# 1924? Indian basement find



## redline1968

Just picked this up after the deal was made..it was a deal that was a one  only or its gone so I sacrificed my favorite bikes for it.. . All original Indian in amazing original condition. It’s dark now but I’d put a few pics of its arrival to me. More pics later. I m still in aw on its condition.... just amazing. Sorry nfs


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## 2jakes

Awesome find!
Here’s hoping that you keep it as original as possible with the colors and graphics.
And I also would never sell it. 
Looking forward for more photos.
Thanks for sharing!


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## Bikermaniac

Wow, what a find. Congratulations.


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## rusty.kirkpatrick

Wow dude, that must be the nicest original around. What’s the story on that baby?


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## redline1968

It came from the mid states where its dry. Then stored away till now.. I saw it at a show asked if he ever wanted to sell I’m game got a call I nearly fell over and scrambled to get it.  It’s as far as I can see was pampered and preserved and stored in the basement. Even the pedals are amazing.  It also has clincher rims which will take 28 English tires!  The light is Indian specific... just in the twilight on this one I can’t believe it’s mine!


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## redline1968

I’m currently on my way home with it....is dark now. Nothing has been renickeled it’s all original.


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## rusty.kirkpatrick

Definitely a show stopper, hats off to you buddy.


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## GTs58

Oh my!  

.............................


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## 2jakes

*

 
1924 Indian Motocycle Co – Motobike Model 151-T (very rare)

Catalog indicates gold art-deco designs on the fork sides & top, similar to your bike.
Some drawings show the forks in red, others show them to be nickle plated.
There’s an Indian Model 71-T , very similar with slight variations.



 *

*You have a bike that is worthy to be classified as “museum quality”.
What ever you do...try to find out more before you attempt to “restore”.
I would just gently dust-off and leave it “original” as much as possible.
Congratulations, 
you have a jewel in your hands!
*


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## fordmike65

redline1968 said:


> View attachment 697308 View attachment 697310 View attachment 697311 View attachment 697313 Just picked this up after the deal was made..it was a deal that was a one  only or its gone so I sacrificed my favorite bikes for it.. . All original Indian in amazing original condition. It’s dark now but I’d put a few pics of its arrival to me. More pics later. I m still in aw on its condition.... just amazing. Sorry nfs



Oh God...I just messed myself. Please excuse me...


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## redline1968

Thanks I pinch myself on this one just got home here is something you don’t see at all...it appears the horn is Indian red.. just needs slight paint removal...I love this bike.....;0 definitely museum quality....the gold pins are nice needs to be in daylight


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## 2jakes

redline1968 said:


> View attachment 697359 View attachment 697360 View attachment 697361 View attachment 697362 View attachment 697363 Thanks I pinch myself on this one just got home here is something you don’t see at all...it appears the horn is Indian red.. just needs slight paint removal...I love this bike.....;0 definitely museum quality....the gold pins are nice needs to be in daylight




*You do know that this is just a dream! *
**


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## dfa242

Wow, that's outstanding.  I'm sure someone with more knowledge will chime in, but I believe they stopped using the Hendee badge in '23.
Really a great find - good for you.


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## 47jchiggins

Wow......very nice, congratulations on the find!
Todd


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## Freqman1

I'd love to see serial number and pics of badge. V/r Shawn


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## redline1968

Here are some more pics..


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## oldspoke

Amazing piece of history !

Did you get any back story from previous owner ? Found mummified in a pyramid in the central U.S. :>}

Super condition !


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## redline1968

Just it’s came here 30 yrs ago. Loved and stored away..  man if you see it in person you’d understand why.. I must be dreaming. don’t wake me up...looks like it might be a 23


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## bricycle

Happy for you, awesome bike. Another survivor surfaces!


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## redline1968

View attachment 697671 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Can’t stop...lol..  looks like it came with white wall tires so it just so happens that I  have a set of no’s ww tires... so I’m putting them on it later.   Here are a few more pics I removed the rack it wasn’t part of it so off it goes... I think it looks better. Can’t wait to see it with the ww’s on It.... :0 few more things and a discovery of what was in that strange pump looks like it was in a bag instead of the frame.


