32

Front Cover: Ian Pryde’s freshly restored ‘46 Chief.

Above: Burt Munro takes a break from machining pistons.

INDIAN MOTOCYCLE GENERATOR REPAIRS 6 AND 12 VOLT--ELECTRONIC REGULATORS

-NEW CYCLE ELECTRIC GENERATORS 0418 690065 peter@becyarrawonga.com.au

February 2012

Features Events: Club Ride Christmas Party Breakfast Run Cherokee Rally Goulburn Rally

2

MURPHY CABINET MAKING

QUALITY KITCHEN, WALL UNITS, BARS, VANITY UNITS AND

INSTALLATIONS

CONOR MURPHY 0415 581 060

FRAME STRAIGHTENING SERVICE NOW AVAILABLE– CALL FOR DETAILS

NEW KEVLAR CLUTCH KITS AVAILABLE

Reduced gear clash & smoother shifting

OLLIE & SHUNK Cam Lobes Available

Jim Parker Phone : 03 9809 5599 Fax 9809 5699 7 Cleveland Rd., Ashwood 3147 Vic

Email: jjimpark@bigpond.net.au Website: www.parkerindian.com.au

31

Wheel Building

PHONE

(03) 9898 3677 FAX (03) 9898 4071

Email: lighteng@hotkey.net.au

Special Parts & Repairs for ALL MOTORCYCLES

All work carried out by qualified tradesman. SMALL JOBS TO COMPLETE BIKES

LIGHTFOOT ENGINEERING

14 Lightfoot St., Mont Albert MELBOURNE Vic. 3127

machining

MILLING AND TURNING

30

Motocycles here & there

It looks like a neglected bike long since consigned to the shed, but this two-wheeled contraption's value belies its rusty appearance. The ancient bicycle is in fact a 1906 Indian Camelback, one of the first ever two-wheeled motorised machines and one which is hugely desirable to collectors. Just 1,698 of the rare cycles were produced 105 years ago, with its 'unrestored' state meaning the relic could fetch as much as £50,000 at auction.

The motorcycle went under the hammer at Bonhams in Las Vegas, U.S., on January 12. (It sold for US$72,540—Ed)

3

P residential onderings

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone. Thanks again to Stan

and Amy for hosting the IMCA Christmas party. I think everyone in the club turned up which was great to see, even Daryl and Donna White flew down from Queensland to join in the festivities. Recently my family and I attended the Goulburn Rally. This year the run coincided with the 85th Anniversary of the first Australia Grand Prix and the Goulburn Motorcycle Only Swap meet. So what a fantastic weekend, not only did I get to ride my bike on the rally and catch up with the NSW’s riders, but I got to race my race bike on the Wakefield Park circuit and got to buy treas-ures at the swap meet. Weekends don’t get much better that that!!! Thanks to the organisers, we had a great time. Another great weekend I have had recently was racing down at Phillip Island. This is always a great weekend. It’s a long way around the track (4.4kms) on a 1940’s Indian Scout and holding it flat out down the main straight, the track seems to go on forever. Although now I have to do some maintenance as I blew a piston, but it gives me an excuse to be in the shed. Stan is also fine tuning his mechanical skills with the use of a 4 inch an-gle grinder.

I would like to thank Dugal James for opening up his collection for us to see in Bendigo on the Cherokee Rally. It was very interesting to hear from Dugal on what not only inspires him to col-lect the type of bikes he has but to hear the history of the bikes and the people who were behind the creation of them. Just think…. someone may have one of your bikes in their collection one day, talk-ing about them and their history! The Indian Motocycle Club has a wealth of knowledge within it amongst our members. We plan on tapping into this knowledge on some of our runs, but also at our meetings to make them a bit more informative. As we all know these moto-cycles that we treasure will be around for a long time but the information and skills that are in our heads will be lost. We need to tap into this re-source so we have something to pass on to future generations. See you at the Bright Rally Peter

4

From the Club Captain:

T here has been plenty of events since my last report, and I’ve been to as many as my brownie points would

allow. I’ve just returned from Canberra where I attended the annual VVCMCC Australia Day rally– a great weekend with new peo-ple and some old faces. This was followed by the a great weekend on the Cherokee rally where we visited Dugal’s new museum in Bendigo. Note there is a new venue for the February meeting and I would like to encourage eve-ryone to come along on a bike or outfit. Check your calendars and I will see you at an event soon. Regards Conor Murphy Club Captain 0415 581 060

