James is a Burt, & another Electric Starter

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If you click on the above header you will see this firm makes amazing things for your Springfield Indian, how about a Supercharger kit, or alloy cylinders 84 or 90 cu, even oil cooled alloy barrels, James makes all of these & more his flywheels are amazing etc this guy is another Burt Munroe. I have also posted on our YouTube Area a link to the new Kiwi electric starter which has 2 problems I can see already 1 It has no kick-starter, 2 It appears to use the same rotten sprag as a Timmerman & all of you know that problem refer to our Tech Area or your previous copies of Smoke Signals 

“Another Redskin Bit the Dust”

1942 Sports Scout

I remember my father George saying this while watching John Wayne movies in the 50’s, so whats this to do with the 1942 Sports Scout pictured above?  That man Chris Horner has let his emotions overrule & he has bought the very machine pictured above, it should land here in dusty Australia just in time for winter, glad he got the full guard model they are very rare in Australia & worldwide as the effectively ceased production on 09/02/1942. Nearly 70 years ago very few were produced as WW11 was on the agenda & so began 741 production & we got plenty of these versions. Not much calculation here as exactly 10 years after the above date your webmaster appeared on this planet to the day, which means I’m 60 on Thursday & I reckon the above machine looks in better nick than me!

Sunday Run review is posted & 70,000 + hits

So we hav’nt had rain in over a month, but as Chief-Rain-in-the-Face is our Association Patron it absolutely ” p….d” down after stinking hot and windy in the morning, thanks again Chief. Peter Kime has reviewed the run in  Victoria Section News (note these now have seperate areas)so for a good read about the weekend, enjoy. The “Black- Bastard” disgraced itself by picking up some foreign matter in the sump valve and then wet sumping after going on the trailer I fixed it at Peter’s place( thanks Pete) & rode it home with Sport Scout owning Sam Vella, in torrential rain. Until this time Sam suggested I changed the name to “Black Beauty” I think by now he agrees that the original name is the best, it was good to new members Rick, & Daryl out for the first time, Ric’s Indian Trail Blazer is a “cracker”, Daryl was either going home on the big Honda to burn his newly acquired 1947 Chief, or do a “flat out ” restoration to get it going after nearly being asphyxiated riding behind me, sorry mate.  70,000 hits & much more to come thanks for your support

Large problems with Small Fuel Taps

Another annoying problem lately is fuel taps, anybody have weeping taps, I have bought around 4 sets, original type, hard-chrome centre types, one’s with filters that are hard chrome, the worst by far are the brass ones that have a hard-chrome lever they leak & seize! I have lapped all of  them in with various degrees of success, the last one’s (brass with chrome centres) are really bad, the hole in the cone isn’t drilled correctly and if you look into the tap hole more than half of it is obstructed, this has a metering effect & in some cases can cause a seizure due to leanness. Weeping taps are not nice in your garage or if you are travelling in a confined space(Van) with your Indian, after 111 years of tap manufacture shame the Yank’s can’t fix problem the Pom’s did it years ago, now don’t mention British oil leaks


Worth a View? I think so

Beside the “bumper” amount of members attending the meeting last night well over 20, we finished early & don’t forget the Sunday Run. Rarely I put non-Indian related items on our web-site but I was sent this movie clip from a Queensland member Tony Hicks it is unbelievable & the twist at the end even more so, it was Directed by Nick Ryan enjoy

THE GERMAN Interesting twist at the end Incredible four minute footage of a desperate Spitfire vs. ME-109 dual. You feel like you are there! Amazing computer work blended in with real photography. Also an interesting factual story that most of us did not know. History is rarely ‘over’. Now sit back and strap on your parachute harness … it is the Summer of 1940 over the skies of England. Listen to the perfect ‘purr’ of the Rolls Royce Merlin … Watch this full screen. It’s very well done. Click on the link below:

The German link

Are you Cracking Up?


“I’ll send you some photos (see above) of the 47 chief front brake plate cracks I discovered, thanks to the heads up on the IIRA website”.Daryl Colt   So begins a email I was sent today, you may remember this problem came up before Christmas on the “Black Bastard” pictured below, it seems a common problem with Ian Rook having the same problem 2 years ago please make a effort to check all Chief’s from 1945/53 this can be catastrophic  if it fails while riding. Treasurer Pete Kime informs me of the popular “Bikes by the Bay” display this year celebrating V -Twins which is one of the largest held in Victoria with over 20,000 people turning up it is on 18/02/2012 I am listing it on the Events Area for those who wish to participate

Miscellaneous Matters

Our first General Meeting for the year is next Tuesday night, Book your accommodation at Camperdown for the Lakes & Crates Rally either at Amble Inn 55 931646 or Manifold Motor Inn 55 932666 Rally entry forms will be out at the next meeting 05/02/2012. Ian Rook is the man doing the organising.  Lot’s of people only look at this page or the Events Calendar but other pages are updated regularly e.g. Trading Post, Section News to get a more rounded view of your Association check other Area’s as well. Robert Gosper has sent a review of the recent Goulburn Rally, which is in Section News, a picture of some that attended with our Banner appears above Chris Knoop, Mark Cook,Leo Clausen, & Robert Gosper . You may remember a few Postings back I showed a few photo’s of my first Indian unrestored over 20 years ago, the picture above is of Greg Hutchisin on the same machine as it appears today he seems happy with his purchase even after all this time, the white Scout 101 is another machine he has acquired & restored he has come along way since his BSA Bantam days

Vintage Cycle Supply vs Ebay

Vintage Cycle Bay is now in our Links Area it is probably better for Springfield owners as it is easier to manoeuvre around & the parts a reasonably priced click on the highlight to view their parts

 

Elections & the President

Our American cousins are gearing up for elections in the middle of the year, so this is a old picture of the White House. Elections are important & more so in the IIRA, the secret of a healthy Club is a change of Committee, new blood is what is needed we are fortunate that our current Vice-President want’s to stand for the post of President relieving John Smith at our AGM later in the year. Meanwhile the photo is of a late teen’s Indian Powerplus I’m sorry I have no information on either the event or the riders

Guido’s getting nervous

Your favorite Editor Guido Allen is by now getting a little nervous, after riding R1″s,Haybusha, Rocket 3,Black Shadows, Gilroy’s, Valkerie’s, all the big Dirt bikes for Motorcycle Trader, the boy is going to get a Springfield Chief beneath him. I have just finished the 1948  Chief named the “Black Bastard” because it comes from dubious ancestry & although the engine is just 136 numbers off the frame they are both 1948. The reason for Guy’s dilemma is that he has never ridden a hand change Indian before but to make it easy for him it has the throttle on the R/hand side, lessons are coming up. Guy just got his pilots licence last month but seems more worried about riding a Springfield than crashing a Cessna, maybe the reason he is worried is that if he likes early Indian’s the effect on the wallet could be painful

"The Black Bastard"