Our esteemed editor has done it again

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About three years ago my friend Guy Allan was invited to a Midnight Express Run he attended on a late model bike and sniggered at us poor fools riding badly lit, hand shift motorcycles at 12-00 midnight, after some persuasion I invited him to compete in the Great Race on my 1948 Chief the infamous “Black Bastard”. He enjoyed it and soon after bought a 2003 Chief  Vintage then a short time later my 1947 Chief, he’s sucked in your saying, well today we see Guido picking up his brand new  2013 Kings Mountain off Zorro’s Mark Barthelmie, I think we have got the lad for good now I bet he’s regretting going to that Midnight Run.

700,000 hits and more to come

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So 700,000 hits in just over four years, 1 million is the goal so what do I find to write about Indians, I ask that every time that a blog is written. The best is when a new owner has a bike he”s just bought like Owen Jones did last week-end a 1947 Chief or it may be an existing owner excited about the paint job on his restored Indian 4 as John Munn is here, new Scout Owners that are lucky to have received their machine are another enthusiastic bunch, but unfortunately these people don’t turn up everyday so that s when I rely on members sending in photos ie: the two Scouts pictured. So you know what I like reading whats happening as much as you do and so does the rest of the world (over 169 countries) so it seems, it is an enviable Association to be a member of we want your ideas, thoughts and restoration pains and pleasures or perhaps a review on your new or old model I”m all ears! If you say I hav”nt got any time, well mate I have not had a weekend or even Easter off in six weeks fixing 9 Triumph Twin motors beat that, and I still write something at least weekly.

A perfect Sunday Ride, and a new Indian owner

 

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Great weather & plenty  of sunshine with 9 Indians, one Triumph 750 Bonneville and a Moto-Gutless 1000  lead to a nice ride to Yea via Strath Creek. Not uneventful though with a loose Battery and a lost petrol cap, but no breakdowns. What was the Guzzi owner Owen Jones thinking after picking up his 1947 Chief yesterday, (pictured above) wel he’s itching to get it going and on the road, not at all discouraged after fixing the odd Springfield today. Richard Onyon was out on the 2015 silver Scout and we had a couple of Polaris Chiefs as well as  No 1 Ken Hager, Phillip White was on Chip’s, and the delightful Sandy Barthelmie kept us all in order, days like these should go on forever

Harley growth is down and guess who’s is growing?

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W.Aust Indian News is in

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Always a good read, both of the latest editions No 39 & 40 are in Section News area

What’s a “Bail Out” clause

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So winter is here and life rolls on, the Iron Indian Riders still have their 1st Sunday of the month run unless a seasonal rally falls in that month, June being an example of this when the Crazy Horse Rally happens in 5 weeks (Book Now  Chief Rain-in the Face winter rally June 6-8th at Myrtleford accommodation contact Railway Hotel  03 5752 1583). In the colder months runs start later are shorter and susceptible to rain this is why last year we incorporated the ‘Bail Out’ clause on the morning of the planned run about 7.00 am if its severe weather conditions that your committee has decided dangerous you will get a text message to say the ” Todays run has been cancelled” and hopefully you can sleep in this wont happen on rallies unless government bodies have closed areas for mudslides, bushfires etc a rally will always be held

Chief Rain-in-the Face 2015 Entry Form

 

Kilometer speedos

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In Australia we changed from miles to Kilometers in the seventies, I believe the Canadians did as well this brings us a problem that the Yanks seem to not worry about. Starklite Cycles sell the Stewart-Warner instrument only in miles, Jerry Greer sell the Corbin in miles and Auto Meter did make the instruments in kilos for Canadians and you can occasionally get them on eBay but are not easy to find. You would reckon there would be a market for Aussie’s, European’s & Canadian’s for these to be reproduced these instruments today as with the beaurocrats getting anal everyday its hard to argue with a policeman that you were not doing over two kilometers an hour when you have a speedo reading in miles an hour and in this part of the world thats $250 and 2 demerit points off your licence! Recently I had to buy a speedo for my Vindian no option its a mph S-Warner, my mate bought a Corbin from Greer”s same probems mph, we need kilometers please

Indian Warrior Enduro

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Weird Indians, this one takes the cake with Italian Minarelli engine fitted and of course a Clymer model. I find the motor lost in the frame it seems to small dimensionally, some of the other Clymer models were nice looking this one isn’t

Anzac Day, lest we forget

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Anzac Day always makes you appreciate what we have today, unfortunately for the sacrifices of so many. However many people still have Indians either 741’s or 344 Chiefs from the era, myself included and sometimes I think of it’s first rider during war time perhaps doing convoy duty or riding it on despatch duty delivering important orders in all weathers day and night. Many of these riders and machines were taken to New Guinea and did duty in the jungles none of them returned and lots of their riders failed to come home as well sadly, still I appreciate that we were not occupied, and I am fortunate enough to have met lots of servicemen when they were my age now, true hero’s and gentlemen, lest we forget

Motoring in the Twenties, how simple it was

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People forget quickly how the previous generation went about in the turn of the century, petrol stations usually sold four or five different brands, so it was possible to buy Plume (Mobil) BP-COR, Shell, at one servo usually pumped up into a huge clear glass container by hand to then be released from the pump into your tank, you saw what you were getting then. Then a quick call to the Swastika Garage & Motorcycle works for a re-paint or repair on your seat, strange to think a place like this being around today as it is as popular a name as being called “gay” now completely different meaning in 21st Century. The last Roadhouse for 750 miles seems to have it priorities in order no mention of food just liquid