INCOMING!
AN ARMY INDIAN
Greetings from a former colony! I thought RC readers might find this interesting. According to the owner, who’s been pursuing this bike for 25 years, in 1940/41 the US army called on American manufacturers to produce a bike for the war effort. The specs included shaft drive for use in sandy environments – beaches, deserts, etc.
Harley-Davidson produced the XA model with shaft drive and a horizontally opposed engine, the same as BMW. Indian motorcycles produced this, the 841. Shaft drive, sidevalve engine disposed across the frame, 750cc. This design arrangement pre-dates Moto Guzzi’s big twins by about 35 years. They produced 1000 examples for army testing. Then the Jeep four-wheeler was put forward, and no contracts were issued.
The current owner has rebuilt the Indian with new pistons, etc. While running it in he said its performance and brakes limited it to about 50mph – adequate for soldiers and classic riders to enjoy.
F L Knight, Australia
That’s one very logical layout – as Moto Guzzi and others have confirmed down the years. One of those would make a seriously interesting machine to
