Some journalists used ‘motocycle’, and some used
‘motorcycle’. It just happened that The Hendee
Manufacturing Company chose ‘motocycle’ when
changing the name to Indian Motocycle Company.
Now nobody really knows just why the company
made this choice. One version, that is often quoted,
is that the term ‘motocycle’ was an archaic word used
in the 19th century to denote any horseless carriage,
and Indian wanted to distinguish itself from the
competition by using the older word.
Furthering the Indian theme was the fact that
co-founder, George Hendee, became known as the
Big Chief while his counterpart, Oscar Hedstrom,
became known as the Medicine Man. The factory
was called the Wigwam and the dealer network was
called the Tribe.
Now from the very early days of motorcycle manu-
facturing in the US, Indian and Harley-Davidson were
bitter rivals for the most part, with both companies
at one time giving their dealerships a bonus if they
destroyed any trade-ins of the opposing marque! And
then there were the many popular limericks from both
sides such as: “If I had a Harley, I’d leave it for a thief
And with the insurance, I’d buy an Indian Chief.”
But back now to the story of this bike. You see,
as sometimes happens in the relatively small world
of vintage motorcycles, it turned out that Graeme
also knew the bloke the Bobber owner suggested, so
Graeme contacted him, a price was negotiated and he
thus became the proud owner of a very rusty frame
and a partial engine.
Now there’s just one ‘go-to’ man in WA, a bloke
named Wayne, who is the acknowledged guru of all
things old Indian, so that’s where Graeme went, only
to be told, “Mate, this needs a lot more components
to make a good engine.”
Rather than be discouraged, Graeme said OK and
while Wayne worked his magic he went home and
took a stroll through his back shed where – as you
do – he found a very rusty 1924 Chief tank that had
been home to a family of rats for 30-odd years. And he
found other bits too; suspension parts, a couple of hubs
and the seat. He also stumbled over a piece of leather
that, “An old dude had sold to me for 10 bucks,” and
he began lathering the seat and using a bag of beach
sand to shape the leather to the seat base.
Some 18 months later he had finished the build as
you see it here.
Graeme’s built more than a few Indians in his past,
mostly restorations that he has put back to original
specs, but as he says, “This bike was going to be a 1924
bobber in my style. My way!”
So don’t get picky about things like using a Harley-
Davidson constant velocity carb where you would
normally see a Schebler, or his hand-cast air cleaner
cover. He’s proud of his build and we are proud to
display it within our pages. Go Graeme! HD UTS&BOLTS
ENGINE
TYPE 1924 84ci Indian Chief
COMPRESSION RATIO Stock
CAM Indian Bonneville
PORTS Standard
ROCKERS Indian Bonneville
OIL Fuchs 20-50
CARBURETION Harley CV
AIR CLEANER Graeme custom
EXHAUST Hand-built by John
TOP SPEED 110 kmh
TRANSMISSION
YEAR 1924 Chief
TYPE V-Twin
NUMBER OF GEARS 3 gears
PRIMARY DRIVE Indian
REAR DRIVE Chain drive
WHEELS
F TYRE 19in Dunlop
R TYRE 16in Dunlop
HUBS Stock Chief
BRAKE (R) Stock Chief drum
FRAME & SUSPENSION
TYPE 1924 Chief
RAKE Stock Indian
SEAT Stock Indian
FORK Stock Indian leaf spring
TRIPLE TREES Stock Indian
CONTROLS
BARS Indian Chief
GRIPS/LEVERS Indian
MIRROR Standard Indian
HEADLIGHT Standard Indian
GEARCHANGE Indian hand-change
TAILLIGHT Indian
GUARDS & FINISH
F GUARD Sportster Harley-Davidson
R GUARD Aftermarket H-D
FUEL TANK 1924 Indian
OIL TANK Stock Indian
PAINT 2-pack
COLOUR Indian Red
PAINTER Joe
CHROME Ultra ChromeFrom any angle, Graeme’s
Indian is a labour of love.