On the sporting side, Scouts in the hands of private owners were entered in all categories of speed and endurance contests, which resulted in victories almost too numerous to mention. A noteworthy performance was the breaking of the long-standing 24-hour endurance road record in Australia. On August 28th, 1920, H.A. Parsons covered 1,114 miles in 24 hours, over the varied road course near Victoria. The new record bettered the former mark by over 250 miles. In the process, Parsons set a new record of 579 miles for twelve hours, and beat all records from one hour upwards.
The power of Franklin's new 37 cubic inch engine was such that it found much favor, especially overseas, as a sidecar machine. It could haul a light outfit with a passenger effortlessly, at cruising speeds of 40mph.
The Scout's only domestic competitor was the horizontally-opposed 37 cubic inch twin, announced in the same year by Harley-Davidson. Known as the Sport Twin, it was similar in size and weight to the Scout. Like Indian's Model 0 of 1917, its engine design owed much to the contemporary English Douglas. A smooth-running machine that was pleasant to ride and handle, it lacked the power development and speed of the Scout and was of somewhat unorthodox appearance, at least to American riders. It was mildly popular in the United States and enjoyed a brief vogue in England and Australia. The author rode one of these machines briefly in the late 1920's and immediately noted its inferior performance as compared to the more popular Scout. After limited production for two seasons, it was discontinued after 1922.
Franklin becomes Chief Designer/Engineer at Indian
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Indian had already made extensive plans for mass production of the well received Scout, and considerable sums of money had been expended for new dies and tooling, much of it designed by Franklin in the Fall of 1919. Production difficulties occurred, however, due to the ever-rising costs of materials, and the continuing demand on the part of the production force for higher wages. The problem was compounded by the inability of Indian's sales organization, still headed by Edward Buffam, to forecast with accuracy sales demand and machine distribution, and of the buying organization to correctly estimate or cost out material and accessory requirements.
In an effort to centralize responsibility for both sales and production, and in addition to his general managerial duties, Frank Weschler was authorized by President Skinner and the Board of Directors to directly oversee the activities of the Production Department. This led to some hard feelings on the part of some of the executives formerly responsible, including a growing conflict between Buffam, MacNaughton and Weschler over what exact course of action was to be followed. Weschler put the whole production operation in the capable hands of Plant Superintendent, Theron L. Loose. At this juncture, Charles Gustafson, Sr. resigned as Chief Engineer. Associates reported that he felt his position had been eroded by Franklin with his now successful Scout, the problem being further compounded by now frequent disagreements between the two over certain details of Scout design. Charles Gustafson, Jr., however, remained with the company for some years, serving in both the Racing and Experimental Departments, where his outstanding mechanical abilities were of continuing value to the company. Franklin was immediately appointed Chief Designer and Engineer.
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