BORN IN THE USA
Robert and Gillian took a really radical approach to buying their classic bike. They wanted a vintage Indian, and you don’t find many of them in Queensland, Australia. So they took a holiday in the US of A in the autumn of 2016, determined to find the bike of their dreams. You have to admire their dedication to this cause: the search for the Indian Chief led them clean across the continent!
They landed in Los Angeles and hired a motorhome. A friend called to say that there was a huge swapmeet happening in Hershey, Pennsylvania… in three days. 3000 miles away. Hershey is the ultimate American classic and vintage autojumble: it’s like Founder’s Day and Stafford and Shepton and Eurojumble and Beaulieu all rolled into one – but with Harley and Indian machines getting all the attention rather than British bikes. It’s definitely one of motorcycling life’s ‘don’t miss’ experiences.
So Robert and Gillian revved up their engine and hit the road. ‘We averaged four hours sleep a night and got there the day before it started,’ Robert told me. ‘My wife and I spent the whole three-day swapmeet walking around the 9000-odd stalls, marking rows off our map when completed, and communicating via walky-talky.’
They were, of course, smartly attired in Indian-branded shorts and caps. So when Gillian was inspecting some Indian spanners on one stall, the next-door vendor flagged her down.
‘Psst. Wanna buy an Indian?’
That set