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## Freqman1

redline1968 said:


> Just it’s came here 30 yrs ago. Loved and stored away..  man if you see it in person you’d understand why.. I must be dreaming. don’t wake me up...looks like it might be a 23




I agree--1923. Great bike-Congrats! V/r Shawn


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## Cdollar4

Beautiful. Congratulations 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


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## redline1968

Thank you so it’s a transition bike 1923!  Awesome. Here are some more pics on it I removed the black wall tires and put the ww on it and wow it really pops!   Also I posed pic of the rust free fenders inside and the original dropstand ears.


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## Freqman1

redline1968 said:


> View attachment 697855 View attachment 697856 View attachment 697857 View attachment 697858 Thank you so it’s a transition bike 1923!  Awesome. Here are some more pics on it I removed the black wall tires and put the ww on it and wow it really pops!   Also I posed pic of the rust free fenders inside and the original dropstand ears.




Mark not sure what you mean by "transition" bike. If you are talking about the name of the company and the accompanying badge change (Oct '23) the bicycles carried the Hendee badge into the '24 model year as evidenced by my bike which is a '24. The question is whether this carried through all of '24 or at some point in the year they started using  the Indian Motocycle badge. V/r Shawn


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## zephyrblau

a deal like this pretty much redefines the term "lucky dog"  congrats... stunning


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## Brian R.

Wow... wow!  I mean... wow.


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## Tim the Skid

Mark,you always amaze me with the bikes you come up with. But this one is going to be tough to beat. Is it staying in the master bedroom with you and Mrs. Redline? Amazing find bro, happy for you. (what's for sale)?


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## redline1968

Tim the Skid said:


> Mark,you always amaze me with the bikes you come up with. But this one is going to be tough to beat. Is it staying in the master bedroom with you and Mrs. Redline? Amazing find bro, happy for you. (what's for sale)?





 

 Ha ha  if that happens it and me would be sleeping in the garage... it took a lot for her to accept bikes but she sees the coolness in them now.. I got black mailed to giving her a trip to Hawaii ...on this one. It’s  Worth it...lol so it’s a from what I understand a 1923 hendee Indian and not a Westfield Indian... I’m so confused..  ah.... the reflector is unusual too. Nothing right now....


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## Miyata FL.

I cant believe the amazing condition it is in.  Nice find sir congrats.  Looks to be model 131 T
according to the 1923 Indian catalog posted by Mr. Sm2501 in the Hendee thread below:
*Hendee Mfg Co. / Indian Motocycle Co. Bicycles Information Thread*


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## Freqman1

redline1968 said:


> View attachment 697981 View attachment 697980 Ha ha  if that happens it and me would be sleeping in the garage... it took a lot for her to accept bikes but she sees the coolness in them now.. I got black mailed to giving her a trip to Hawaii ...on this one. It’s  Worth it...lol so it’s a from what I understand a 1923 hendee Indian and not a Westfield Indian... I’m so confused..  ah.... the reflector is unusual too. Nothing right now....




It seems a lot of people get confused by this. All of the bikes from 1916 (when Indian started selling bicycles again) were made by Westfield and not Hendee/Indian. So this is a Westfield built Indian. It appears Westfield had the contract until at least WWII and after that it went to Huffman for a year or two and Phillips for the lightweight bikes. The only wild card her is the German produced Indian--not really sure how that one fits. V/r Shawn


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## dfa242

I'm reminded of this excellent reference thread - loaded with great reading.
https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/h...tocycle-co-bicycles-information-thread.41878/


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## Freqman1

dfa242 said:


> I'm reminded of this excellent reference thread - loaded with great reading.
> https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/h...tocycle-co-bicycles-information-thread.41878/




Yep a lot of good stuff there. Todd @47jchiggins has been doing a lot of research and has found a lot of great material. Hopefully at some point we can organize this info and provide CABE readers with  decent reference for these bikes. V/r Shawn


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## redline1968

Thanks for your help.. I appreciate and hope to educate others for their resto and research projects.


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## azbug-i

So happy for you! What a find!!!! Its absolutely gorgeous! These are my favorites. Besides streamlines. Its a tie really. Glad you got it. Must have been some great karma


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## redline1968

Thanks stars were in alignment...


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## fordmike65

Just a question, but is this black paint under the red? Was this common on Indian badged bikes of the era? Seems a bit odd...


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## Freqman1

Got to looking through my Indian archives and came across these...think it has been out of the basement before


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## redline1968

Primer not paint.. I looked though a magnifier


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## Jay81

:eek: Wow, beautiful bike! Congrats!


