Careful study of this 1929 motorcycle has fascinated me. This vintage is a little older than my norm, so I took a little more time to soak it all in. I quickly joined the 101 Association and bought the R&O Manual. It is not hard to miss the fact that this book is definitely a labor of love from all of those that contributed article, tips, photos, and drawings. Not a step by step guide, but a lot of information that has proven most valuable. Thanks to all that had a part in this book!
As I disassembled the bike, I would catch myself wondering why Indian did some of things the way they did, then remember that this vehicle is from the beginning decades of motorized transport. It truly is fascinating thinking on the "how's" and the "whys". To think that folks like Charles Franklin worked on the exact same components in their shop one night that I was working on in mine, is the appeal of the hobby for me.
So lets get started.
As the bike came apart, it became evident that the frame had jumped some ditches, sped down some rough roads, and even suffered a few impacts through the years.
The front bellcranks were bent, the forks were bent and broken, and the ball bearing and races in the fork mounts were shot. So I started with the forks by making a jig, cutting out the the broken sections of the fork, and replacing.
The forks all repaired
While concentrating on the front end, the handlebars had to be replaced.
The R&O Manual had detailed drawings of the correct bend, so I set out to bend my signature handlebars. After machining the old bars from the casting, I bent some new bars with a Chicago conduit bender. The first one was easy, but getting another to match took a while.
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