# Late teens Indian?



## LuckyArt (Sep 3, 2018)

Hey All, my name is Art and I am another dreaded “Newbie”.  I am new also to bicycle collecting, having bought my first old bike, a 1939 Elgin for my wife, a few years ago.  I just bought 7 assorted bikes from a 70 year old barn, two of which are pre-war.  I believe my nickname “Lucky”, given by my friends for my lucky finds at swap meets, etc, may be true this time also.  I need confirmation of what I found, possibly the year estimate, and maybe value.  Thanks to your incredible forums, I have come to believe my bike is a 1918-20 Indian, serial number “17587” so close as I can see.  The serial number is not on the two piece crank cover, rather on one of the two bars between the crank and the “curved” rear crossbar.  There is no head badge.  Any help would be great.  Thanks, Art.


----------



## Robertriley (Sep 3, 2018)

This sure the heck looks like an Indian


----------



## redline1968 (Sep 3, 2018)

Luck is lucky.. so far .... yep indian


----------



## Tom Ca (Sep 3, 2018)

Yes I have an Indian spit bracket as Well, my frame has numbers in same location as well as the bracket I would look there as well


----------



## Tom Ca (Sep 3, 2018)




----------



## LuckyArt (Sep 3, 2018)

Thanks, Tom, I will clean a bit more tomorrow & get better numbers.


----------



## Tom Ca (Sep 3, 2018)

Also sent a pm to you


----------



## catfish (Sep 4, 2018)

Nice find!


----------



## Goldenindian (Sep 4, 2018)

My favorite frame for the Indian!! Small head tube/split bottom/triple plate fork/flared fender. Can’t wait to see more of this one. Thanks for sharing the find with the cabe.


----------



## bikejunk (Sep 4, 2018)

Great find -25 years ago they were rare but obtainable..but  noww fergetaboutit most get pieced together  1,800 or so missing what it is  --could you take some photos of the headstock for the badge hole placement and the unique Bering races     my all time favorite bike


----------



## LuckyArt (Sep 4, 2018)

Thanks for the good words.  I really do feel incredibly lucky and fortunate to have rescued this bike from it’s dark, dusty, bird poop covered tomb in a barn. I had been trying to get the owner to let me get to it for a year or so, it was always blocked by hay bales.  I had no idea what the bike was, but was drawn to it for some reason instead of the one I thought was older and in better condition.  Thanks to your forums, I realized I had a truly great find.  I’m posting the pics of the headstock and the seat(saddle?).  Any info on this saddle?  The first two pics of the saddle are before hosing the bike off.  I did not brush or scrub anything, just rinsed.


----------



## Jesse McCauley (Sep 5, 2018)

Awesome, what is the saddle stamp text? I can only make out 3/4 of it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Freqman1 (Sep 5, 2018)

Might want to post that one in this thread https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/h...tocycle-co-bicycles-information-thread.41878/  V/r Shawn


----------



## bricycle (Sep 5, 2018)

LuckyArt said:


> Thanks for the good words.  I really do feel incredibly lucky and fortunate to have rescued this bike from it’s dark, dusty, bird poop covered tomb in a barn. I had been trying to get the owner to let me get to it for a year or so, it was always blocked by hay bales.  I had no idea what the bike was, but was drawn to it for some reason instead of the one I thought was older and in better condition.  Thanks to your forums, I realized I had a truly great find.  I’m posting the pics of the headstock and the seat(saddle?).  Any info on this saddle?  The first two pics of the saddle are before hosing the bike off.  I did not brush or scrub anything, just rinsed.
> 
> View attachment 864077
> 
> ...




*Persons Dominion
for Pedal Cycles*

saddle....Kool!!!!


----------



## Goldenindian (Sep 5, 2018)




----------



## LuckyArt (Sep 5, 2018)

I couldn’t quite read the first word of the saddle. I can see now the words, it also has “1910” under the words.  Any info on this saddle, I figured it was probably changed from original.


----------



## Xcelsior (Sep 5, 2018)

Persons Maximus for ? Cycles


----------



## LuckyArt (Sep 5, 2018)

Yes, I think “Persons Maximus for Pedal Cycles. 1910”.  Not correct, but I think it’s pretty cool!  Any idea if the 1910 is a date or a model #?


----------



## LuckyArt (Sep 7, 2018)

Ok, I did some more cleaning, came up with a complete serial number,  N17537.  After researching as much of you guys” incredible amount of research, I think it might be a 1921. This is based on 1) Curved rear cross member, 1) triple(quadruple) fork plates, 3) stepped chainring, 4) split crank cover, 5) fender flares available on my frame type in 1921, and 6) the cast chain adjuster.  I’m not sure of the dates associated with the letter prefix, but I’ve seen the prefix “K” around as a 1917 or 1918, so that would make mine one of the last flared fender models.  Am I close?  These forums are amazing, thank you all for your input.  Oh yea, I cleaned up the brake unit, it is a “New Departure”.


----------



## LuckyArt (Sep 7, 2018)

Bikejunk asked that I post better pics of the headstock, showing the badge placement holes.  Here they are.  The holes are about 1 5/8” up from the bottom bearing , 1 3/4” down from the top bearing.  The first thing I plan on spending money on is a head badge, any Hendee Indian ones available?  Were there two different hole locations for the  1917-23 badges?  Thought I heard that somewhere.  Thanks, Art


----------



## redline1968 (Sep 7, 2018)

Here’s mine ...this badge is what your looking for...


----------



## Tom Ca (Sep 7, 2018)

Here is mine has more space between top and bottom tho


----------



## Freqman1 (Sep 12, 2018)

A lot of reproduction badges out there-be careful. The real deal is going to be about $600-800. V/r Shawn


----------



## LuckyArt (Sep 14, 2018)

Would the short or long badge be correct for my bike, I think we’re starting to narrow mine done to a 1920-21.


----------



## Freqman1 (Sep 14, 2018)

LuckyArt said:


> Would the short or long badge be correct for my bike, I think we’re starting to narrow mine done to a 1920-21.



The Hendee badges shown are the same size. The length of the head tube is different on the bikes shown. V/r Shawn


----------



## LuckyArt (Sep 14, 2018)

Thanks, Shawn.  Now that I have that figured out, it should be easy finding a badge!  Right!  I will now continue my search for one.


----------



## LuckyArt (Sep 14, 2018)

I have another question, this one is more of what you guys think I should do about tires.  The, I believe, original tires on the bike are toast(see pics).  They actually look like melted rubber.  Also, there are several broken or missing spokes.  I was thinking, if I wanted to ride the Indian(which I do), would it be better to save the original tire/wheel setup as is and buy a less valuable tire/wheel combo to ride on?  Is there a wheel for 28” tires that are close to the Indian ones, but easier to get?  And what color tire is appropriate for 1920-21 Indians?  As always, thank you guys for all your help.





Art


----------



## fordsnake (Sep 26, 2018)

LuckyArt said:


> Were there two different hole locations for the  1917-23 badges?  Thought I heard that somewhere.  Thanks, Art


----------



## LuckyArt (Sep 26, 2018)

Thanks, Fordsnske.  My holes on my headstock are horizontal, not on an angle.  I’m still in the market for an original badge, crusty to match my bike would be fine.


----------



## Tom Ca (Aug 26, 2019)

Just wondering how you made out on it?


----------