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## redline1968

Nice amazing how Cabers  keep material to use... Glad it’s mine now.. it remained there till I got it  and now I own it...


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## fordmike65

Freqman1 said:


> Got to looking through my Indian archives and came across these...think it has been out of the basement before
> 
> View attachment 698243 View attachment 698244 View attachment 698245 View attachment 698246 View attachment 698247 View attachment 698248 View attachment 698249



Yeah...was looking a lil too clean.


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## redline1968

Ha I was waiting for you both.. I did my research on it and I knew the owner who bought it originally seen it in his collection. It disappeared after the divorce and now it’s mine. I’ve looked at this bike 23 years ago in his shop. Can’t fake this.  Lol


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## redline1968

This might help those with questionable doubt .... :0


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## stezell

redline1968 said:


> View attachment 697308 View attachment 697310 View attachment 697311 View attachment 697313 Just picked this up after the deal was made..it was a deal that was a one  only or its gone so I sacrificed my favorite bikes for it.. . All original Indian in amazing original condition. It’s dark now but I’d put a few pics of its arrival to me. More pics later. I m still in aw on its condition.... just amazing. Sorry nfs



Beautiful bike man, period!!!


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## redline1968

Thank you I did the lacquer test on the tank because even I have to triple check. :0.  and it passed!


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## frampton

What is the lacquer test?


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## fordmike65

So would this bike have Indian decals on both the tank and downtube?


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## redline1968

It looks that way one on each side of the tank an one on the down tube.


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## Velocipedist Co.

fordmike65 said:


> So would this bike have Indian decals on both the tank and downtube?




Read the "Finish" descriptions..



 



 For 1916, the finish is described differently  for the tank versus non-tank model.


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## Velocipedist Co.

A similar notation in the 1928 Indian catalog  contrasts the difference  between the tank and non-tank model.  I'll see if I can post a pic later.. but it seems that only the non-tank models received the Indian script along the downtube.

Maybe the tank was added later?  Or maybe the factory was purging stock (regardless of finish) to fullfill orders?


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## redline1968

After Freqman’s comment I thought about it and quite frankly I got paranoid. So I decided to use a lacquer test to see if it’s base coat clear or lacquer or acrilic enamel. Use a white cloth.... If you rub it and nothing shows on the cloth then it’s a base clear. If you don’t rub just place  and paint comes off fast then it’s moden rattle can and single stage enamel   If it’s rubbed vigorsly


frampton said:


> What is the lacquer test?



but takes a little longer for the paint to comes off then it’s old lacquer (orig paint).


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## Velocipedist Co.

redline1968 said:


> After Freqman’s comment I thought about it and quite frankly I got paranoid. So I decided to use a lacquer test to see if it’s base coat clear or lacquer or acrilic enamel. Use a white cloth.... If you rub it and nothing shows on the cloth then it’s a base clear. If you don’t rub just place  and paint comes off fast then it’s moden rattle can and single stage enamel   If it’s rubbed vigorsly
> 
> but takes a little longer for the paint to comes off then it’s old lacquer (orig paint).




Cool!  Didn't know that


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## THE STIG

that's not orig paint


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## redline1968

Ha.ha.


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## kccomet

lacquer test, ive never heard this, but then again i dont know much about paint, what if its just old lacquer. beautiful bike by the way......you scored


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## redline1968

Yes it something that should be thought of when it’s claimed as original unrestored and money is involved. Provided the seller agrees with it. Thank you very much.  Acrilic wil disolve  instantaneously and old lacquer slowly dissolves  but will disolve. Test it on something you know it’s old and a rattlecan job.


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## sprocket

Absolutely beautiful bike,thanks for posting so many detailed pics..........


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## redline1968

Thanks glad to do it


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## Phattiremike

Very nice score... good luck.  Shawn's archives are cool and the lacquer test is something I never heard of so thanks for that bit of knowledge.


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## redline1968

Thank you  I seen this bike briefly  in 1991 I’m Not to surprised on the pics. Discovering it being stored away under blankets and owning now  it just can’t get any better.


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## Balloontyre

redline1968 said:


> View attachment 698264 Ha I was waiting for you both.. I did my research on it and I knew the owner who bought it originally seen it in his collection. It disappeared after the divorce and now it’s mine. I’ve looked at this bike 23 years ago in his shop. Can’t fake this.  Lol




Hi Mark, maybe you see something in person that doesn't show up in images.

