1937 Indian Chief Project

[kallehof]

Originally Posted by crazydrummerdude

Izzat 20 Mule Team Canyon?

Good Eye crazydrummerdude. Yep 20 Mule Team Canyon. I couldn't resist take this tourist loop and stopping to pose. SFMCJohn and I attend an AMCA ride there last fall (report somewhere on ADVRider). We had our hearts set on Titus Canyon but recent rains caused the rangers to close it. So the real kick ass picture of my bike will have to wait and this one with the sun low on the horizon and the shadows long will have to do.



Here's Dennis Magree myself and his 1936 Indian Chief. He rode this bike from Washington to Alaska last summer and after a new top end he's up there again this summer with is son.



Shot of Myself, Gary Stark and Las Vegas Jim on the east side of Death Valley Near the entrance to Titus Canyon. Jim is one the sharpest mechanics I know. He field repaired my points in Snowshoe and got me back home. He just eyeballed the 20 thousands and away we went.

[SFMCjohn]

Wow. Great pics & posts, Kalle!

Here's the links to the ADV RRs Kalle mentioned:
Yosemite
Death Valley

Thanks for posting, Kalle; it was worth the wait!
-- SFMCjohn

[BarryT]

20 mule team canyonyou say? Thats up by Boron right or am I wrong?

[kallehof]

Originally Posted by BarryT

20 mule team canyonyou say? Thats up by Boron right or am I wrong?

View Larger Map

[bomberdave]

ha! just got home from the shop - working on my 37 chief project.

rustolium black
early cylinders and heads
later cast iron oil pump
12 v + halogen
kiwi rods
righthand throttle
lefthand tank shift


at least that's the plan-

yours looks killer - mine will probably look very much like magree's '36. seeing these old bikes get ridden and dirty is about my favorite thing in the world.

[nanno]

Could you please share some more pix (if you like in a separate thread) of your '48 ?

Nothing wrong with a beauty queen, but a real rider, that's what my heart is beating for!

Cheers,
Greg

[kallehof]

Originally Posted by nanno

Could you please share some more pix (if you like in a separate thread) of your '48 ?

Nothing wrong with a beauty queen, but a real rider, that's what my heart is beating for!

Cheers,
Greg

I plan on getting to that after I finish this 37 thread. for now check out SFMCjohn's postings.

Yosemite
Death Valley

Kalle
San Francisco, CA

[Nixels]

Take your time. These things aren't to be experienced as a speed-reading chore.

You've taken the time to build these bikes - please enjoy the time it takes to tell the story.

[kallehof]

My case is marked "M" so originally it came with a Magneto. I also got a NOS distributor block off plate (original packaging) with the project. I've always loved bikes that you could ride even after the battery is dead/ dying/ or simply falls out. So I had my heart was set on finding a mag. Plus most old Indians that I've seen on the road now seem to have a distributors. In the Indian world for those who stay true to "original" tend to be very attracted to rare original factory options. A magneto is not really that rare as factory options go for a 1937 Indian Chief but then again they aren't exactly common.



So my search started for a Edison Splitdorf "Neato" Magneto, I was told that were hard to find but as luck would have it I came across one with in a month of Ebay hunting. The bad news was that the mag I bought needed a new coil.



The good news (really it's all good news when your working on an old bike, it's just that sometimes the news means that your project may take longer or cost more) was that Jack Hurts in Santa Rosa is one of the few folks around that still rewinds coils and services mags. So I was off to a good start. And a few weeks later I had a freshly rebuilt Mag that shot out a strong blue spark even at low rpms. Which hopefully will make for easy starts for years to come.





So I mentioned that I was told that a Edison Splitdorf Magneto was hard to find, Turns out the following month another one came up for sale on ebay and sold for less than what I paid for mine. And it put a decent spark with out requiring a rebuild. That seems to the way these things go. Long story longer, I couldn't resist buying it, And it must have been a good price since I just paid for for one in worse condition. I'll hold on to until the one Jack rebuilt for me has proven itself worthy for another 75 years. Or I'll use it for leverage on a trade for equally hard to fine parts. Next Posting: The Frame.

Kalle
San Francisco, Ca

[larryboy]

Originally Posted by kallehof

So I mentioned that I was told that a Edison Splitdorf Magneto was hard to find, Turns out the following month another one came up for sale on ebay and sold for less than what I paid for mine. And it put a decent spark with out requiring a rebuild. That seems to the way these things go. Long story longer, I couldn't resist buying it, And it must have been a good price since I just paid for for one in worse condition. I'll hold on to until the one Jack rebuilt for me has proven itself worthy for another 75 years. Or I'll use it for leverage on a trade for equally hard to fine parts. Next Posting: The Frame.

Kalle
San Francisco, Ca

That's funny, I grabbed an alternator for my Bandit for $35 off ebay just because it was brand new and cheap...I'll probably never need it.

[ADK]

Originally Posted by RideDualSport.com

Here is pic from 1980 of my Sport Scout. I no longer have it.



Again, great job! It takes a lot of passion to stick with a restoration.
Cheers!

Gorgeous! love the green.

[RideDualSport.com]

Thank you ADK, I was 19 years old when I did that Sport Scout in 1980. I had just moved out of my parents house and met my first girlfriend. I worked as a small engine mechanic, and was renting a room in a shared home for $75 a month....
Cheers!

[David13]

I would like to see the progress. Indians are my interest also.
dc

[Dorzok]

[kallehof]

I've bought two Indian basket cases. The first was a 1948 Indian Chief and the second is this 1937 Indian Chief. In both cases the frames were not in the best condition. In both cases the frames likely came from a bike that was totaled in an accident. Additionally the 1937 Chief had been modified over the years.



John Bivins of Indian Engineering (Stanton, CA) fixed my 1948 chief's frame. The best testimony of his work is that I can ride my bike down the road and take my hands off the handlebars and the bike tracks straight as an arrow. So when I bought my 37 chief I had the frame, forks, and handlebars shipped directly to him.



So the handlebars that showed up weren't the same as the one in the orginal pictures. Actually they were much more desiable. Sportbars. More narrow than the standard bars. Recall my comments about rare factory options. These handlebars aren't very common and along with a magneto the bike was on it's way to being unique.



At some point someone had cut off the seat post, cut off the shifter tube, and drilled wholes in several parts of the frame to mount foot pegs. I was fortunate that the bike came with an extra frame section that could be used to repair cast shifter tube. Hard to say where this chunk of frame came from but it did have the correct casting to repair my frame.




You can expect 74 year old bike to be worn past all serviceable limits. This bike didn't fail me on this respect. Everything bushed need rebushing. Most things threaded needed rethreading. Note the shiny lower rear frame tubes. At some point the bike was hit very hard and the rear of the frame was pushed to the right side. At times tubes are beyond repair and need to be replaced. But if the original material can be salvaged and repaired it seems that very thing related to that area goes smoother. John made a few fixtures to persuade the frame tube back into alignment. Over all the frame was rough but in the end it came out straight and narrow.

When you are searching for parts or searching for people who can repair your parts a pleasant bonus is the opportunity to see lots of very cool shops and bikes. Note the Indian Rigid Indian Four in the to left. To me a ridge four is the pinnacle of desirable Indians. I suspect I'll ever have one. They are very rare, expensive.




Many of the motorcycle people I've work with getting my bike back on the road are dog people too. John is no exception. I'm not a dog person but I like dogs, I like cats too. Birds, not so much. Next Post: Heat and Beat.

Kalle
San Francisco, CA