An Essential Insight Into The 1923 Indian Motorcycle
The Indian Scout’s introduction into the market occurred in the 1920s. This specific model of motorcycles proceeded to be the most famous when it came to speed racing. The 1928 101 Scout became the favorite motorcycle even in the line of India’s most popular motorbikes.
The Chief, the Big Chief, the Four, and the Prince all began during the 1920s. The decade laid the foundation for Indian becoming America’s most popular motorcycle.
It was necessary in the 1920s to find a new motorcycle to replace the Powerplus engine found in Indian particularly because Harley Davidson was producing motorbikes that were more advanced. Due to this Charles Franklin who was both an engineer and a racer received the influence from Indian to make something new. Harley Davidson gave Indian some competition and the other competition was from car companies that started producing many cars.
Franklin’s 1922 bike was based on a 1,000 cc (61 cubic inch) V-twin. It had a lower seat and a more enhanced shape than other Indian bikes, and the chain drive transmission was replaced with helical gears. Weighing in at 425 pounds, the new bike could go 90 miles per hour, unheard of at the time. This new bike was known as the Chief.
Although the quality if the Chief was high, Indian refined their motorbike a little bit more in 1923 by developing a larger motor. The motor they designed was 74 cubic inches or 1,200cc. Hence, in 1923, Indian made the Big Chief.
The other improvement to the motorcycle was that the Big Chief had a side car and a large number of people used this combination for transport. It was handy because not many people used personal cars as a means of transport. Even though it was possible to fit a side car onto the 1923 Scout, the motorbike that could carry the extra load more proficiently was the Big Chief.
Even so, according to numerous individual motorcycle riders, the Big Chief’s 1,200cc engine was all they needed and it took a short time for the Big Chief to become the top selling Indian motorcycle in 1923. Other changes were to take place to Indian in 1923.
One of the main ones was that the company was renamed Indian Motorcycle Company (note the lack of an “r” in Motocycle). That year the PowerPlus was renamed “Standard” making it clear that the 1,200 cc engine in the Big Chief was the more powerful of the two engines.
It does not matter if Indian had the knowledge about it or not, the Big Chief motorbike they developed at the time was a classic. In our day, if you would get an Indian Big Chief motorbike made in 1923, its selling price can exceed forty thousand dollars if it is in excellent condition.
1923 Indian motorcycles were amongst the first built by the company. To read further about the 1944 Indian motorbike follow the link.
Aug212010
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