An Aussie Indian Story

By Henry Long

Editor / Publisher ……………………………….. Joan Walker
Co-Editor/Publisher …………………………….. Randy Walker
Roving Reporter …………………………………Bob Kelley
Membership is open to anyone with a keen interest in the Indian 101 Scout 37 and 45 cu. in built 1928 - 1931

Dues are: (Differences reflect Mailing Costs)

Continental United States…………………………….... $20.00
Canada……………………………………...........………….. $21.00
Europe………………………………………...........………... $27.00
All other Countries…………………….......………………. $30.00

Payable in US funds through Paypal. Paid up members may advertise line ads in the WOW at no charge.

Direct all correspondence to:

The 101 Association Phone 508-867-8097
POB 296 FAX 508-867-8097
Brookfield, MA 01506, USA
Email - RWMC101@aol.com
Visit our website - http://www.101Scout.com

Board Members (9) and officers for 2002 are:

President………………………………….............…… Randy Walker
Vice President………………………….…….............George L. Yarocki
Secretary……………………………….............……… Milli Yarocki
Treasurer/Webmaster/Membership Chair……… Joan Walker
Director……………………………………..............….. Doug Strange
Director   ……………………………………...............Will Paley
Director…………………………………..............….… Paul Evans
Director …………..............…………………………… Todd Hayward
Director……………..............…………………………. Jeff Alperin
Honored Director…….............……………..…….. Bill Patt
Honored Director……………...........…………………Tom Bresnahan
Honored Director…………… .........……………….. Max Bubeck
Honored Director …………….........……………….. Jerry Hatfield
International Representativ.e………………….... Olof Ostberg
Associate Board Member.......................... Bob Kelley
Associate Board Member.......................... Brenda Evans
Associate Web Designers …………….…..........Jeff Alperin, Marc Gallin

International Representative

Olof Ostberg
Lundagatan #6
5660-57 Vaese, Sweden
Home +46-54-840538
FAX +46-54-151387

Editors' Report: I actually started this WOW while the last one was at the printer - I was quite proud of myself. Quite a few members sent me great articles and letters as you can see and I was inspired to get on it. Now, I am hustling to get it out before Oley. Sigh.

The next 4 years you will see a lot of anniversary material and information on the 75^th anniversary of each year of the 101. It’s not often you get to celebrate a 75^th Anniversary so we intend to make the most of it!

I get a lot of comments on things I write personally (usually as an excuse for being late with the WOW) in this space so I will update you on some changes you will note in our family at Oley. First, our daughter Jenn has moved back home from Syracuse, NY with her son DJ. You have seen DJ in numerous logo material advertising in the WOW. Well, Jenn is now working for Randy in my old position as warden of the phone and sender of the STUFF so when you call and you get someone that sounds like me it's probably her.

Mandy is coming to Oley this year - she is really getting into this motorcycle meet thing. The Rinkers are delivering her dirt bike that Randy purchased for her so if you see a buzz flying by with long blonde hair watch out. One of my favorite Mandy-stories happened one year when she was little at Oley. She was on her bicycle and one too many kids flew by her on a dirt bike and she stomped her feet and said "This is it, I need a MOTOR" [spoken like our child, don't you think?]).

We have 2 (count 'em two) daughters getting married this summer - Heather is getting married in June and Jen (yes, we have two Jens - one has one n and one has two - keep em straight) is in August. Plus we have the showers, etc. Sigh.

President's Report: Hi All! Another year is come, but not just any year - this one is of special interest to all 101 members - the 75^th birthday of your beloved steel steed. Just think - was that day as exciting to the people that were there (maybe George Y!). Could they have dreamed that this little machine that mad NO money for the company could endure all of the stresses that 75 years of people have but it through? Making it jump through hoops, fire, steel caged balls, walls of death, hill climbers, on and on, and without little care or worries. This one nearly eliminates the linkage middleman between you and the road, or between you and the mechanical-feedback sensations you go out of your way to enjoy, such as the gears meshing or the crisp turn-in of the forks or the tread loads on the road surface shifting.

