Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125536
OLD s IA DIE ... Floyd Clyll..•• 45-lnch Scout. m.nufactured In his W t "erman I.cbn,••111 110 av.ilable in .. tile U.S. 11I1. comInI sprlnlo Aboul 1000 ....cheduled lor dellv.ry In '61. sa P"cas' A_lean _slon of tile 1mil an Scout, .....1 ~c.d .t. rita 01 ona • lily In hi. EI "'11I lIcl1lrJ••port. such Rlod..n la.IIl... u • •..,lac. lllIorll.1I link and ... t. For a long time tile Indiu brud domiaated the American motol" cyde scene. Then bad manageaent. complicated by increasing' sales m.petition flo. the imported cydes aad the racing competition of Hadey-Davidsons, caUsed the DObie redskin to bite the dnst. There the "diu lay, belly-ap. for over a decade while lndiu lovers all over the U.s. sclOoged for spare parts and dre&lBed of the day neB the tribe 1JOIIId lise again. One part, boweVer, is in sbort suPPlY. '!be tront cyl1nder bad a pecullar babtt DETAILS ON THE INDIAN SCOUT -45" C150ccl This first Clymer lodian wbicb is sbowo in the pbotos bas the Indian Scout 45 engine. It is the last of the big-base jobs with large flywheel, Autolite distributor and Linkert carburetor. Many features that will be on tbe new production machines are not on this prototype. Tooling is DOW in progress for the modem changes that bave been made. Four dedicated enl>ineers and mechanics wbo know Indian backwards and forwards were in Germany working with the Germans on the changes that will be included in the new engine. Among them were Frank Cbristian, an Indian man for thirty years, wbo worked for Ed Kretz and was IIis tuner in the days wben Ed won so many championships 00 lndiaa; Max Bubeck, no was an Indian man e~dusively since 1936 ud who bas won many important endoros aad desert events on Indiaas; Art Hafer flOlI KaI. .aBOO, Michigu, who won IRany National CblUtlpio.ships in the fifties 00 I.diaas and who is ooe of the best l.· diao tuoers in the UDited States; aod IIOt least, Dick Gross of Fond du Lac. isconsio. the tuoer for Bill TUllan and Bobby Hill. of break1nc ott the Indian engine and so stocks ot spares _re rapidly consumed. Pierce says be bas sol\'ed the problem bY adding another torque stay between the troot cyllnder and the uPPer trame tube, but be is lett with a warebousetul Yllltllli su Plerc.·......Ican I...... eom, . , . CJCIo ..... editor Carol $l(llS joI •• Indl. I. ..,1.1 "H - (Sip " " , ......tier HOW tut -t, lillian _ tastw.-> ct....... ot rear cylinders for Whicb there are no mates. To use up this valuable supply, and as a bedge against the day when bis 300 engines are all sold, Pierce bas designed a new lower end Whicb uses two rear cylinders In an Jngenious "V" arrangement. One cylinder Is turned around "backwards" to serve as a front barrel. This places an eXhaust pipe on either side of the engine and allows twin carburetors to be used. The barrels are sidestepped to allow dual connecting rods to tasten tl! separate bearing throws on the crank, :l. la Vincent. It is a neat arrangement and one Which shows great promise of vibrationless, pOwerful, cool running. We look torward eagerly to seeing and rJding the first one of this new design to be finished. As long as we are loading up our pipes for dreaming, consider sam Pierce's future plans tor tile lower end of tb1s new V-Indian. It wtll accept a pair ot Matchless 500cc Single cylinders (sam (Continued on pege 14) Munch IO."..lnch .... br.k. of Clymer'. Scout I. lormea 01 EI.ktron "Ihtw.llbt "spac• .... melli. . The four Indian experts mentioned above, and Floyd Clymer (representing a combined total of over 170 years of experience with Indians) worked with tile German engineers in des1gning the new Scout, wb1ch wtll be built In tile Clymer factory In West Germany, with Frtedel Muncb as cbief engineer and designer. Muncb is the designer and builder of tile Mammoth, wb1ch Is buut 10 the same factory. Here are .. few deta1ls on the new Scout: Engine wtll be 45 cu. 10. (75Occ) witb the same or1lt1na1 bore at 2-8/9" and • .., ...... Indl•• _ .._ • •d MduI.tc. ....Iad 10 ca.-, ... co•• lied .ltIt ..... _ • all IIl"Cts of _ CIJ- SCOIII. As aside-valve, tile Indian wtll pack a b1gber par ratio. turn slower and a lower compression ratio than any overMad. It is quieter. euier and cheaPer to -mtaln and semce than overbads _ wh1ch require mOl'e attenUoo to keep them In prql8r tune, Clymer cla1ms. EJectrt.es are German Bosch. There Is an electrtc starter, alternator. Bosch colls and even a Bosch bead11gbt, VDO speedometer and VDO electronic tachometer. Crankcases, cast E1ektron, with lots at metal on both sides. Drive side bearings wtll be three-row, roller bearings. Crankpin wtll be 1-1/2" d1ameter with 5/16" rollers (same size as the competi. tion HID's and the SPortster, def1n1tely oversize). Crankp10 will be pressed into TlIat daY Is comlDg. in a tqger ~ tIlan anyone expected, with DOt just ODe, but two separate eompanl.es committed to produelDg 1nd1ans tOl' the 1968 market. TIle booor at being ttrst oft the 1lne with bis Ind1ans bas to go to sam Pierce. a rabl.d redskin tan wbo owns prob8bl7 the world's largest collection ot authentic Indian parts. Encouraged by the demand at bis san Gabriel, California motorcycle store tor restored Ind1ans, Pierce collected enough odds and ends 01 Ind1ans to assemble 300 macbtnes. He owns a small factory in EI Monte where ~ce parts are macb1ned. Capacity at the plant is one Indian per day. Most popular model seems to be the 45~cub1c 1ncII Scout with rigid tram_pertectfor malting the popular "Sunset Strtp Cboppers" out 01. Pierce calls bis "AmerIcan Indians" to distinguish the marque from the German- buut Indians that Floyd Clymer Is maldng. The bikes are all registered as 1967 or 1968 models and their price Is only $995 • S-1/2" stroke. Tbtc combination is part1ally responsible tor tile fast acceleration and low end torque for wb1ch the Scout was noted. Gearbox wtll be 4-speed withdrymultiple disc plate clutch with toot shitt. All gear sbatts wtll run on needle rollers. The gears and clutch are made by the fir m that buildS the Porscbe racing transmission and gears for most German cars, such as Merceds- Benz, Opel. German Ford and Volkswagen. The gears and clutch are oversize. Tbe bousing is of space-age ligbtwe1gbt Elektron metal, as used in Mammoth. Primary drive case is Elektron metal. Slnlllni vl.ltor. lrom Uru..,ay, Indl.. Chief rld..s Rlul Fern.ndez (left) and Raberto C.mlCill, mlde the trip In 14 month., ....Inl add jabs In route. Th.y rec.lved a hospltabl•••Icom. al Plwce'. Indan Co•• said that wh.....r they traveled peopl. told lIIem about Slm, ..."Inllo him as "Jala Indio" (Indl.. Chl.I). tlywbeels. No taper crankp1o. Flywheels will be of finest German steel. Connecting rods wtll be special steel drOI' forging. Pistons will be the (Continued or: page 14) ...THEY JUST MULTIPLY!