IS THIS REALLY AN INDIAN?
- Thread starter Rat Rod
- Start date
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Weird. Never seen anything like this before. That motor could get hurt on a speed bump, looks like.
I've never seen that motor kit before. The bike isn't the same Indian as the American Motorcycles. It's just a run of the mill English 3 speed bike with a motor.
Rat Rod
Owner & Founder
I was looking at the headbadge and it looks like someone glued a badge over another one.
The bike looks very British. Thought it might have been a Raleigh that some tried to turn into an Indian.
As far as the motor goes, I have feeling that is what people are really bidding on.
The bike looks very British. Thought it might have been a Raleigh that some tried to turn into an Indian.
As far as the motor goes, I have feeling that is what people are really bidding on.
The Renaissance Man
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Looks legit. Made in England by Phillips and badged Indian in America.
http://www.oldbike.eu/indian/?page_id=44
I'm guessing the Made In Italy Mosquito engine must have been a dealer add on.
http://www.oldbike.eu/indian/?page_id=44
I'm guessing the Made In Italy Mosquito engine must have been a dealer add on.
This! It looks exactly like my old Dunelt 3 speed that I used to own witha motor thrown on?
After 1960, most English 3 speed bikes were all made by the same manufacturer, Raleigh. Hercules was another just like those name brands. Raleigh branded bikes were a little more high quality.
Still all good quality bikes though.
Still all good quality bikes though.
I researched one of these British Indians a couple of summers ago. I remember getting info that Dunelt was using the name as the US company had let it's copyright lapse or something of that nature. I suppose it's possible that Raleigh was making most other brands, much like the 3 major Chinese companies that make roughly 90% of bikes today.
I don't collect Brit bikes so I really cant say for certain its a Dunelt, Raleigh or some other rebranded bike. Seems there ought to be someone who is an authority on these....NOT IT!
I don't collect Brit bikes so I really cant say for certain its a Dunelt, Raleigh or some other rebranded bike. Seems there ought to be someone who is an authority on these....NOT IT!
That sprocket is definitely gonna be your best clue as to the maker of the bike; i know i've seen it before, but i can't place the marque with the sprocket. At an rate, the frame is almost certainly NOT Nottingham- (Raleigh-) built, as the drop outs are wrong. FWIW, I'd trust that this is a pre-1960 bike. Also, FWIW, Tube Industries bought Raleigh out in 1960; TI already owned the BCC conglomerate, and when they purchased Raleigh, they also purchased the rights to all of the marques that Raleigh had bought previously (Rudge, Humber, Triumph, the BSA group) as well as all of the lower-end Raliegh brands, like Robin Hood and Armstrong. Raleigh's Nottingham factory was the biggest and most productive, so that's the one that TI kept going (prior to that, the TI' biggest producer was Phillips).... so, we know that this bike is not made in Nottningham, which makes it most likely a pre-1960 bike....
And yeah, I wouldn't go 2grand for this bike, but i'm not surprised that someone else is gonna. It's not a real Hendee/Mass Indian, but i'd expect it to sell for far more if it was. Cool bike regardless.
And yeah, I wouldn't go 2grand for this bike, but i'm not surprised that someone else is gonna. It's not a real Hendee/Mass Indian, but i'd expect it to sell for far more if it was. Cool bike regardless.
I looked closely at the lugs, they look like Phillips. But I couldn't find that chain ring anywhere, just the ones with the name Phillips on them. The fork crown is a good clue that it is a 50's bike also, but a few makers back then had the same chrome cap on the crown. All those English bikes looked similar and have stood the test of time.
Yes, the front sprocket isn't a Phillips sprocket... i KNOW i've seen it somewhere, but can't recall where. We all know that Phillips built bikes for Indian, but i'm not convinced that Phillips was the only supplier in those days. Hendee built bikes in Mass decades prior to the Brit-built Indian bicycle days. There's always the chance that the sprocket on the auction bike was a replacement-- or even that this bike wasn't actually badged "Indian" originally. A lot can happen in 60 years.
I just noticed the cranks. I think they changed out to a smaller chain wheel to fit the motor or gear it lower. It looks like the cotter is in backwards (a mistake I made a lot) because the cranks aren't in line with each other.