President: Peter Birthisel 03 5726 8449(h) 0418 690 065(m) Vice President: Rob Bonner 03 9308 1532(h) 0409 347 322(m) Secretary: Jim Parker 03 9809 5599(w) 0417 477 099(m) Treasurer: Daryl Jenkins 03 9379 7159(h) 0408 485 447(m) Club Captain: Conor Murphy 03 9580 6842(h) 0415 581 060(m) Assist Club Capt.: Dave Booth 03 9737 9013(h) 0409 180 160(m) Editor: Barry Curley 03 9330 4519(h) 0408 107 919(m) Committee: Mick Cheg 03 9870 6896 (h) 0401 819 609 (m) Committee: Don McGillivray 03 9874 2175(h) 0421 542 479(m) NSW Branch Delegate Garth Popple 02 9558 8224(h) 0419 319 121(m) Major Events Coordinator Toni Birthisel 03 5726 8449(h) 0407 268 448(m)

CLUB MAILING ADDRESS P.O. BOX 1015 ASHWOOD 3147

IMCA Committee

Contents: Famous last words run 5 General Meeting Minutes 8 Christmas party 9 Breakfast run 10 Bright entry & details 12 The Blue Streak 13 The ‘38 Chief 16 Goulburn rally 21 Cherokee rally 23 For Sale 25 Treasurers Report 26 Calendar 27 Indian motocycles here & there 28

Contributions to: victoria@softball.asn.au Barry Curley Editor

29

Motocycles here & there

New member Francis Dufty on his freshly restored ‘48 Chief.

“Dicko” on his ‘44 Chief on the Cherokee rally.

28

Motocycles here & there

Indians visit Julia at Muppett central Ian Pryde’s pride and joy- ‘46 Chief

5

Famous last words run

A s we gathered for the pre-run ad-dress our illustrious leader uttered those infamous words– “we don’t

have any back up– but don’t worry .......we won’t need it................” So we took him at his word and set out up the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road in per-fect weather, heading for the Sky High Res-taurant. The restaurant car park has a mag-nificent view of Melbourne, the surrounding suburbs and the bay. On purchasing a coke and a cake I discov-ered the origin of the name Sky High - $9.90...... I think it relates to the food costs. After a leisurely stop we headed down the mountain– dodging lunatic cyclists who for some insane reason actually ride up and down the mountain as some form of week-end recreation.......

We cruised along toward the proposed lunch stop at Gembrook– but just outside of Emer-ald the unthinkable happened– there ap-peared there may be the need for a back-up trailer after all as Conor’s chief rolled to a stop on the side of the road. The problem was quickly diagnosed as two fold....the hub nut had dislodged allowing the wheel to move sideways resulting in an elec-trical short in the taillight loom. (Subsequently found to be caused by a bro-ken brake spring in the drum destroying the split pin securing the hub nut...whew!!) Anyway, back to the story, some of the group had motored on, blissfully unaware of Conor’s distress, but we managed to contact the Spykers who went home (nearby fortu-nately) and returned with a trailer to rescue Conor’s chief.

Sunday 20th November

6

Barry Curley

Rod Barker Jim Parker

Conor & Kaye Murphy Frank Spykers

Merridith Spykers Lindsay James

Mick Cheg Frank Hutchinson

Zane Morrison Apologies if anyone has been went missing and we had to

Others

Animal Back Up Uh.......there wasn’t any...

‘36 Sport Scout ‘37 Chief ‘35 Original Paint Chief ‘44 Chief ‘44 Chief ‘40 Scout ‘35 Chief ‘50 Chief ‘47 Chief ‘44 Chief overlooked. The list work from memory HD

WHO WAS THERE After finding everything closed in Gem-

brook we returned through Emerald and on to Clematis for a pub lunch. Lunch also served as a regroup with everyone eventually finding their way to the lunch venue. After a leisurely meal the group headed off home in various directions, with a few of us heading back to the starting point at Stud road. This was an enjoyable run along some of the most scenic motorcycling roads in the state whilst being only a short distance from the city. Barry Curley

