The Indian Motocycle Company (as it was initially spelt, without the ‘r’) started out with a combined recipe for success, with their founders George M. Hendee and Oscar Hedstrom at the helm.
Hendee was a successful bicycle racer and manufacturer, while Hedstrom was a skilled engineer and builder of motorised bicycles. Their partnership produced machines that not only ran reliably but could outpace many of their rivals, and in next to no time, Indian motorcycles were smashing their competitors on dirt tracks, board tracks, and long-distance endurance events.
The most spectacular arena of the lot had to be the board track – an oval circuit built from wooden planks where speeds could exceed 90mph. It took a brave man to tuck up behind the bars of motorcycle and roar around one of these incredibly dangerous splintering tracks, where accidents were commonplace. There were no brakes on these racers – believe it or not, a safety feature to prevent following motorcycles from ploughing into the one in front with any sudden braking. All well and good until you actually needed to stop!
The single speed board-track bikes were also devoid of a simple start-up routine, and so riders were either pushed into motion or towed up to speed by another motorcycle. This video demonstrates this process.
In 1911 Indian motorcycles had proven themselves in events across the globe, including no other than the Isle of Man TT. Oscar Hedstrom travelled 3000 miles by steamer from New York, together with his race-prepared machines, mechanics, and superstar and favourite-to-win Jake de Rosier. The other factory riders were Arthur Moorhouse and Charles Franklin; they were joined by privateers Jimmy Alexander and Oliver Cyril Godfrey. The results were impressive, to a point. De Rossier – a rider familiar with racing the velodromes, battled with the terrain of the mountain and fell a number of times. He finished a respectable 11th but was subsequently disqualified for receiving assistance in a repair at his refuelling station which went against regulations. It was not the race he had anticipated. What was impressive, however, was the heroic effort by the other Indian riders. Oliver Godfrey took top spot, followed by Charles Franklin and Arthur Moorhouse. Alexander finished in 17th. The one-two-three was impressive, and a big tick for Indian.
But racing on America’s new board track “motordromes” demanded another touch. The riders needed blistering speed to propel them around the sloped banks, and so the bikes needed engines that could breathe better at full throttle.
Enter the 8-valve. Designed by Oscar Hedstrom and Indian’s engineering team, the new overhead-valve racing engine doubled the number of valves in each cylinder – four per pot, or eight in total for the 1000cc V-twin. The additional valves allowed the motor to gulp in more fuel and air, and expel exhaust gases more efficiently, delivering more power at higher revs.
The early 8-Valve racers such as this one that was at the Where is Anna Run in Belgium, featured a 50° V-twin with exposed pushrods, and mechanically operated overhead valves. The result was a significant leap in horsepower – enough to pull these brakeless, rigid-frame motorcycles over 90 mph on the boards – a terrifying prospect given the minimalist safety gear at the time (some riders did not even have helmets!).
The 8-Valve machines were purpose-built factory racers and as such they were never sold to the general public. You could not just walk into a dealership and buy one; they were reserved for Indian’s own factory riders and carefully chosen independents – basically the most promising racers of the time.
The 8-Valves became legends in their own right. Riders like Jake DeRosier, Charles “Fearless” Balke, and later riders such as Jim Davis and Albert “Shrimp” Burns, used them to sweep podiums across the States. These riders were incredibly brave, and incredibly skilled, as they would often control their speed with the use of a kill switch (see the left hand side of the handlebars), and often brush elbows with competitors at speeds of near to 100mph – all with a tank of fuel sandwiched between their legs!
To add to the complexity of the ride, the engine was kept lubricated by means of a hand pump, which can be seen attached to the seat post. There was no tell-tale or gauge, and so the rider had to simply feel the machine and give it the occasional squirt of the good stuff. Too much and he would smoke out the arena; too little and the monstrous engine would soon overheat and seize.
The 8-Valve’s combination of speed, handling, and durability gave Indian the edge over rivals like Harley-Davidson’s “Peashooter” and the Cyclone. On the straights, an Indian could simply walk away from most competition.
The future of the sport was however at a tipping point as the risks of the game became ever-more apparent. In 1912, rider Eddie Hasha lost control of his 8-Valve Indian on the Newark Motordrome, crashing into spectators. The accident killed multiple people and sparked public outrage. It was only a matter of time…
In 1916 the second generation of the 8-valve came along, which had a new frame geometry, stronger crankcases, and improved valve gear. By the early 1920s, a well-tuned 8-Valve could top 110mph, and in 1926, factory racer Johnny Seymour reportedly reached 132mph on Daytona Beach.
The later 8-Valves also saw success in dirt-track and road racing, however their board-track supremacy began to wane as the sport faced growing public backlash due to its deadly reputation.
By the late 1920s, Indian retired the 8-Valve racers. Many were scrapped or repurposed and so surviving examples are extremely rare.
This 1914 model is with HD Classic, and represents an uncompromising weapon from the golden age of American motorcycle racing, where fearless riders thrashed their machines and thrilled the crowds. If you are interested in this wonderful piece of history, head over to the HD Classic website, where they happen to have an unbelievable collection of Indians up for sale, if that’s your thing.
an article by The Girder Club
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