chillbike.co.za

Antique Indian motorcycle heads to auction, rust included | Clutch and Chrome

Bikers might want to take another look at that unused, rusting motorcycle hidden away in the corner of the backyard if an upcoming auction in Las Vegas is anything to go by.

The motorcycle press is abuzz about a 1906 Indian Camelback going to auction that has definitely seen better days. Experts expect collectors to look past its ‘unrestored state’ and bid on the fact that the motorcycle on the block is one of only 1,698 Indian Camelbacks produced some 105 years ago. The model was one of the first ever two-wheeled motorized machines and one which is hugely desirable to collectors.

“It was a pedal assisted bike and it still has its original registration number on the rear mud guard,” Ben Walker from Bonhams explains.

The motorcycle is going under the hammer at Bonhams in Las Vegas on January 12th. The expected winning bid should fall around $75,000. But auction goers are buying more history than performance

The motorcycle going to auction boasts a single cylinder 2.25 horsepower engine that kicks out a top speed of 30 mph.

According to the lot description on Bonhams website; ‘An advanced feature in motorcycling’s early pioneering days, chain drive was used by Indian right from the start. The Indian single proved immensely successful and was produced substantially unchanged until around 1905, when a sprung front fork and twist-grip control of throttle and ignition were introduced.

Engine production was sub-contracted to the Aurora Automatic Machinery Company between 1902 and 1907, when Indian took it back in house, while the frame and cycle parts were similarly out-sourced to Thor during the marque’s early years.

This somewhat unusual state of affairs resulted in the Indian single appearing in a number of different guises in the 1900s. America, Light Thor-Bred, Racycle, Reading-Standard Thoroughbred, Thor and Warwick offerings at this time were all essentially re-badged Indians; confirmation, if any were needed, of the virtues of the Hedstrom design.

In competition too, the Indian single reigned supreme, winning America’s first endurance run in 1902 and the first long-distance track race the following year.

Prior to the appearance of a torpedo shaped gas tank in 1909, a hump-shaped tank mounted behind the seat had been an Indian trademark, leading to the adoption of the ‘Camel Back’ sobriquet for these early models.’

“It would have been a quick machine with a fair turn of speed and no brakes on early motorcycles were much good,” Walker said, “they were the same design as bicycle brakes.”

History-wise though, the Indian motorcycle over-performs.

It was owned by the du Pont family, which bought the ‘Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company’ that built it, and this cycle was last ridden in the Seventies. As many riders know, Indian was the great rival to Harley-Davidson with the company going bankrupt in 1953 and enjoying many rebirths.

“This is an extremely rare thing and has come from the du Pont family that owned the company,” Walker says detailing the motorcycles lineage.

Strangely enough, experts claim a complete restoration of the bike would cause its value to fall.

“This motorcycle is in such demand because of its condition and to restore it would actually take value off,” Walker from Bonhams notes, “The motorcycle will probably be ‘oily-ragged’, which means wiping it down with oil to preserve it as it is.”

As if riders needed more reasons to check on that rusting, non-working motorcycle leaning against the back of the family shed, Bonhams see a bright future for collectables such as the Indian Camelback.

“These motorcycles have never really reduced in value,” Walker says, “if I filled a whole sale with them they would all go for good prices.”