I found a ’39 Indian on eBay and with my wife’s urging (“Go ahead! You deserve it!”) purchased it for a lot more than I sold my first Chief! It was in reasonably good condition but did need a thorough going over before I rode it out. The 2nd Law of Motorcycle Restoration states: “In the past someone has done something to the bike that has the potential to kill you. Your job is to find it and fix it before it does.” So a complete disassembly and reassembly ensued where upon I rediscovered the 1st Law of Motorcycle Restoration: “Everything is broken”. My sons had purchased the book “Indian Motorcycle Restoration Guide 1932- 53” by Jerry Hatfield as a Christmas present and by sheer luck I discovered Chuck Myles name in the back of the book. He was still in the business and we re-connected after all those years. I now ride my Chief about 3000 miles a summer and am currently restoring a 1946 Chief.
So what’s to review? First off it takes a bit of doing to ride an Indian, especially if you learned on a more modern bike. There’s a lot you have to “un-learn”. It’s funny but it took me only about 1 minute to get re-accustomed to my latest ’39 Chief: kind of like riding a bicycle, you never forget. Riding a 68-year-old motorcycle is a real “trip” and it has its own personality. It’s almost a religion and you must follow the dogma. Here’s the start up ritual:
Guardian of the code.
1. Disengage the clutch to make gear shifting easier.
2. Place gear shifter in neutral between 1st and 2nd or alternatively false neutral between 2nd and 3rd (upon starting, shift into third to free up clutch plates. This engages the slider gear and 3rd gear dogs at a lot lower relative speed to the engine instead of 1st gear’s teeth at a lot higher relative speed which clashes the gears); Make sure clutch is engaged or you won’t be able to kick the engine over.
3. Open petcock (turn the gas on dummy).
4. Full choke, wide open throttle (left hand), ignition off, retard spark (right hand), kick engine over: actually more of a shove down with your body weight than a kick with your leg. We don’t need no stinking electric starters!
5. 1/2 choke, closed throttle, ignition off, kick engine over again
6. Make sure you have already retarded the spark (right hand)…if you didn’t and the engine fires it will kick back and buck you off the kick starter with authority! I’ve heard stories of broken legs resulting, but I don’t believe it unless your leg is made of glass. In that case you have no business riding a motorcycle in the first place.
7. Open the throttle about 1/8, ignition on, kick engine again to start.
8. Advance spark to about 1⁄2 (best idle will be found between fully retarded and fully advanced position…use your ears to determine the best position) for a high idle and open choke gradually as engine warms up. It will beat with a nice regular thump when the mixture and timing are correct.
9. Push clutch pedal forward (disengaged) and “flick” the gear into first gear if in neutral; or alternatively pull gearshift into 3rd if in the false neutral position (this will free up the clutch plates when oil is cold) and then push back through 2nd into 1st. Don’t try to push it into first gear or all it will do is grind.
10. Give it some throttle and let the clutch back in and away you go.
