First Miles

This bike, as previously posted, is assembled as close to original specs as I could get for a 1914 Indian. Staying true to the design and technology of the day gives you a glimpse of what it was like riding an early form of motorized transportation. So with a lot of hours of rebuild behind me, we headed out.

The first ride was an eye opener. The motorcycle was geared high, and when I finally got the clutch fully disengaged, the single speed was loafing down the road at about 55 mph. The motor seemed to want more fuel, but this is not adjustable on the soup can carb. It also wants to run a constant speeds, and doesn't react quickly to throttle adjustments. Final first ride observations.......... It could use a little more brake.

First Life

It is always a special day when one of these projects come to life for the first time. You never really know what to expect. So early one Saturday morning, I pushed the 14 out in the driveway, and got ready to fire it up. I primed the carb, retarded the spark, disengaged the clutch, and started pedaling. Within a few revolutions of the motor it roared to life, for the first time in 76 years. The Indian basket was finally alive!

Finishing the Build

I had previously done a lot of work getting ready for this stage. The cylinders were bored and .020 over pistons were fitted. I again choose to use a modern Aluminum piston with an oil control ring, which were sourced thru Arius. New exhaust valves and guides were fitted, along with new intakes for the valve towers.

 

With the top end complete, the tedious task of setting the magneto timing and the correct valve overlap began. As with the 101, the cam ring on the magneto was worn, and had to be finessed to get both cylinders firing at the correct degree. A lot of time was also spent timing the valves, but eventually all fell into place.

 

 

 

I plan on running the original Hedstrom carburetor, so it was disassembled and cleaned. It is a very early design, simple but surprisingly effective. The intake nipples were cleaned and faced, and everything sealed.

 

New clutch linings and metal plates are fitted, along with new springs. This clutch will have to be right, for it is a known weak point on these single speed bikes.

It takes 3 drive chains on one of these Indians, and new 520 was fitted. Trying to find chain narrow enough was tricky, but all went smooth on installation.

 

 

A Little Progress

Each step with the Hedstrom motor has been a little challenging. The heart of the motor is the flywheel / crank assembly, so a lot of time was spent to get it right. A new crank and drive pin were sourced, but the pinion pin has a gear machined on the pin, which made it hard to find. So I elected to grind and plate the original back to stock dimension. The new rods were sourced from Carrillo, and odd length bearing rollers were custom ground to length. When I got happy with all my clearances, I began assembly. My first speed bump was the new rods were to wide.

The stock flywheels are forged steel on these motors, so I decided to mill some material from the inside of the wheels.

 

 

With the rod endplay set, I started the truing process. First, the drive and pinion pins were torqued to each wheel, going slow and keeping them straight.

 

 

 

Next, the crankpin (with rods) was installed and the process of truing these wheels began. The old tapers with new pins did not want to cooperate, and I wound up having to lap all 4 tapers to get the wheels true.

 

Changing to lighter weight rods and Aluminum pistons severely changed my balance factor.

 I had calculated the original factor at 58%, and with the new components, it was now slightly over 80%, so I decided to remove some weight from the counterbalance side of the wheels to get back to around 60%.

 

With the crank true and balanced, a trial fitment in the cases developed more issues. The rods were also to wide for the oil baffles, so back to the mill to remove some meat.

Secondly, with all the pin lapping I now had .035" crank endplay, which would bind the rods. All the bushing had been sized, and I really didn't want to redo them all, so I ground a hardened spacer .023" thick, pressed the bushing out, and installed the spacer behind the bushing.

Finally, all endplays, bearing clearance, shaft run out, etc.. were within specification, the bottom end was buttoned up!

 

 



 

 

February 2016

The progress on the Cannonball Indian has been a little slower than I had hoped. Small issues seem to take major time to get resolved, and with each step forward seems to uncover new challenges. Still working on the crank assembly, but do finally have my bearing problems sorted. I had to improvise on these, making them out of .25" gauge pins. Now grinding the crank-pin to final dimension, then hopefully I can assemble the flywheels.

In the meantime, I have gotten a few things completed. Spare wheels are complete, with the front hub a donor from a 1968 Honda CT90. 21" rims with new spokes all laced up. A spare Corbin V band hub was sourced, and I laced a 21" drop center for the rear also.

New Years Eve 2015

New Years Eve. A time of reflection, and one of anticipation. Its quiet in the shop now, with the lights down low, kind of peaceful. Its nice to kick it in neutral once in a while, because it starts again tomorrow. A new challenge for 2016.

The Motorcycle Cannonball 2016, the Race Of The Century. Only bikes 100 years and older are eligible. The route will run from Atlantic City to San Diego. We will cross the Appalachians and again head into Cape Girardeau on the mighty Mississippi. Following the plains of Kansas, we will enter some of my favorite riding areas in our country. Southwestern Colorado, Four Corners, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, and into San Diego. 16 days. 100 + entrants. Should be spectacular!

The bar is set high this year. The rules state the bikes must be 100 years old, along with most components. Brake and tires can be upgraded for safety, but the core of the bike must be pre 1916. I am lucky to have a complete, 1914 Indian, and my intention is to honor the design by attempting this ride in as close to original condition as possible. Some items will obviously have to be rebuilt, but the original design standard will be closely followed. These designs are part of our early motorized transportation history. A time when engineers, designers, and entrepreneurs were creating something new, and no one knew the "right" answer. A time of trial and error, without computers, that I find fascinating. The following decades would see tremendous advances in technology, but the 1914 Indian on my bench was as good as it got a century ago.