Theeig
By John Waaser
This is the story 0
motorcycle (oops, rna
built. It was never sol
used as a factory demo
and put on display at the
factory. When the Indian
factory dosed, it was given to
one of the company officials,
16
and found its way to his cellar.
The owner of the auto museum in
Wells,
Maine
went
down
to
Springfield to buy literature on the
early bikes for his collection. This
official took him home to look through
his cellar, whereupon this machine
surfaced, and a dea.l was quickly
settled (in the mid three-figure range,
20 years ago). This machine must
certainly be priceless today, but it is
still on display for all to see in the
small seasonal Maine auto museum.
You immediately see the signs of
another era in this machine. It was
only the eighth Indian ever built by
the Hendee Manufacturing Co., in
Springfield, Massachusetts, yet such
items as tires and spark plugs have the
Indian logo on them. Today it would
take production runs in the hundreds
of thousands to justify such an
expense.
The frame is basically a bicycle
frame with no additional suspension-and the roads were rough in those
daysl Still, top speed was only equa.l to
that of a good bicycle, and you'll note
that it still has pedals, and.a dual
chain drive--one from the engine and