The Sky High carpark- Merridith’s Scout front and centre

Darryl White’s original paint ‘35 Chief ridden by Jim

27

GOING PLACES

DATE EVENT & CONTACT

Feb 15th IMCA General Meeting 8.00pm 15 Tudor St., Burwood (Mel Ref 60 K7) 24th/25th Ballarat Swap Meet Jim– 9809 5599 26th IMCA Club Ride 9:30am start Jim’s Shop Conor- 0415 581 060 Mar 10th – 11th The Great Race Dave Reidie – 03 9383 5033 Jindabyne Apr 1st IMCA Club Ride 9:30am start Caltex Servo Diamond Creek (Mel Ref 12, C6) Conor—0415 581 060 1st VMCC Scoresby Swap Details Pg 20 14th -15th Bright Rally Conor—0415 581 060 May 6th IMCA Club Ride 9:30 start Main St., Mordialloc (Mel 87, E12) Conor—0415 581 060 16th IMCA AGM 8.00pm Oakleigh Carnegie RSL 95-97 Drummond St Oakleigh (Mel Ref 69 G7) June 3rd IMCA Club Ride Conor—0415 581 060 Sept 30th /Oct 6th IMCA South Australian Rally Conor– 0415 581 060 Dec ‘12-Jan ‘13 Indo China Tour – Laos/Vietnam Jim—03 9809 5599

Gypsy Tour Toni - 0407 268 448

Biannual International rally Toni - 0407 268 448

2012

2013

26

Indian Motocycle Club of Australia

Treasurers Report - Year Ending 31st December 2011

Quarter to 31-Dec-11 DEPOSIT SUMMARY Membership 1,200.00 Join Fee 240.00 Tumut Rally 2,572.95 Raffle Proceeds 50.00 Deposit Total 4,062.95 PAYMENT SUMMARY Rally Costs 9,578.45 Magazine costs 2,071.85 Other 24.95 Payment Total 11,675.25 NET MONTHLY MOVEMENT -7,612.30 Opening Balance 34,554.21 Closing Balance 26,941.91 Reconciled to: Bank account 8,787.68 Term Deposit 18,154.23 Total 26,941.91 Includes the following held amounts: Khe Sanh Rally - Expression of interest 1,000.00

7

8

Date: 16th November 2011 Venue: Oakleigh/ Carnegie RSL Opened at: 8.15pm Present: 34 Members Apologies: R. Barker, R. Leamem, L.Urquhart, C Cheg, L.Hebden, Minutes of Previous Meeting : Accepted as published Moved: Don McGillivray, 2nd S.Mucha (Carried) Business Arising: Nil Correspondence: In: 1. Various newsletters 2. Entry Form Goulburn Rally Out: 1. Club Magazines Moved: M.Spykers , 2nd C.Murphy (Carried) Treasurers Report: 1. Accepted as published Moved: F.Hutchinson , 2nd D.McAliece (Carried) Membership Report: 1. Membership –Tailend of renewals– 190 paid up about 20 to come.. 2. Unfinancial members will no longer receive the club magazine Club Captain: 1. Tumut was very good and well attended.. 2. Sunday’s run leaves from the Scoresby servo. 3. Christmas Party is at Stan’s. 4. Conor is organising a run in SA next year– will include the Bay to Birds Wood and then on to the Barossa Valley/Handorf. Bookings must be made early and Conor must be advised of intention to attend. 5. Robroy Hillclimb 27th November (cars only). 6. Vet/Vintage Club Australia Day Rally NSW. 7. Mick has organised the Cherokee run– details will be circulated. 8. Krusty rally will be on again next November. 9. Breakfast run will be in the next Calendar. General Business: 1. The website should be perational in about a month. Meeting Closed 8.40pm. Next meeting : Oakleigh RSL Wednesday 15th February 2012

25

THE FEBRUARY GENERAL MEETING

of the

INDIAN MOTOCYCLE CLUB OF AUSTRALIA

Will commence at 8.00pm on Wednesday February 15th 2012

at Melbourne Dusting Sidecars, 15 Tudor St,

Burwood. Proprietor Stan Mucha will give a talk, as will racing sidecar builder from the 70's

Lindsay Urquhart.

The meeting time is 8.00pm, but the Club

will provide a BBQ dinner of burgers & snags and in bread for those interested

from 6.00pm. (Mel Ref 60 K7)

There is ample parking for all members who wish to

ride to the meeting .

