When Charles Franklin made the switch from JAP-powered race bikes to get astride an Indian in 1910, the model that so attracted him was this one - the Hedstrom-designed "F-head' or inlet-over-exhaust V-twin model. It was at that time the most modern motorcycle in the world, made by the biggest and best motorcycle factory in the world. How ironic that only a dozen years later Bert Le Vack would switch in the opposite direction, from Indian back to JAP, and thus further alter the course of motorcycling history ...
What is a Hedstrom twin like to ride? The following is re-printed with kind permission from RealClassic magazine Issue 30 in September 2006. It starts with a potted history of the Indian factory during its first golden age, but if you hang in there it gets to a ride impression of a 1913 Twin on modern British roads.
The Wild Frontier
What do you make of really old bikes? Are they history on the hoof or just too weird for words? Rowena Hoseason meets a motorcycle from the Edwardian era �
You might not like vintage and veteran bikes. You might not know much about them, or think they're not suitable for riding any more, or understand what possible attraction they could hold. You might think a hundred year old motorcycle holds very little relevance today. Don't they belong in a museum? And who could figure out how to ride one, anyway?
If the strangeness of the set up discourages you, then you can take comfort. You're in good company. In the 1970s Titch Allen rode and reported on a very similar motorcycle to the Indian seen here. Did he enjoy it? Did he heck as like.
�I found the Indian really bad tempered' he said as he wrestled with the machine at low speeds and struggled to get to grips with the pram-like handlebars; 'I don't think I've ever been so distant from the action of the front wheeL' So there's a vote of confidence for you - from the man who started the Vintage Club! What hope for us mere mortals, eh?
But perhaps we need to change our perspective. Understanding the significance of a pioneer motorcycle isn't going to be easy in our post-industrial era. So let's imagine the world before the motor car was king. Imagine the early auto industry of America which mushroomed at the turn of the 20th century to launch 300 motorcycle manufacturers in less than a decade. Imagine their efforts to grab our attention with rapid advances in engineering, design and styling. Imagine howling past the current speed limit on a motorcycle built before the First World War ...
�The Indian has amply demonstrated the advantages of the Twin for rapidity of acceleration, capacity of hard work and for power output in proportion to the weight�
[Page 2]