You get: An engine so simple it will run on 70-octane gas and (at least in my experience) doesn’t overheat even in city riding in the high 90s; a mag ignition that will get you home with no battery; the most direct shifter action imaginable; a low frame that’s easy to horse around in tight quarters and lets you plant both feet on the ground with knees bent. To be fair, the “barely enough” roster extends to a few negatives: Barely enough generator output to run full-time lights, and that’s with our feeble stock headlight (which should be plenty visible to other motorists just the same); a cruising speed limit that’s probably marginal for the faster secondary highways, depending on traffic conditions where you live; pre-1931, brakes that feel OK around town but lack reserves at higher speeds. I do believe some of Indian’s antiquated and crude engineering features that can bring complaints with the higher speeds and much higher weight of the postwar Chiefs are possibly overstressed in that application, while they can get the job done sweetly with our simpler demands: The stock fiber clutch plates, the small drum front brake, the crank breather.

What can you say about a machine that wears a frame tube atop the tank, exposed seat springs, even a hand oil pump (let them think it’s the sole delivery system, I say) on its sleeve with no shame or apology? Whose stock gauges consist entirely of: A sad little ammeter? One of my bikes has no mirrors; the other lacks a chainguard.

You have to have a certain pure core love of antique iron in its most elemental form to invest nearly the same cash in this machine that would get you a later flashy cruiser with more comfort and a much higher head-turning quotient at rallies. My neighbor’s brother with a window-pane-rattling straight-pipe custom big twin saw me coming and going for years on my 37” 101 without batting an eye. One day, a friend stopped by and then left on his nice turquoise ’48 Chief, and this guy beat a path across the street all out of breath to ask what kind of bike that was.

That was a really fine machine. This one is just as grand in its own way, but you need a certain sensibility to appreciate it. What other bike can hold that credit!

As the 101 Association, it is also our 20^th Anniversary thanks to or founders, George and Milli Yarocki. They have seen this grow, just like a child, from a dream to reality and small to a large outcrop of wanting members and spectators. Thanks, Yarockis! Randy

Vice President's Report: Dear 101ers,

Volume 19 Number 4 issue of our WOW is a “spectacular” issue and I wish to thank Joanie and Randy for all their hard work. I know what goes into getting out an issue of our magazine, especially the last issue of the year with the roster.

Jeff Alperin presented me with a framed photo of all the Indian 101 Scout gasoline/oil tanks from the machines on our 3^rd Annual Fun Run. I have this prominently displayed in my office and enjoy it every day marveling over all those “running” Indian 101 Scouts!

A long time Director, and now an Honored Director of our 101 Association, Max Bubeck, has been inducted into the Hall of Fame of The National Motorcycle Museum located in Anamosa, Iowa. This took place on March 5^th of this year.

Max is a personal friend of mine and is just ten years older than I am. I look up to him as that older guy and this keeps me from feeling old. He may be older but just let anyone try to keep up with him, even today! The following paragraphs contain the words written about him concerning his induction into the National Motorcycle Museum’s Hall of Fame.

“Max Bubeck proves the saying, “you don’t stop riding because you get old, you get old because you stop riding.” A fierce enduro competitor from 1937 to 1979, Max’s motorcycling spirit had him still riding transcontinental runs while in his 80’s!

A loyal Indian Rider, Max rode the all-time fastest unstreamlined flathead Indian hitting 138.58 mph doing speed trials on his Chief. He also raced in thirty-two Greenhorn enduro races, finishing in twenty-four of them. He won twice, had four seconds, and a total of 18 finishes in the top ten. From 1969 to 1972, when many riders younger than his 50-odd years had already retired, he was ranked the number one trail bike rider in California’s District 37 enduros.

Max purchased a new Indian Four in 1939 and personally made extensive modifications- drilling the crankshaft with extra oil passages, installing an oil cooler and filter, trimming down the flywheel etc.- modifications proven over 64 years and 184,000 miles on his 1939. Today many classic Indian Four owners make the same modifications to allow their fours to tolerate today’s highway speeds. In it’s prime, the Four’s top speed was 108.43 in 1941. His ’39 Four has made six trips from coast to coast, including a 9,000 mile trek in 1989 to Massachusetts, where Max was inducted into the Indian Motorcycle Hall of Fame. One of those coast to coast trips was ridden on a 1928 Indian 101 Scout and one on a 1915 Indian.