NOTE

VENUE

SWAP, NEED, WANT, ETC

FOR SALE Pillion seat system ,ready to bolt to a

cast iron rack, powder coated, includes brackets for foot pegs .

$ 400. Conor 0415 581 060

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Great weekend with thanks extended to

Mick Chegg for organising the ride, to Dugal James for opening his museum and talk about the display machines and to Kylie Naporowski and Mai-lei Dunstan for doing backup. We had a group go from Melbourne and Al-bury meeting at Seymour on Saturday for the ride to Bendigo. A lot of others turned up at Bendigo, most stayed the night and returned home on Sunday. All bikes performed well with no-one using the backup. Thanks to the organisers and everyone who came, apologies if your name is not on the list. Daryl Jenkins

Who Was There Jim Parker ‘44 Chief Lyndall Hebden 741 Frank Hutchinson ‘47 Chief Conor Murphy ‘46 Chief Peter Parsons ‘44 Chief Darren Naporowski ‘53 Chief Clint Chegg ‘46 Chief Gerard Kennedy ‘44 Chief Mick Chegg ‘51 Chief Keith McKendry ‘46 Chief Ian Morrison ‘44 Chief Stan Mucha ‘46 Chief Dave Carr ‘37 Chief Daryl Jenkins ‘48 Chief Beder B ‘52 Chief Maurice Dunston ‘50 Chief Leo Klausen ‘44 Chief Roger McGregor ‘44 Chief Dicko & Wife ‘44 Chief Peter & Mason Birthisel ‘52 Chief Zane Morrison ‘47 Chief Bianca Bonner ‘27 Scout David Singles 741 Ken Andison ‘50 Chief Others there were: Sue Virago Ron Winfield Paul O’Brien & Family Robert Bonner Ian & Sandy Rhook Stuart & Bruce Hamilton Bronwyn Jenkins Toni Birthisel & Family Chris Beaumont & Family

Leo Klausen’s ‘44 Chief.

Outside Dugal’s museum.

9

Christmas party

A selection of photos from the Christmas Party kindly hosted by Stan Mucha– some little kids receiving their toys and some big kids playing with theirs.

Saturday December 10th

10

Breakfast run

Sunday January 15th 2012 Late morning at Stan’s Toolangi estate

T he annual Breakfast Run, commemorat-ing our late mate Peter Mac was held on Jan 15.

Despite many of the regulars not being present due to other commitments, I counted more than 30 bikes, only one of them "modern". There were a number of firsts. The undoubted star of the day was Peter Par-sons on his "new" 1923 Scout outfit, a '70s era resto, which performed fabulously, keeping up with the Chiefs on the hills! Ian Rhook took his '70s style psychedelic 741 on it's first club out-ing - there's been a lot of substance abuse around that machine over the years...... His friend Sam appeared riding a '38ish Sport Scout - a bike not seen in the club before. Lyndel Hebden was running-in her military 741, a shake down pre sending it on the Laos/Vietnam trip later in the year.

But it wasn't all about Scouts, Don and Bar-bara McGillivray had their first outing on their outstanding '41 Four outfit - Barbara declaring it very comfortable. In Conors' absence, Dave Booth led the run, and took us a different way into Healesville, and then up to the top of the Spur. This was followed by a cook-it-yourself breakfast at the reserve - the usual thieving kookaburra must have also had another function - he was no-where to be seen. Those who wanted then made their way off to other commitments, while about half of the group rode back past Stan and Amis' farm at Toolangi, stopping in for coffee, and other bev-erages..... All told, an excellent day - well done Dave. Jim Parker

23

Cherokee rally

T here was movement in the Garage, for word had passed around That Mick had organised the Chero-

kee, to go to old Bendigo town The riders gathered at Ringwood, about 9:22, We had others joining in at Yarra Glen and Seymour, and at Heathcote too “But wait” someone called, “Still more have gone direct” They shouted “To Dougal’s Shed, so we can all pay due respect” So get the bikes started, kick the kicker through Chiefs and Scouts are going, in formation two by two

To see Camel Back and Big Base, that many had never seen And there were a few hill climbers, with a pacer inbetween A great occurrence happened, when every-one gathered round We paid homage to all Indians, and everyone felt proud So when the bikes are rested, and the riders have a drink or two We know our Indian motocycles, performed just like brand new

