In a message dated 12/19/2000 10:50:05 AM Pacific Standard Time,
kturk@ala.net writes:
<<
by the way YES I think the Land Speed guys are into anything that your
interested in.... that is the wonder of the sport.. all of us bring
something different to the table.... K
----------
> From: ARDUNDOUG@aol.com
> To: kturk@ala.net
> Subject: Re: Twin Engine 1915 Indian Twindian
> Date: Tuesday, December 19, 2000 12:23 PM
>
> In a message dated 12/19/2000 8:52:23 AM Pacific Standard Time,
kturk@ala.net
> writes:
>
> << Wasn't a power Plus was it? Non Skid tires and All?
>
> Hmmm I worked for Ken Young and sons Indians as a kid.... K
> >>
> Keith,
> It's a 1916 style year Power Plus that the original owner converted
to a
> twin engine sometime before 1924. The engine numbers are very low so I'm
> pretty sure it was made in late 1915, making it eligible for the
Horseless
> Carriage Club.
> The guy who built it married his widow (who sold it to me) in 1924,
and
> by the time they got married he had converted it from a single engine and
run
> it enough to put a lot of wear on it and parked it.
> Sometime in the 50's or 60's their son tinkered with it and got it
> running, much to the chagrin of the "old-man". After the "old-man" died
in
> the 80's I got the call to help the widow and daughters (the son died in
the
> 70's) sort out a couple of acres of junk, interlaced with "pearls". Among
the
> stuff were several Flatty engine blocks, a couple of 1934 Ford PU's, a
Tucker
> car, a Lambretta motor scooter in the original crate, and an extensive
> collection of motorcycle parts and pieces.
> Some motorcycle collector had already bought most of the bike stuff
> before I came on the scene, but for some reason the Twindian was still
there,
> either because he didn't want the hybrid or because the widow wanted to
find
> a better home for it.
> I spent parts of a couple of years sorting through the stuff,
directing
> them to either "dumpster" or "swap-meet" the items. I took a shine to the
> Twindian and the widow took a shine to me, so it ended up in my
collection.
> It needed some TLC, but after building a new gas/oil tank, chiseling
the
> fossilized tires off the rims, rebuilding the carburetor, and replacing
the
> spark plugs the thing came to life. It had a common manifold with a
single
> Schebler carb but retained the separate mags on each engine. When I
started
> it the sound was unique, not like any V-Twin I'd ever heard. The engines
were
> connected and timed in such a manner that it sounded kinda like a Ford
Flatty.
> I made the local antique motorcycle meet circuit with the thing for a
> year or so, then turned it over to a local machinist to restore. He had
it a
> year or so before getting a lot of the basics done, then it sat in my
home
> for several years waiting for someone to do the detail work and get it
> running again.
> Presently the young (30's) guy who's doing my BB Rajo converted 1914
> Rootleib "T" Speedster is working on finishing the Twindian.
> If I have a scanned pic of the semi-finished bike I'll attach it to
this
> "E" mail. Let me know if you think that the LSR guys would enjoy the
story
> and I'll post it. I understand that the LSR list won't accept attachments
> such as pictures......
> Ardun Doug King
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Reply-To: <kturk@ala.net>
From: "Keith Turk" <kturk@ala.net>
To: <ARDUNDOUG@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Twin Engine 1915 Indian Twindian
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 12:50:40 -0600
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
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X-Mailer: Microsoft Internet Mail 4.70.1161
MIME-Version: 1.0
Doug that is unreal.... lots of memories... Ken had a 1918 power plus I got
to sweep around...
Did you mean that Denny Young was restoring it for you? I hadn't thought
of Denny in a long time...I know Ken died.. but he was old when I worked
there... always loved that old guy.... fabulous man with his hands... gave
me an infinite respect for a quality mechanic....
Denny was always very nice to me.... all I wanted was to work around
motorcycles at that time.... didn't have a dime in my pocket but I was
willing to work for a dollar an hour and hang out when I wasn't pushing a
broom.
by the way YES I think the Land Speed guys are into anything that your
interested in.... that is the wonder of the sport.. all of us bring
something different to the table.... K
----------
> From: ARDUNDOUG@aol.com
> To: kturk@ala.net
> Subject: Re: Twin Engine 1915 Indian Twindian
> Date: Tuesday, December 19, 2000 12:23 PM
>
> In a message dated 12/19/2000 8:52:23 AM Pacific Standard Time,
kturk@ala.net
> writes:
>
> << Wasn't a power Plus was it? Non Skid tires and All?
>
> Hmmm I worked for Ken Young and sons Indians as a kid.... K
> >>
> Keith,
> It's a 1916 style year Power Plus that the original owner converted
to a
> twin engine sometime before 1924. The engine numbers are very low so I'm
> pretty sure it was made in late 1915, making it eligible for the
Horseless
> Carriage Club.
> The guy who built it married his widow (who sold it to me) in 1924,
and
> by the time they got married he had converted it from a single engine and
run
> it enough to put a lot of wear on it and parked it.
> Sometime in the 50's or 60's their son tinkered with it and got it
> running, much to the chagrin of the "old-man". After the "old-man" died
in
> the 80's I got the call to help the widow and daughters (the son died in
the
> 70's) sort out a couple of acres of junk, interlaced with "pearls". Among
the
> stuff were several Flatty engine blocks, a couple of 1934 Ford PU's, a
Tucker
> car, a Lambretta motor scooter in the original crate, and an extensive
> collection of motorcycle parts and pieces.
> Some motorcycle collector had already bought most of the bike stuff
> before I came on the scene, but for some reason the Twindian was still
there,
> either because he didn't want the hybrid or because the widow wanted to
find
> a better home for it.
> I spent parts of a couple of years sorting through the stuff,
directing
> them to either "dumpster" or "swap-meet" the items. I took a shine to the
> Twindian and the widow took a shine to me, so it ended up in my
collection.
> It needed some TLC, but after building a new gas/oil tank, chiseling
the
> fossilized tires off the rims, rebuilding the carburetor, and replacing
the
> spark plugs the thing came to life. It had a common manifold with a
single
> Schebler carb but retained the separate mags on each engine. When I
started
> it the sound was unique, not like any V-Twin I'd ever heard. The engines
were
> connected and timed in such a manner that it sounded kinda like a Ford
Flatty.
> I made the local antique motorcycle meet circuit with the thing for a
> year or so, then turned it over to a local machinist to restore. He had
it a
> year or so before getting a lot of the basics done, then it sat in my
home
> for several years waiting for someone to do the detail work and get it
> running again.
> Presently the young (30's) guy who's doing my BB Rajo converted 1914
> Rootleib "T" Speedster is working on finishing the Twindian.
> If I have a scanned pic of the semi-finished bike I'll attach it to
this
> "E" mail. Let me know if you think that the LSR guys would enjoy the
story
> and I'll post it. I understand that the LSR list won't accept attachments
> such as pictures......
> Doug King
|