I used to think this was just another jeep in a crate story, but it has been
documented in sales literature from Indian that they did sell WWI military
motorcycles after the war. Several unrestored originals have shown up in
Olive Drab livery, with a few parts missing, and in exceptional shape for
their age. The most recent acquisition of one of these motorcycles in a
crate that I have heard of was in the early 1970's, and the crate supposedly
still exists(albeit converted to bench top)! I will be looking at the
collection later this fall, and if it exists, I will be taking copious
photos to put on the website.
The story makes sense, as Indian put almost ALL of its production into
military machines during WWI, to the point that it had a tough time
competing in the market after WWI. The Army supposedly stiffed them for
some production, citing the end of hostilities. The bikes were crated for
overseas shipment at the factory in Springfield, Mass- photos do exist of
these, I am told, and uncrating instructions are in the manuals. Perhaps
not the total Urban Legend?
One thing I have found in 20 years of collecting is that rare things are not
as rare as we think.
Prototypes do turn up- look at Mike Scholer's Willys Smart Armored car, and
the Airborne M1 Indian prototype showed up this year. My friend has picked
up not one, but two original WWII jump jackets at thrift stores around
Baltimore. Keep your eyes open, and you might be surprised at what you
find.
-----Original Message-----
From: MVTrucker@aol.com <MVTrucker@aol.com>
To: Military Vehicles Mailing List <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Date: Saturday, October 28, 2000 6:26 AM
Subject: Re: [MV] dead horse ($50 WWI mc in the crate)
>List,
>Yes, that's right, I saw it myself. Back in the seventies,
>I drove my MB (Willys Jeep - 1945) over to put on display
>at a local event. I pulled in and parked, then up along side
>me a man rides up and parks a WWI Indian motorcycle.
>Naturally, I engaged in conversation about his rare ride.
>In the late fifties, an Indian dealership in Salem, NJ, was
>liquidated as part of an estate settlement. This man attended
>the auction and many items were being offered in box lots.
>He bid and got for a low price a wooden crate - contents
>unknown. As it turned out, he purchased a new-in-the-box
>Indian that was probably surplused out sometime after the war.
>I seem to recall it having a single cylinder engine. The thing
>that stood out the most was the big carbide powered headlight.
>Well, certainly his story could have been a fabrication, but he
>sure sounded truthful. He would not sell it and I haven't seen
>him or the mc since.
>Joe Young
>www.joeyoung.com
>
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>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Nov 01 2000 - 21:37:49 PST