Sat/Sun February 4th/5th 2012

22

Flynn Edis Please visit Flynn’s webpage for more info. http://www.fight4flynn.com.au/

Fundraisers just don’t happen; people have to do some work. IMCA (NSW Chapter) would like to acknowledge the following contributors for their time and donations.- Repco Goulburn, Woolar-inga Meats (Mick Batiste – local IMCA member), Heath Smash Repairs (Bert & Mick Heath – local IMCA member), Bevan Carr and Family (Albion Hotel -Grabben Gullen) and Ross Ginn – local IMCA member. On Sunday morning many of us attended the Goulburn Motorcycle Only Swap and then in the afternoon some of us went out to watch the Mo-torcycle and Vintage Cars Cavalcade of ‘wheels through time’ at Wakefield Park, after which we watched the hand-shift C group races, with two of our members raced, Peter Birthisel and Steve Kavanagh competing. The feedback from the weekend was that every-one had a great time and we look forward to next year being bigger and better as the news travels. Garth Popple NSW Chapter

Garth Popple & Garth Popple Snr. & Jnr.

Line up on the Goulburn Rally

11

Glen Hyde '48 Chief. Sam Vella '38 Sport Scout. Keith McKendry '46 Chief. Frank Hutchinson '44 Chief. Noel Thornby '45 Chief. Dave Booth '44 Military Chief. Dave Carr '37 Chief. Darren Naporowsky '53 Chief. Rod Barker '38 Four. Daryl & Bronwyn Jenkins '48 Chief. Ian Rhook 741 Scout. Lyndel Hebden '741 Military Scout. Jim Parker 841 Military. Frank Spykers '52 Chief. Meredith Spykers 741 Sport Scout. Don & Barbara McGillivray '42 Four Outfit. Stan Mucha '41 Four. Linsey James '47 Chief. Daniel McAliece '44 Chief. Morris Dunstan '50 Chief. Pete Parsons '23 Scout Outfit. Others. Mick Chegg ‘73 Triumph. Bob McGillivray '39 HD. Jim Brownley '36 HD. Little Mick HD WLA. Animal '50 HD. Andy HD. Mark Drury HD . Paddy Walsh 500 Velo Single. Backup. Gary Jennings. Cars. Greg Barton. Amanda McAliece. Paddy Walsh.

WHO WAS THERE

Maroondah carpark at breakfast

Lilydale’s main Street at 7.00am

Peter Parsons & his ‘23 Scout Outfit

12

21

T his year’s Rally had some additional fea-tures. We had the 85th Grand Prix Event over the same weekend plus the usual

Goulburn Motorcycle Swap. The organisers of the 85th Anniversary of the 1st Australian Grand invited us to activities that fitted into our Rally weekend schedule. On Friday night, for those that got down early we displayed our bikes in central Goulburn along with other club motorcycles, veteran and vintage cars. There was a live band and food and drinks available in Belmore Park until sunset. Club members and guests attended our usual “welcome” dinner/tea at the Soldiers Club After dinner options were the Grand Prix silent-movies across the road in the park or further chinwagging in the Club over a few drinks. As last year, this rally was also a fundraiser. This year’s fundraiser was for a young lad named Flynn Edis (4 years old) to go towards his leukae-mia treatment. But more on that later. We met at our usual meeting point and started our Rally with approximately 24 bikes this year. Ross Ginn (Goulburn IMCA member) again put in a lot of effort in mapping out our ride and fundraising activities, and we returned to the great country

pub for lunch as last year (Albion Hotel at Grab-ben Gullen), and every cent we spent on our Sat-urday lunch went to young Flynn. IMCA (NSW Chapter) would like to acknowledge the following people who made it a successful ride. Our faithful back up drivers & co (3 vehi-cles) - Troy/Katee/Baily Ginn, Nicole Health and kids Jessie and Ben, and Bert Heath. Of note, only one bike had to use the trailer and that was for only 40 mins until the next stop. Thank you to our Marshals - Jim Gardener, Phil Allport, and Doug Ferguson. Dinner was held at our usual venue, the Lilac City Motel Steak House, with raffles/prizes again. Raffle money raised at dinner also went to our fundraiser for Flynn. Our club president Peter Birthisel’ (along with Toni and the kids) attended the rally and said a few words at the dinner before we once again presented our annual award. The award now known as the Bert Heath Award (a long standing Indian Enthusiast from Goulburn and keen IMCA supporter) was presented to Ian Pryde by Ross Ginn,( last year’s recipient) for his work in establishing the Goulburn Rally. We raised $500 at lunch and $300 on raffle tickets = $800.00 for Flynn.

