Left:Oozing
periodcharmand
patina,the Indian
isafascinating
periodpiece.Endto ride throughall weathers and terrains,but “it also
strangles performance,” notesWayne.“I’ve been told th at
runningitd ry makesadifference,but Ihaven’t triedit.”
There’s an ID plate on thefueltank stating‘Speed:not to
exce ed 60M.P.H’, and basic information aboutthe model.
Theleatherbagsare militaryonlyquick releaseitems,and
designedtofitthe 741andthe HarleyWLA.One point
that Wayne mentions isaboutthe le ather scabbardfor
aThomsonmachinegunthat is oftenseenonresto red
machines. “Itwas never listedinthe 741-B parts list, and
it’s impossible tofind aphotoofa741-B at thetime with
thisfitted –itwas aHarle yWLA item,not Indian.”
Acargo rackfitted abovethe rear mudguardallows for
morecarryingcapacity,andmanybikes werefitted with
radio suppressorcapacitators and shields,or‘ cheese
grater,’ that satbetweenthe cylinders.Aspeedometer is
mountedonthe top of theforks ,one oftheveryfew items
featuringthe Indian logo,asdothe bar grips.
Thereare blac kout lights mounted on the frontand rear
mudguards ,and therear lightise nclosed in ametal case,
all operated by thekey-operated (tostop tamperin g) brass
switchnexttothe ammeter mountedonthe fuel tank.
“There’s also asupplementaryblackoutlight manufactured
by Corcoran-Brownmounted on thehandlebar,and I’ve
neverseenthisonany other 741.Ialsohavealarge switch,
notcurrently mounte d, that went under theseat and
is believedtohavebeenused to cut outthe main li ghts
whileridinginconvoys”, explainedWayne.
Ridingthe 741-B is,for meat least, likeridingany other
bigIndiantwin –half anhourof utter confusion while
the brainrewiresitself toaleft-hand throttle andleft foot
clutch, follo wedbythe bigsatisfaction andappreciation
of astrongair-cooledtwinthat marches onup theroad
without fuss.Thejockeyshift for thethree-speedbox is
mountedonthe rightofthe fuel tank, quiteaway back
compared to thecivilianmodels,and notbeing‘gated’is
actually easyenough to use.Thehardest partisg etting
left foot and lefthand to operateatt he same time, and
feelingthe crucial biting pointonthe foot clutchpedal –I
really didn’twant to launch the 741upthe road, without
me on it!Once this is ‘mastered,’ alongwith acceptance
that the righthand grip isn’tathrottlebutactuallybeing
the advance/retardfor th eAuto-Lite distributor,the 741
is athrill toride.
Air-cooledV-twins alreadyhave aspecialappeal to me,
butinc ombination with itseclectic controls,the Indian
oozesarugged char m. It’s not fast,it’sachugger ,and the
741 wastuned to be reliable andtake abusefromsoldiers
whohadundergone perhaps briefridingtraining, if any,
butonce in topgear and onan openroad, the 741makes
goodsolid progress.
Thesuspensionis typical Indian, andthe girder forks
with dampers cope well with all butthe largest holes in
the road, and the shieldedbrakes, calledsoastokeep
them dryinwet and testingconditions,are adequate –
buttobehonest,the ride satinthe large sprungleather
seat with eachfootplantedonthe footboa rdsand
eachhand on thewide barsisr eally quite comfortable,
although acrosswarterrain it must have been quite a
differen texperience.
Theskid plateboltedtothe bottomofthe fr amewas
an extrainsuranceagainst themotor beingwrecked
from obstaclesbelow.Themudguards areset noticeably
higher than the civilianIndians’fenders,ina nattempt
to prev entmud clog ging up the wheels,and crash bars
arefitted to savethe rider’s legs ,and theworkingsof the
bike, in theevent of an off.Ican imagine that amilitary
rider,once accustomedtothe 741-B, and especially
for the British and Commonwealth troops more
used to standardTriump horBSA machinery,would
have become quiteattached to thisquirky butstrong
Americanwarmotorcycle.
Just lookingthrough thedetailedmanuals andparts
lists inWayne’spossession, includingdescrip tions of how
to build up thebikeinthefieldstraightout ofthecrate,
you canunderstand that the 741- Bwas awell-thought
outsuccess for theIndian factory, which neededthe US
Government’smoneyatadifficult time at theend ofthe
1930s.Inthe end,35,157oftheseIndianswere produced,
and ended up in everycorner of the globe. Afterhaving
lived asecond civilianexis tenceafter thewar, theyare
nowdesirable twice over as theyare Indians,and they
aremilitar yvehicles–twice thefasci nation, and for
me,most poignant ly, what storiescouldtheytell?FINERDETAILS
1942 Indian
741-Btech
ENGINE:
30.07cubic inches,
500ccside-valve,
V-twin,castiron
cylinders, alloyheads
POWER:
15bhpat4800rpm
LUBRICATION:
Patented ‘I ndian Dry
sump syst em’
IGNITION:
Indian6volt29ah
‘Fil-Rite’batter y, Points
&CoilIgnition,Auto-
Lite generatorand
distributor,Indian‘C’
sparkplugs 14mm
CARBURATION:
Linker tM741
carburettor,¾inch
venturi
TRANSMISSION:
Three-speeds, hand
gear change,primary
chain, rear roller chain
drive
CLUTCH:
Multiple disc
Raybestosand steel,
oper ating inoil
SUSPENSION:
Girder forks,rigid rear/
Sprung Seat
WHEELS/TYRES:
3.50 x18–Fires tone
roughterrain tyres
WEIGHT:
450lbs
PRODUCTION:
1941 to 1944
ENGINE SERIAL
PREFIX:
GDAXXX
FRAMESERIAL
PREFIX:
741XXXTHE CLASSICMOTORCYCLE|SEPTEMBER 2019 59
II i |i |741-B