Max Bubeck has ridden well over 750,000 miles in his lifetime. At least 75,000 miles have been on enduro courses spanning four decades and over 300 events. As Max said in an article several years ago, “The world was our playground and we would never grow old.” Let us all hope motorcycling’s version of Peter Pan lives forever…..” One of Max’s many expressions, this one about long distance riding, “there’s nothing to it George, the motorcycle’s doing all the work, you’re just sitting on it enjoying the scenery.” GY

Membership Chair Report: renewals are coming along - at this writing we have well over 200 memberships in - many more I have not entered. I will also send out reminders for people who have let their membership lapse. We have ordered more t-shirts and are going to have more of a variety this year - women's shirts, long sleeved shirts, dress Henley's, etc. OH and I have MUGS in - we have been out for awhile. If you are one of the ones who asked for them and I was out let me know. I will also be ordering more of Jerry Hatfields wonderful Scout books - we are sold out!

Internet Report: I have made it my business to harass new members and old alike that do not belong to the members only web site to join it and have succeeded in increasing the members on the list to half the members in the club!!! I am also going to put the membership roster and engine registry on the list home page so members can download it as it is updated. If you are not on the discussion list, why not? And if I can't talk you into it and you would like these excel documents emailed to you, just email me. My thanks to Marc Gallin who has been the major one keeping the site updated - almost all the changes you see are due to him.

IN FUTURE ISSUES:

² Gordon Rinschler's Great Photos

² Riding Tips - a multi-part series

² Behind the scenes pix on Doc Patt's 101

² Butch Baer - little known secrets!

² More members pictures

An Aussie Indian Story

By Henry Long #386

Here’s a little update. Restoration of the ’28 Yokohama 101 has been extremely slow. The good news: Was notified on February 7 that the tank we shipped back east for repairs a year ago last July is now ready. All body parts have been primed and just waiting for the tank to finish the paint job and final assembly.

The exiting news: My son Lynden, who works for FEMA, saw a ’29 101 for auction on Ebay last October. He was back east on a disaster at the time. He sent me an email that I might be interested. On inquiry, the owner sent us some beautiful pictures of the bike.

It soon became evident, the way the bidding was going that we would have to go in together on the bidding or we, as individuals, couldn’t afford the bike. When we told our wives what this could cost us they said, “Go for it!” Lynden was at Fargo, North Dakota in the beginning, then Chicago and finally Findlay, Ohio for the tornado disaster. Asked what his job was, he said, “It was a disaster.” Anyway, the three of us, Lynden in Ohio, the owner, who turned out to be in Australia, and I in Olympia, Washington, had a great time keeping up with all the email and watching the bidding. The clock ran out and Lynden and I won the bid!

Worked out the details on crating, ocean shipping from Sydney to Los Angeles and trucking to Seattle. Customs was no problem as the bike was manufactured in the US. My wife’s brother, Warren went with us in his GMC pickup on the 8^th of January to the warehouse to get the bike. We had hoped to have the bike as a Christmas present but shipping delays and with all the paper work it was not to be. You’ve heard of “buying a pig in a poke.” We really didn’t know what we had other than the pictures until we got back home to Olympia and uncrated it!

We were amazed! The 101 came through without a scratch and looked as new. The color appears to be on the burgundy side. We connected the battery, checked the oil, poured gas in the tank, primed the cylinders, gave the old scout a few kicks and it started right up. Amazing. Lynden rode the bike around the neighborhood a little but by that time it was getting dark He rode it a little longer with the lights on then ran it into the garage. The motorcycle is complete and original with the exception of the five-year old paint and the rear fender is a hinged type. The owner sent us candid photos of the motorcycles, and it appears it was all there prior to his restoration. The owner claimed that he saw original photos of the first owner taking delivery of the motorcycle from the Australian dealer and it had the gold Indian head decal in place on the tank. This is interesting, because the ’28 Yokohama 101, which I picked up overseas as well, had the Indian head decal on the tank, too. Makes me wonder if the overseas dealers possibly dressed them up prior to sale. For the time being, we are leaving the Indian head decals in place. As far as the rear fender is concerned, we do not know the exact date the motorcycle was originally produced and shipped to Australia. We do not know if the rear fender was part of the “running” changes made during Indian production. It may have been changed later to make changing the rear wheel easier. All else appears to be in order.