Annual Goulburn Rally

Fri/Sat/Sun. January 13th/14th/15th 2012

20

13

“This is one chapter from a book I got on eBay, written in 1914 and it very accurately depicts the board-track racing era. It's written in a very gushing "Boy's Own" action-hero style, but that lends a certain period charm”- Tim Pickering

Only part of the chapter is reproduced here due to space restrictions– the remainder may follow in future editions.– Ed

14

THE BLUE STREAK”

"ISN'T it a beauty?" exclaimed Bert, as he swept up to a waiting group of friends and leaped from the saddle.

There was a unanimous assent as the boys crowded around the motorcycle, looking at it almost with the rapt intentness of worshippers at a shrine.

"It's a dandy, all right," declared Dick, with an enthusiasm equal to Bert's own. "You skimmed along that last stretch of road like a bird."

"It's about the speediest and niftiest thing on the planet," chimed in Tom. "You'd give an air-ship all it wanted to do to keep up with you."

"Easy, easy there," laughed Bert. "I wouldn't go as far as that. But on 'terra cotta,' as Mrs. Part-ington calls it, there are mighty few things that will make me take their dust." And he patted the machine with as much affection as if it could feel and respond to the touch.

"About how fast can that streak of greased lightning travel, anyway?" asked Drake. "What's the record for a motorcycle?"

"The best so far is a mile in thirty-six and four-fifths seconds," was the answer. "That's at the rate of ninety-eight miles an hour." "Some traveling," murmured Dick. "Of course," went on Bert, "that was for a

sprint. But even over long distances some great records have been hung up. In England last year a motorcycle made 300 miles in 280 minutes. I don't think the fastest express train in the world has ever beaten that."

"Gee," said Tom, "I'd hate to be in the path of a cannon ball like that. It would be the 'sweet by and by' for yours truly."

"It might possibly muss you up some," grinned Bert. "It's a case of 'the quick or the dead' when you amble across the path of a twin-cylinder."

"I should think," remarked Drake, "that it would shake the daylights out of you to travel

at the speed you were going just now along that last bit of road."

"A few years ago it would have," admitted Bert.

"The way they bumped along was a sure cure for dyspepsia. But with this saddle I could ride all day and scarcely feel a jar. Why, look at this cra-dle spring frame," he went on enthusiastically; "it has the same flat leaf springs that they use in the finest kind of automobiles. You wouldn't be-lieve that there are over 250 inches of supple, highly tempered springs between the saddle and the road. It's as elastic and flexible as a bamboo cane. Each spring has double scrolls that come into action one after another whenever you have a jolt. Then, too, there are rubber bumpers to take the recoil. Why, it's like a parlor car on a limited express. No fellow sitting back in a Pullman has anything on me."

"You're a pampered son of luxury, all right," mocked Tom. "We children of toil take off our hats to you."

Bert made a playful pass at him and went on: As to power, it would take the strength of seven horses to match it. The engine has a piston dis-placement of 61 inches. And yet you can control that tremendous power so far as to slow down to three miles an hour. Not that I often get down to that, though. Fifty or sixty suit me better."

"You ought to name it 'Pegasus,' after the flying horse," suggested Hinsdale.

"Sure thing," answered Bert. "I don't see why I shouldn't. Commencement will be over by the eighth, and the race doesn't start until the tenth . That will give me plenty of time to get into shape. As a matter of fact, I'm almost fit now, and Reddy is training me for two hours every after-noon. I've .almost got down to my best weight already, and I'm going to take the rest off so slowly that I'll be in the pink of condition when the race begins. Reddy knows me like a book and he says he never saw me in better form." ""Of course," he went on thoughtfully, "the game is

19

18

located a brand new ’38 ignition switch in the U.S.A. but the owner liked to talk about it too much and basically it was not for sale. Dave McPhail did his magic on the engine and transmission. Rex Hosking worked on the running gear and started the paint work but really did not have the facilities for the sidecar preparation and paint work. Then a minor disaster with the paint work on the tanks and a hard decision to start from scratch with the paint work.

