S
crolling through motorcycle
ads is a practice reserved
not only for those folks who
are buying and selling motor-
cycles. For classically graying
riders, perusing the classifieds
helps launch one on a journey
into the center of your conscious-
ness, a ride to the land inside
of your mind. Pass through that
frontal lobe, wheelie over the
precentral gyrus, jump across the
central sulcus, and then gas it
hard to the cerebral cortex, where
most of our memories are stored.
In this region is the little-known
(and scientifically unverified)
"garage lobe" where we keep the
motorcycles of our youth. These
are both cycles that we actu
-
ally owned and those we only
dreamed of owning.
A minicycle of some variety
will have a space in this garage,
so our memories are primed
when we see them pop up for
sale now and then, often at prices
that are three or four times the
original MSRP.
The Indian SE-74 is one such
machine, and it was tested by
Cycle News in the March 6, 1973,
issue. Kids both small (aged
9) and big (the full beard being
the most noticeable clue) gave
the little Indian a good workout,
squeezing as much fun as they
could from the bike in a short
time.
There are nearly as many sto
-
ries about the Indian Motorcycle
company as there are actual Na-
tive American tribes. There was
the original manufacturer from
Springfield, Massachusetts, and
the current Indian, recently sold
off by Polaris. In between, the
brand was passed around like a
peace pipe, landing at one time
in the hands of motorcycling en
-
trepreneur Floyd Clymer. Clymer
sold a line of Italian-made mini-
cycles, branded as Indians, and
even though they shared nothing
in common with the legendary
V-twin machines, these Indians
were both durable and fun to ride.
"It's a right fine-looking little
piece of two-wheeled machinery,"
wrote Cycle News. "It has a real
motorcycle kickstarter, a four-
speed one-down-three-up shift
pattern, very good front and rear
brakes… all the real stuff."
CNIIARCHIVES
P144
BY KENT TAYLOR
Cycle News tested out the Indian
SE-74 at Indian Dunes in 1973.
The
SE74
Eight Horsepower of Fun
