Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

man with a dream CHARLES MANTHOS A~ the NEW 1953 The p lanned production will take in relation to e ngine, suspension and T r a n s m i s sion with out changing the place on the Hendee street property of Sol ar in a building that has been set Ind ian c o nc e p t . I've acquried the asi d e specifically for the purpose by Mr . blueprints fr om t he 19 53 production Manthos, run as well as som e prin ts and sk etches " The building that I am se t ti n g up from the 1959 Royal Enfield-the last for the m anufacture is wh ere t he las t attempt to revive wh at had b egun as the Indian (in th e U.S.) was made and als o Indian. The name an d the co mpany where the original co mp any star ted . I've have been dragged through th e mud and just ab ou t got everything ready to go as such ov er the y ears, but the popularity far as outside vendors are co nc erned of the bike is st ill evident. once we a r e ready t o begin "In the short tim e since th e news of manufacture. This m achine will be all the Springfield Indian has been public am eri can without a single foregin part I've received inquires from as far a way on it. We have the tal ent in this cou n try as Norway. Poland, Germany and to build an all American machine and I Ir eland st ating an - in te rest in my don't see why we shouldn't. " project." As befits a man of Mr. Manthos' Interest is also evident fr om dealers ; the main stay of any attempt - to determination the sole financial burden pen e t rate the Am e rican m o torcyde \ 'is his . " I myself have re activated th e m arket. company and it is totally my m oney "A ctually all of th e old Indian that is going in. I have many interested dealers who are still in business or have people who want to inves t money in sons who have taken over the business th is program a nd as soon as we have a are .suc h di ehard en th us ias ts th at th e prototype machine t ogether I 'II let them m inute the Springfield becomes look at it and decide for themselves availab le they want to handle it. That is wh at we have to sell . I know we have a t he type of en th usiasm th at I hear about good machine ." in cal ls and letters evey day and it Engine refinements are all 'rhat m akes me feel good . The Indian Come remai n before the machine makes its Home rally last year is another examp le of th e ex is t en c e " o f widespread public d ebu t and ch an ges the Charles enthusiams . Nearl y 1,700 people fro m Manthos dre am into re ality. If you 've al l parts o f th e U.S . showed up and a waited this long for the new Springfield go od number a rri ved o.n m achines u nder Indian, imagine how long Mr. Manth os th eir o wn power." has wa ited. ., It) c -, " ~ w Z w oJ U >'J CYCLE PARTS ... i!JiNtiIm"'&~"CHIEF The new Indian "SO' : C hief is ·e a sy to ha nd le, economical to run • • . the new India n " SO" C hief is king of the motorcycles in pe rfo rma nce , ap pearance, and en gineering perfection. O n t he road the new "SO" will surprise even the most exp erie nced mo torcyclist by it smoothness, its c omfort; and its acceleration ·a nd speed capabilities. See your local India n motorcycle dealer today or write for free cata log ue. Oealen hips available in c ertain choice fOC4tio"s - .....e invite yo1M' inquiry t!.fntIitm Springfield , Mass . Y o u may see ad s soon like th e orig inal 19SJ ad above w h e n the Spr i ngfield Ind ian h its t he trail . by Gary.Van V oorhis In late 19 5 3 th e Indian Motocy cle Compan y o f Springfield, Mass achusetts, o fficially ce ase d to exis t . A British Company purch ased the facility , clo sed the plant , m ov ed all us abl e m at erials to England and, fo r a period o f six years, proceeded t o produce a m o torcy cle (the R o y a l E nfiel d) th at resembled the Indian. In 19 59 it too went ou t of production . This st o ry h owever is not U field an d in time fou nde d the Sol ar Metal Treating com pany , b asing . th e op era tion on the gr ounds o f the o rigi nal Ind i an pl an on Hendee stree t in Sprin gfield. "Th e Indian sh ou ld nev er ha ve go ne o u t o f business in my opini on . It was a g o o d m a chi n e and still is. I am reorganizin g th e n ew Sp rin gfield India n in this area because Springfi eld was th e h ome o f th e Indian and I wa n t to b rin g th e In di an b ac k home. We st ill have the I want to bring the ••• Indian back home." about th e d eath of th e Indian, but abou t t he reb irth of th e new Springfi eld Indi an a n d t he m an behind t he undertak ing: Charles Manthos, Ch arl es Manth os is a m an with a dream; to build an all Am eri can m ade m o torcy cl e . fo r th e se rio us road ri der. and t o resurrect th e In di an n am e: to th e mantle o f excellence it o nc e held. "I've: always w anted to ow n Indian Motorcycle (Mo tocycle t o t he purist) . When I go t o u t of the servic e in 1945 . Harry Uhl , th e chief m etallurgist at Indian, called m e in to see if I would b e in t e r est ed in taking over th e heat tr e at in g depar tme nt and m etal lu rgy w or k b e c aus e h e w as r e ti rin g . U n fo r t u na t ely th e co m pany had -changed hands so m an y times tha t I . could see it would b e foolish t o ta ke a job at that tim e and t ry to h ang o n, I trie d t o get p eople with m oney t o invest but n o one was interes ted in m y idea a nd since 1" ha d j ust been di scharged I h ardly had money to buy shoelaces." In t he ens uing y ea rs since 1945 Mr. Manthos prospered in the metallurgy talent for m aking th e m otorcycl e wit h th e m an y d ed icat ed o ld tim e employees who still live her e. If we don' t build n ow, in a few y ears th e old tim ers will b e go ne and the n t he re will b e n o o ne left t o teac h us how the m o t orcy cl es were m ade. My philos ophy has always b een th at in this world there is a pl ace fo r eveyro ne . You d on 't pu t the o lde r p eople o u t to pasture wh en th ey st ill have pl enty to o ffer. I have fo rmer In di an en gineer J im Hill as design er and en gine er for the Springfield m ach in e ; a l s o P op A r ms t ro n g dr op s b y o ccas io nally wi th an idea. He's 84 and s t i ll h a s a n a ctiv e mind . Wh en p roducti on b egins I' ve arrange d for othe r fo rmer em ployees to in struct th e staff in th e o riginal procedures so th at as much Indian kno wle dg e as p ossib le will be p assed o n," T he classic look of the 19 53 " SO" Ch ief will be re tained as will th e fam ous skir ted fen ders th at se t th e Indian apa rt fro m th e o th er m ach in es o f its day . "What we are trying to d o is pi ck up th e 1953 m odel and brin g it up to date CYCLE PARTS MX PANTS CYC LE PARTS DESERT PA NT S • All Top Grad e Leath e r • Snug H ip Fit • Z ippered Pock et s • Hea vy Be lt & B uc kl e • All Doubl e St i tch ed • Li g h t Weig ht & • Top Gr ad e • Ext r a H ea vy Padd in g • D ou bl e Stretc h Kn i t Li n in g • D ou b le St itc he d • Di ffer ent Col ors • Stripe Co m boYo u r Ch o ic e • Cus to m Ma de o r Off Th e Ra c k • Leath er • 12'" Leg Zippe rs • 2 Z i ppe r ed Pocket s • Hea vy Be lt & Bu c kl e • D o u b l e D iam on d St i tc h ed Pad d i ng Fro m Boo t Top to Rugg ed Lea th e r Stripe s • Pants 19 • ReR.59 .9 5 Sa le 49.95 • • • • Top o f Th ig h Do u bl e Diamo nd St itch ed Th ig h Pad s L igh t Weigh t & Rugged Choice o f 2 Col o r Co m bi natio ns 19 Differ en t Co lors Custo m Mad e o r Off The Rack Reg . 69 .95 Sale 59.95 CYCLE PA RTS LEATH ERETT E MX PANTS CH ICKEN LEATHERS • All Doubl e St itched • Diamond St itch ed Kn ee & Hip Pad s • H eavy Belt & Bu ckl e • All -Size s • Co lo rs : Yellow /Red Blue / Brown Bl ack • Reg . 59.95 • Zipper ed Leg s • Zipper ed Poc ket s • Cho ic e of Color / Stripe Co m b o • 19 Co lo rs t o Ch oo se Fr om • Full Kn ee & Hip Padd in g • M a nu f actured of Rou gh Tough L eath er Like Ma t er ial • Reg . 24 .95 Sa le 19.95 Sale 49.95 FREE WITH COUPON COUPON ONE CYCLE PARTS T/SHIRT WITH PURCHASE OF PANTS THE WORLD'S LARGEST CHAIN OF MOTORCYCLE ACCE EIGHT L OCATIONS TO SERVE YOU • • PASADENA 1890 E. Co lo ra do (2 13) 793 ·4226 • HAWTHORNE 12 94 2 Hawthorn e (2 13) 67 6·82 02 • HARBOR CITY 1290 W. Pac i fic Co as t Hwy. (2 13) 530- 0904 • EAST LO S AN GELE S 40 0 S . Atl an t ic (213) 264·4 107 • LONG BEA CH 58 6 9 Atl antic (2 13) 4 2 3 - 9 2 ~ 6 • W EST M I NSTER 13 682 Beach Bl vd . (7 14) 893·44 50 • SAN D I EGO 50 0 5 EI Cajo n Bl v d . . (7 14) 58 2·2290 • SAN BE RNARDINO 4 73 W. B aseli ne (7 14) 888-25 05 8 LOCATI ON S OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK TO SE RVE YOU O PEN MO ND AV S, WEDNES DAYS. TH U RSDAYS, & FRI DAYS 10·9: TUE SDAY S 10· 7: SAT UR DAYS 9·6 : SUND AYS 10-4. Sale Friday, Saturday & Sunday Only. -

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