These are the people in the story from the NZ bit - Dave McPhail is known as Mr Indian and a keen enthusiast who works at Harley Speed and Custom. He has a collection of Indians and Harleys, cars and trucks of various sorts. He did up my 47 Chief and also the 38 Chief outfit although I had the paint work done at a panel shop. he does magic with bikes believe me. -Will Holmes is a Kiwi and has a 1934 Scout I think, another keen collector. Adrian Parr has a shed full of 741 bikes and parts ex Val-entines who were the Modak of NZ for 741 surplus parts. Ross Vinnell

This time Ray Piper was used and the result was stunning. As the Indian had been regis-tered and on hold, the re-licensing was rela-tively straight forward thanks to VINZ. There was a motor blow up on a Wellington Vintage Car Club run which was a result of previous repair work that we were all a bit dubious of. Once again Dave stepped in and worked magic and the Indian was ready for the Indian Owners Register rally in Blen-heim! It rained from when we all arrived at Blen-heim, Dave (on his 101 Scout) and John (on a Harley Davidson). When the ’38 Chief rolled into the rally site in the dark and wet and shiny it did attract some attention! The run on the Saturday was changed due to the weather and road conditions and if anything it suited the Indian which was still being run

in. At the awards that night the Indian was judges Best Outfit, Best Chief and Rider’s Choice Pre 1940! What an accolade and the efforts of many people appreciated especially Mr Indian himself. I also have a 1935 Scout which is out at Dave's work undergoing a long restoration as they work on when they get time and I am not in a hurry. Also a 42 Chief that I am slowly getting parts to take it back to full Military. I still have dozens of folders full of Indian Ace Harley articles sales brochures manuals etc

15

new to me and I'm not at all sure of winning. But I think I have a chance. I'd like to win for the honor of it and because I hate to lose. And then, too, that purse of ten thousand dollars looks awfully good to me."

The race to which the boys referred had been for some time past a subject of eager interest, and had provoked much discussion in sporting and college circles. The idea had been developing since the preceding winter from a chance remark as to the time it would take a motorcycle to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific. A guess had been hazarded that it could be done in twenty days. This had been disputed, and, as an outcome of the discussion, a general race had been projected to settle the question. The Good Roads Association of America, in conjunction with a number of motorcycle manufacturers, had offered a purse of five thousand dollars for the competitor who made the journey in the shortest time. If that time came within twenty days, an additional two thou-sand dollars was to be given to the winner. One other element entered into the problem. The San Francisco Exposition, designed to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal, would be in full swing at the time the survivors of the race reached the coast. One of the great features of the Fair was to be an international carnival of sports. There were to be contests in cavalry riding, in fencing, in auto racing, and the pick of the world were expected to compete. But of special interest to Bert was the international motorcycle race, which for the first time was to be held in America. Two years before, it had taken place in Paris and, a year later, in London. But this year it was America's turn, and because of the immense crowds expected at the Exposition, San Francisco had been chosen as the city to stage the event. There was to be a first prize of three thousand dollars and lesser purses for those that came in second and third. If, by any chance, the winner of the long distance race should break the twenty day limit and also win the final race at the Fair,

his total reward would amount to ten thousand dollars. With such a possibility in prospect, it was not surprising that Bert should be strongly tempted to enter the race. He was a natural athlete, and in his college course so far had stood head and shoulders above his competitors. As pitcher on the 'Varsity team, he had cinched the pennant by his superb twirling in a most exciting series of diamond battles. He had been chosen as a con-tender on the American Olympic team, and had carried off the Marathon after a heart-breaking race, in which every ounce of speed and stamina had been tried to the utmost. In an auto race be-tween rival campers, his hand at the wheel had guided the Red Scout to victory over the Gray Ghost, its redoubtable antagonist. He was a splen-did physical machine of brawn and sinew and nerve and muscle. Outdoor life, vigorous exercise and clean living, combined with his natural gifts, made him a competitor to be feared and respected in any contest that he chose to enter. But his lithe, supple body was not his only, or indeed, his chief asset. What made him preemi-nent was his quick mind and indomitable will, of which his body was only the servant. His courage and audacity were superb. Again and again he had been confronted with accidents and discourage-ments that would have caused a weaker fellow to quit and blame the result on fate. He had won the deciding game in the baseball game, after his comrades had virtually thrown it away. In the Marathon, it was with bruised and bleeding feet that he overtook his antagonist at the very tape. The harder bad luck tried to down him, the more fiercely he rose in rebellion. And it was this bull-dog grip, this unshaken tenacity, this "never know when you are beaten" spirit that put him in a class by himself and made him the idol of his com-rades. They had seen him so often snatch victory from the very jaws of defeat, that they were pre-pared to back him to the limit. Win or lose, they knew that he would do his best, and, if defeated, go down fighting.

