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<P><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>Greetings Extropians!</FONT></P>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>At one time we had a guideline to avoid
posting photos on ExI, because it was the mid 90s memory was expensive you
know, and many of us had dial-up (I did until 1999, such a primitive savage
was I.) But that was then and now is now. Today, memory is cheap and
bandwidth is mind blowing. See how far we have come in just the past 15
years? What will it be 15 years hence? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>Ahh, life is good.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>Jim and other sight impaired ExI-ers, does
an embedded photo mess up your text to voice?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>If there is still a good reason why we
should not post photos, do offer it, so I can desist forthwith.</FONT></DIV>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial></FONT><BR>> ...On Behalf Of
MB<BR>...<BR>> Subject: [ExI] Three Indians for
spike!<BR>><BR>><BR>> Hey spike, I thought you'd enjoy seeing
this:<BR>><BR>> <A
href="http://www.shorpy.com/node/9225">http://www.shorpy.com/node/9225</A><BR>><BR>>
:)<BR>><BR>> Regards,<BR>> MB<BR></P>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>Thanks MB! The photo is dated 1926, but
all three of the bikes in your site are pre world war 1. I can tell by the
shape of the fuel tank. After production for civilian use
resumed in 1918, Hendee went with a more rounded design than the torpedo
tank. The closest bike in the website photo is I think a 1915
model. Actually I think all three of these bikes are 1915s, although the
guy in back might be a 1916 because of the headlight, or it could have been
added afterwards. Reasoning: look closely at throttle linkage in the
photo on your site and compare to the photo below that I took at a local
show. Hendee didn't use throttle cables in those days, but rather an
articulated shaft attached to a left hand throttle. The Indian liter
twins had a spark advancer on the right hand twist grip and a
shaft actuated throttle on the left hand grip! {8^D </FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>Here's another bit of fun trivia for you
who fail to ponder every day how good we have it. The Europeans
passed a law that said every motorcycle needed two brakes. Indian wanted
to export bikes to Europe, but they needed to meet that standard. Front
brakes were a technologically difficult problem in the days before cable
actuation was common, but you already had one interface with the back wheel,
thru the chain. Some yank (who worked for Harley Davidson) realized the
European law didn't actually specify that it needed to be one brake on each
wheel, rather only that there be two of them. So they came up with a
linkage that would tighten a leather belt around the rear hub, to make a (kinda
sorta) second brake. Notice that none of these three bikes have a front
brake, those would be for sissies. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>The European law didn't actually specify that
the brake had to actually work either, just that the bike have two of
them. Remember these were the days before product liability and safety
laws.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>Most Indian buyers immediately removed that
utterly worthless second brake and threw it away, making that the rarest and
most expensive piece for the Indian restoration crowd. If you find a
prewar Indian (or Harley) twin in of great grandpa's barn with that
original factory rear brake linkage still in place, the bike is worth a
fortune. {8^D</FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>It is amazing any of our ancestors survived to
breed.</FONT></P>
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