johnny cash indian

hi! i am new to indian and new to this forum. i bought a complete basket case from a friend of mine. it has a '46 frame, 1950 motor with 74" flywheels and a '50's kph police speedo.(hence the johnny cash reference in the title) i am going to try to assemble this bike but i know i will need some help. i have already read some good info on this forum. i have also been told that i should stay away from parts made in india due to there lower quality. i was also told to not use stock tanks but to use iron corral tanks. thoughts?
i have found that some parts seem to be hard to find, ie transmissions. would a 3 speed be good or is it worth the money to save up and buy a 4 speed? also about parts. is there a parts and technical manual that has specs you need and procedures? for example, standard bore, valve spring specs, valve guide/valve fitments, etc., etc.. i know kiwi is suppose to come out with something.
as far as a goal on this bike. i love a stock indian and want it to look as stock as possible but i want the reliability and dependability to be able to jump on my indian and ride around the world like doug wothke did a couple of years ago, if i so choose. thanks for letting me jump all over the place but i am excited and ready to go. my wallet, maybe not as much. thanks!

If you ain't building a AMCA show bike for points You have lots of wiggle room for more realibility. Iron Horse Corral makes a good product, ready to go. Original tanks are seldom ready to "bolt on" and require extensive (expensive) time consuming work http://www.theironhorsecorral.com/pag/about.html

The 4-speed is the way to go, expect to pay between 3-4 K, get a King Clutch while your at it.
I am sure there is a way to make yer speedo work, don't know how. do know a 46 and 50 were different. Try and get an old Gerry Greer catelouge as they have exploded views of everything.

You'll want to chase down a copy of Benard Nicholsons Modern Motorcycle Mechanics, a 1947 edition. You'll find them on e-bay for about 50 bucks. It will have stuff on HD's, Triumps and stuff, but has a very comprehensive Indian section.

As far as the Indian Indian parts, I know a guy in Massachusettes that swears by em and has built 10-15 engines with em. I have no experience with them. The made in the US setup is about 1500-1700 w/pistons, valves etc, and the Indian set up is half that price on e-bay. I have heard it is cheaper to buy a running bike than to put a basket together, I believe that is an accurate statement 3 years into a build. Hope this helps,
Pete

pete...hi! thanks for the advice about iron horse corral. what do you end up doing with the original tanks? wallhangers? i have asked a few other people about the 4 speed now and they have the same advice as you do. as far as the speedo, my runs off of the back wheel, so i think i will be ok. i have looked for the book on ebay and amazon and they are going by 3rd edition,7th edition and so on. i will continue to look for the book.
can you tell me the guys name in mass.?
i, also, am finding out the cost of a basket case but when i get done, it will be mine and i will know how it runs and works,etc.. still pricey though.amca correct would be a fortune.

thanks again for your help...smitty

Gotta agree with Pete on Matt Blake's (Iron Horse Corral) tanks and fenders...top notch. As far as repo parts go....there are good and bad no matter where the parts are made. For a build book, Jerry Greer's catalog used to have a lot of exploded view drawings (haven't seen his latest), plus there are some good reference books (tho out of print) out there on flea-bay, et al. There are three big suppliers: Jerry Greer, Starklite and Ivar Natins (who bought Kiwi's stash from Brian Klock) to keep your ride going. I personally rode across the country on a reman 84" Chief featuring Kiwi's block, rods and flywheels, India pistons and cylinders, Greer's heads but a stock trans (before the 4 spd was available) with no issues at all. Now that the 4spd is tried and true, save for that with the King Clutch and you'll love the roadablilty of the machine. Good luck and good riding!

Smitty, PM sent. It is good to see some life on here! Let's keep this going!

Currently on e-bay there are 2 copies of Bernard Nicholsons Modern Motorcycle Mechanics Smitty. The older the version, the better. Believe it or not I got mine from a bookstore in Sydney, Australia. Bernie was a Canadian boy who was a hell of a mechanic. I would be interested in you perhaps posting photo's of the speedo hookup when you complete it. The 46/47 speedo appears to be constructed of unobtainium, as I have never seen one as of late for less than 1200 dollars.

As to your question Smitty about my original tanks, I e-bayed em. I want my 47 to be something I can ride up on the Blue Ridge Parkway and not ta call the wife to hook up the trailer and come get me. I do not care about the color of a kickstand bolt. I love Indians, always have, always will. When someone sees any of my Indians from 60 paces they know what they are. They don't care about if the sparkplug is the right one, nor do I. Nutin against the purists, they have the right to like what they want, none of my business-my philosiphy is different. Ride em, don't hide em.
Pete

pete...i checked out the modern motorcycle mechanics on ebay and have one that i am watching and i am going to look around and see if i can find one in a 1/2 price book store, etc..thanks for the heads up.
i have tried to get a couple of pics of the speedo and cable on here but can't seem to get them here. one of the books i do have showed my speedo as a '52-'53. now, i have seen one on a picture of a '46 chief that has my speedo on it and is calling it original.?
as far as purist go, i think it's great if someone has the money, time and patience to restore one, that's great. a barn find should have the philosphy of "ride, repaired, repeat". seen that on a shirt somewhere. really, every bike should be that way! i do like a bike with original parts but is not manditory. i also agree with you that if i don't have the right bolt, it's not a big deal. i like to ride my bikes. i don't see too many all original bikes on the road. although i do know someone who rode a '28 101 scout as his daily rider.
the thing that gets me, at least about the harleys( i don't know if this happens to indians) is that when someone finds a "survivor" frame, front end, fenders, etc. and they go and chop it. that bugs me, especially when there is so much after market out there to do what you want to do.

smitty

Smitty, ever get a MMM?

not to be stupid but what's mmm?

i tore apart the wheels on the indian and i will say that they were a treat. comparing to the diagram and talking to ivar, it appears that there were some definite enginnering going on. i also took the front end a part and found needle bearing instead of bushings. i have a shock that says "monroe" on it. it compresses easily but has pretty good resistance when extending back. is that the way it should be?
i figure i will get a good solid roller and then as i get the money, continue on with the rest of the bike.

smitty

Modern Motorcycle Mechanics

I will go out and look at mine sometime this weekend. I don't know if I will be able to see the brand name on it as it is installed.

i have bid and lost on ebay but i am watching another one. haven't had the time to get to 1/2 price books in town. i will check amazon too.
what i meant by engineering(on the wheels) was someones personal engineering. there was a non tapered axle in the front. they used hollow axles and a variety of spacers but i would say it worked, for a while anyway. the hollow axle wasn't hardened and the bearing fit to the axle was loose.
from what history i know on this bike and finding out how alot of indian owners had to make their own parts because the oem parts had dried up, it makes sense.

jeff

Hey Smitty, didn;t get out there like I said I would, went riding today on my '02 Chief up to Virginia. Wife came home from Phoenix, AZ working Friday late, I'm bringing her back to the airport in the AM she's off to Liverpool, England. Had to do the Valentine's stuff while she was in port. Things will slow down this week when I can get out there.

that' cool. i understand that completely.
you say you rode an '02 indian? does it have the 100 ci powerplus engine? if it does, how do you like it? have any problems with it?

smitty

Hey Smitty, sorry for the late reply. I have had my engine rebuilt by Crazyhorse in Fort Kent Washington. He gave me a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty. I have been on the rebuild almost 3 years with no issues. I rode from North Carolina to all over hell and back on it. I have a picture of the bike posted elsewhere on here. I bought a new laptop and lost all my bookmarks when my son made off with my old one.