16

P robably in the early 1980’s, I went with Wal Maynard to visit another Indian collector in Melbourne and

Wal said “You’ll be pretty blown away by this Chief”. Now Wal was well known in the Indian circles and over the years had numer-ous Chiefs, Scouts and Fours. So I thought this will indeed be interesting. At first glance, the Chief looked pretty stock late 30’s, Briggs Weaver guards and nice smooth lines. The owner then told this story of the Chief. The valve covers where not like the later 40’s Chief with the two cylin-drical tubes that screwed onto the valve sup-ports. Nor where they like the earlier split covers that were held together with a spring clip. These valve covers were like my brother’s side vale BSA – a large cast box with a plate covering them. They had a beautiful Indian script on the covers.

The story unfolded that the owner wrote to Sam Pierce, who was then known as Mr In-dian, and asked Sam if he knew anything about these valve covers. Sam wrote back and said that Indian never made a Chief with

‘38 Chief By Ross Vinnell– NZ Ross is an ex-pat Aussie residing in New Zealand. A member of the club in it’s early days, Ross has recently re-joined. Here’s a couple of stories Ross has contributed.

covers like that. So in due course, another letter was sent with this time a photograph of the Chief and the covers. Sam again wrote back, this time to say that he had asked around his circle of Indian fol-lowers, including people that had worked at the Indian Factory, and discovered that there were such Chief engines. Rhodes, the local Melbourne distributor, had complained to the Factory that the valve covers leaked and the engines then became covered in oil and dust. Whether the suggestion was made for closed in valve covers or there were other sugges-tions about the mechanical design of the valves or push rods, I really don’t recall. A small number, maybe 6, of the Chiefs were sent out to Australia for evaluation. The rest is history, the 40’s style valve covers were to become the production item and the cast boxes lost as a failed prototype. That is until the second letter and the photos had arrived! Sam said he was really keen to have this Chief in his collection and that it should be shipped COD and that he would send a cheque for the bike by return mail. The re-sponse, as all good Indian devotees would know, was sorry but the Chief is not for sale. So somewhere in Melbourne this Chief is probably still a prized item in a collection. There may even be another four out there somewhere …..

17

A t first, this Chief began its new lease of life as a solo with a 1944 Chief engine and did many miles in rallies

with the Victorian Vintage Motorcycle Club and later the Victorian Classic Club. The basic reason was that there were several ’44 Chief engines to choose from tucked away in the shed and the ’38 engine needed parts and work and that would take time. During these early years little work was done on improvement and there was basically no maintenance. Then along with an acquisition of a 1947 Chief came a sidecar and so the next phase began with the restoration of the sidecar. Eventually the big event of fitting up the sidecar to the ’38 Chief. Many more miles of rallies and general use followed. Included was a race with a Vincent outfit but the change back to second, quick clutch action and heaps of revs proved too much for the key holding the clutch onto the mainshaft and yes sorry to say the Vincent kept going

Then a big move to NZ and in the early 1990’s the ’38 was parked up as Dave McPhail had done magic with the ’47 and that was then the show pony. At the Indian Owners Register rally in Taupo later that year, the ’47 won Best Chief and Rider’s Choice! The long search began for the parts to get the ’38 Chief back to original and restored to its former glory. All of the engine parts were sourced from the remaining stock of N.O.S. and second hand parts still tucked away in the much smaller shed. The correct handlebars, headlight mount and other items obtained in U.S.A. and some real trinkets turned up locally with help from fellow Indian devotees including John McDonald for the battery box, exhaust and other items, Will Holmes who had the chain guard made for me and Adrian Parr who turned up one day with a grey ignition switch that was a bit different and Adrian said that I might be interested in it! I had