool just to do a little "time" traveling on.

Let us know if an Injun infiltrates your stable.........

Oh, it seems to me that I saw jurassic's dispatch tow on the back of a "Walnecks" for sale awhile back........maybe another choice for winter transportation......

Good stories.

Yes, a Indian trike would rule, esp. the 74-ci CHIEF version they built around the late 1930s. I wonder what speed you could actually cruise with that baby? Think it would cruise at 55mph or would that be asking too much? Sure would be great for crawling around on snow-covered roads.

At one time I did own a 1949 Indian Scout, the infamous vertical twin model. Also I once had a 1919 Indian v-twin engine. But both are long gone.

When I was a young Honda rider in Racine the local Triumph dealer had a really nice original big Indian Chief (a '46 or 47 I think) sitting in his shop with an $800 price tag on it. That bike sat there for a couple years like a monument and nobody wanted it -- at least at that price. If it had been cheaper I would have bought it because it was so different and cool. I wasn't anti-Indian at all. Only there were very few Indians around. That was Harley country, plus Triumphs, BSAs, a few Nortons, and then Hondas.

[Coolbreeze]

Good looking Indian

As far as looks are concerned, the girder front fork of the Model 841 and Chiefs from 1946 through 1948 are -- to my eye -- the best looking forks ever made. They also seem to function very well. My '48 Chief is a very good road bike. On trips of 100+ miles, the front fork is quite comfortable and as responsive.