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/141047
b y John Hue tte r Ph o t o s by Randy D ie tz el and Hu e tte r The telephone rang so I pick ed it up and an sw ere d it, as I oft en d o. " Hi , th is is Ind ian mo torcycles and we've got a bilte we ' d like to ma ke available for a test, " ACK PRODUCTS, . I co uldn't eve n h ardly believe it. Nobo dy, b ut n o b ody wh o se a d ist rib u to r eve r calls Cycle Ne ws offeri n g bikes. A nd a n Indian. Wow! S hades of Bill T u mi n and th e Kansas di rt tr ack d ay s. T he Indian, fast est m otorcy cle in Ameri ca. Chee red m e up " Sales Representatives 676 Auzerais Ave., WANTED" San Jose, Ca 95125, C M Specialties 408-293-5111 S.. l e~ • Ser vice cus to m work. • .III makes "'li:iI... phY CYCLES MAICO i ... 184 San Antunio Rd . Mt. View, Calif. 9 4040 94 1·7317 2134 Old Middlefield Way Mt. View, Ca. 9404 0 (41 5) 961 ·2446 * * E.T. CYCLE SALES Pre In ve n to ry Sa le ""'-- On Ossa Pio nee r, Plon ker, ~ ~ & Stiletto. Yan kee SDR IT OKW, Steens, Ba ndit , Carabela. ""'-- T h ro ugh Ma rch 31, 1973 ~ ~ Little Ad ... Big Sal e ~ E.T . Cycle 2268 E I Camino Rea l Mt . View, Ca. 94040 ~~- WEARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE DISPLA Y ADVERTISING DEADLINE ,,0' ~ ~:t>~ z ~ parts '\ ~ sales '\ service mail order SOl 's all in st o ck . selby motors A Good Plxe To Buy A Great Motorcyde 346 EI Camino Real Redwood City . Ca. (415) 369-4112 (213)427-7 OFFICIAL RACING TEAM HOT HATS for CZ , MA ICO , HU S KY, SUZUKI , YAMA HA , BULTACO , HONDA , KAWASAKI , TRIUMPH , HA RL E Y, PENTON . FACTOR Y E MBLEMS AND COLORS " A CYCLE NEWS PRODUCT " SEND $ 1.00 to HOT H ATS to P .O. BOX 663 'E L TORO , CALIFORNIA r:' 92675 . Specify size 5 , M, L and TEAM . Ca lif. "f res idents add 5 %. Dealer inq ui ries invited . ~ im me diately. "Hm rn, wh a t m o d el is it?" 1 inquired in nocen tly. " It 's an 5£- 74." "A 74 , eh ? S eve nty -f o ur c ubic in ches? T ho ug h t Indian s we re eig h ties o r th er eab ou ts ." UNo, it's 74 cc." . "74cc ! A m inibik e?" "Well, it 's an m in icy cle. " "W ait a mi n ute. Isn ' t th at th e o ne th at's d eclare d illegal in F lorida becau se it 's too fast and h as all the lit tl e sq uirt racing teams and all? " " Yeah, th at 's right. " "W ell, we b etter che ck it o ut th en . T he re's a lot o f kids o u t ripping arou nd o n th o se things. Mo st o f 'em faster th an me ." Next d a y a large , round, frien dly fell ow with a fine wal ru s m o ustach e drives up in a van . In sid e is thi s m o to rcy cle. Not a m in ib ike , but a m o t o rcycle that shrunk. It's about a 50% reduction version of an off-road o riented enduro m ach in e. It 's a right fine-looking little piece of two-wheeled ma chinery. It h as a real motorcycle kick starter, a fou r-speed o ne-down, three -u p shift p atte rn , very good fron t an d rear brak es, all the "real" st uff. A nd th e Iigh ts w ork, fro n t an d re ar. T hey co ntinued t o w ork e ven afte r b ashing it around alth ough mo st mini-race rs will p ro bab ly rep lace them with numbe r p la te s. Pull u p on the cho ke kn ob a to p th e mi n iatu re Dell 'O rt o ca rb and it starts first tim e you kick it , every tim e . Bo th bi g feet an d little feet we re ab le to fin d a p lace on th e kick starter an d ge t the bik e to ru n. You d on 't need m u ch warm-up. Smac k d own the sh if t lever an d o ff we go-o-o-o, Man , that is one fas t mini-cycle. Hotch a ! l tj ust ma y be th e fast est thi ng in it s class. L i k e m o st fast litt le engines, especially fast little e ngi nes b uilt in It al y (T his o ne is a Min ar ell L) yo u have to pay a price somewhere to get the p ower and the price is that the In d ian tends to be rig ht peaky. Yo u gotta have so me real ch arp c hif ts to keep it o n t he pipe. When you do, it keeps m o vin g alo ng very sm artl y . All riders, large and small, had th e SPECIFICATIONS Engine - Model P470 Type S ing le cy lind e r, two st roke Bore & Stro ke 4 S x 44 m m 69.9 cc Disp la ce me nt 9:1 Com pression Ratio Brake Horse Po we r @ rpm 8 h p @ 6500 rp m Ca rburet ion . .. . . .. .. •.. .... . . . . ... . . . .. . .. ... . . . Dell 'Orto - 19. 19 mm F lyw heel magneto , 33W·6V , external high tension co il Ign ition Sta rt ing Syste m Kick starti ng w ith fol di ng c ran k Recomme nded F ue l Prem ix 20: I , regular gas and SAE30 , z-streke oil Fuel Ta n k Capacity . •. .. . . . . . ... .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. .. . . . . : . 1.2 5 ga llon Clu tch Multiple d isc in Oil, ha nd operated Transm ission O il Capac ity 16 ounces T ra nsmi ssio n .4·speed , constant me sh , left fo ot controlled 1 down, 3 u p w ith t he fo llowing rat ios: Overa ll: 1 Internal : 1 1st 1: 15.22 3rd 1:6.6 4 1st 1:3.3 0 3 rd 1: 1.44 2nd 1:9 .5 5 4th 1:5.3 0 2nd 1:2 .0 7 4th 1: 1.15 Co untershaft Sprocket 14 t o ot h Rear Wheel Sp rocket 34 t oo t h Eng ine Weight 32 pounds D imensions - Wheel base 44'12" Seat He ight '. . , 26'k" Seat Width 8" Handleba r Wid t h ... .. . . . . . . .. . ... . . .. ... . . . . .... • ... . . . . .. . . ....29" Footpeg Hei ght 9" Grou nd Clea ra nce . ..• ... . . ... .... . .... .. . . . . ... . .... . . . . . . . . .... .7" 135 pounds Dry We ight O vera ll Length ; 65" Suspension F ro nt . . . . . . . . . .. . . .•. . . . .. . .. . . . .. . ... ... . . Hydrau lic Forks 4'k " travel Rea r 3·Way ad ju stab le hydrau lic shoc ks Wheels and Brakes Front T ire . . . . .. . ... . . ... .. .. . . .. . . .. . .. . . .• ... . . .. . . T rials 2.7Sx 16 " Rea r T ire T rials 3 .2S x I S" Front Bra ke . . . . ...... .. .. ... . .• .. . ..•.. Hand operated int ernal expand ing Rear Bra ke Foot operated inte rnal expand ing W·2 rim , heavy d uty spokes Wheels Ava ilable Colors . . •. . . ... . . . . . . . .. . . . .. .. . . . . . .. . . Red , Yellow, Orange