4 colors on bb, paint on cups, paint on head cups too. Tank (dull shallow color) and underbar color obviously different from the rest, protected areas of tank and under bar show unusually high amounts of wear, looks deliberatly done to fake as OG. These, among other tells, leave alot of wonder.
I hope you got the real deal but there are too mamy signs of manipulation.
Ivo


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## Freqman1

Ivo you bring up some good points and what many of us have been discussing offline. The best 'tell' here for me is to look at the fenders, which I believe are untouched, compared to the frame/tank areas. Why do I not see the black primer on the fenders the same way I do on the frame/tank? Why is the wear/finish not consistent between the two? On the original tanks I've seen the predominance of wear has been on the decal area. A great bike no matter what I just have a hard time believing the tank originated on this bike and that the frame hasn't been touched up. V/r Shawn


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## redline1968

Really!! ....ha I’m Glad it bothers you then I’m doing my job..... Wow such coming to a sharp one sided conclusion and Based on the low resolution pics... ha ha that’s a joke... I read this on the Harley Davidson blog and guess what! one popped up oh my!  as far as the black rubbed out I don’t know why it happened but what a lousy place to make it look fake. Last you can’t touch it and look for your self (I’m glad I wouldn’t want you to anyhow) so if you got more proof why didn’t you do it when you posted that pic seems you have access to that.


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## Balloontyre

This isn't about you Mark, it's about the bike and it's shortfalls as an original, .sorry pal


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## saladshooter

Normal tank wear.


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## THE STIG

... Oh My


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## redline1968

I’m not taking that way at all .. your explanation isn’t enough and won’t be just as you say are you looking It right?.. I’m throughly convinced of its originality I’ve had many bikes to know the difference in 30 yrs. exmples are too poor of a reason to write it off..


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## rustjunkie

https://thecabe.com/forum/help/terms

*Let's stay in compliance folks *


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## redline1968

saladshooter said:


> View attachment 702363
> 
> Normal tank wear.



Let put the one in the photo to light ....looks nice.


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## saladshooter

redline1968 said:


> Let put the one in the photo to light ....looks nice.




It's very nice.

Sorry, shouldn't of posted a picture of something that isn't mine. Only for reference.


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## hoofhearted

rustjunkie said:


> https://thecabe.com/forum/help/terms
> 
> Let's stay in compliance folks





*Thank you - rustjunkie .....

...... patric*


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## catfish

Promote what you love. Don't bash what you hate.


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## Freqman1

There was no intent to bash this bike. Some of us had merely observed what we think are anomalies to an original paint bike. Obviously you feel strongly otherwise and probably paid based on those feelings. If you want to believe its 100% legit that is your prerogative. Like I said its still a great bike its just I've yet to hear from anyone that thinks that tank is original paint. What's important is that you enjoy and appreciate the bike. I don't buy anything because I care what someone else may think. An awesome bike no matter what. V/r Shawn


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## redline1968

Don’t worry about what I paid for it . Or even care about it......the bike speaks for it self..in pictures ...I’m willing to put it on the line and stand behind it.



 Oh I’ve decided to not talk about this bike.. consider it gone for good... so enjoy the last pics.


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## carlitos60

I'm Glad It Was Not ME!!!!
Nice Bike!!!


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## Cowboy in NC

If I were You Guys, I`d let this thread end with no further comments and I`d leave Him alone... God Bless,---Cowboy


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## bobcycles

fordmike65 said:


> Just a question, but is this black paint under the red? Was this common on Indian badged bikes of the era? Seems a bit odd...
> View attachment 698226




tank is a repaint....or partial at least...


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## Freqman1

bobcycles said:


> tank is a repaint....or partial at least...




Pouring gas on the fire Bob!


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## bobcycles

fire?  I stopped reading at page 2...Mikes comment...   was feeling like the thread represented all orig paint bike
guess I gotta read the whole thing now...


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## redline1968

Got to be the best original indian bike on the planet..i thank my friend for selling it to me and thanks to the positive comments here


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## Cs nd bikes

Very nice [emoji106] 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## redline1968

Im sure it is..lol






















bobcycles said:


> fire?  I stopped reading at page 2...Mikes comment...   was feeling like the thread represented all orig paint bike
> guess I gotta read the whole thing now...


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