What should we do to celebrate the safe arrival of our pride and joy? My wife, Beverly suggested an “open house” would be in order. She also said we should take the dining room table out and display our bike in the dining area under the chandelier. How many wives would allow a motorcycle to be displayed in their dining room? Lynden and his wife Wendy located a new 5 by 8-foot Indian red carpet to display the bike on. The gals got together and set up small chow on the kitchen table. We had between 30 and 35 in to our open house to see and admire our 101. Everyone had a great time.

We went to the State of Washington Department of License in Olympia to inquire what was needed to register our motorcycle. The clerk said it had to be inspected by the Washington State Patrol. The fastest and nearest inspection station was at a small town called Chehalis about 35 miles south of Olympia. This time the 101 got a ride in the back of Lynden’s Chevy pickup. It had been raining. We covered the seat, headlight and instrument group with plastic to keep them protected. Some inspection! All the inspecting officer did was

run her finger over the engine serial number to determine if it had been altered. She wasn’t interested in the rest of the bike at all. We returned to Olympia again, with no difficulty in obtaining the certificate of registry. The clerk gave us a “Collector vehicle” license plate. We had to pay for the first year but after that it’s free. So now the old 101 is registered, licensed insured and street legal.

What are we going to do with our bike now that we have it? Have immense pride in ownership. Adore it. Ride it occasionally when the weather is nice. (I won’t be able to ride for a while yet as the major lower back surgery I had a year ago last January didn’t work out as well as hoped. Bummer.) Display the motorcycle at a mall when the opportunity presents itself. And lastly, if not least, use it as a guide in the reassembly of the Yokohama ’28 101.

WHY A 101?

By Bob Kelley

After four years of riding nothing but 101s, I finally got another bike for utility use in all sorts of modern traffic conditions, a 1966 Sportster. But as I waited out our harsh East Coast winter, it was the two 101 Scouts I really missed riding, even though the XLH bagger is great fun in its own blustery way.

What exactly is the mysterious hold these bikes have on us? I admire the sleek, restrained styling, and those who are mechanically inclined seem to appreciate the simplicity of working on them, but I believe most owners would place “fun to ride” at or near the top of their list of the 101’s strong points.

The key could be the fluid responsiveness of the handling. You never feel you have to herd this bike into a curve: You just look and it seems to read your mind and go exactly where you want. Modest mass, low center of gravity, effective steering geometry, the vivid tactile feedback of an unfiltered hardtail, firm tires with modest profiles: It all adds up to what you want when you want it, cued by inputs so subtle we may not always be conscious of them. Yet you get to have it both ways because you also enjoy the kind of stability that allows no-hands riding at extremely low speeds. I’m sure there are sport bikes with responses so quick that the bike feels nervous and requires a hyper-caffeinated riding style, but this isn’t one of them. Even at speeds near the end of this bike’s rope, the wheels feel about as well planted on the road as 370 pounds could be. Eventually the engine revs become so frantic that you tire of flogging the machinery (even though the vibes aren’t brutally harsh), and the rigid rear can be counted on to provide an out-of-seat experience over a big expansion joint at speed. But the chassis never stops hanging in there with a reasonably composed ride.

I attribute the highway manners largely to such a long wheelbase in relation to the bike’s size, along with the low center of gravity. For those grins in the twisties, I don’t believe the firm leaf-spring forks have ever gotten the credit they are due. My two 101s appear to have only about 1 inch of give (not counting rebound), all but the first little bit of it being quite hard. I tell the unannounced they would probably swear the forks are not sprung at all, unless they look down to watch closely for minute movements over small imperfections in the pavement. This suspension design keeps unsprung weight to an absolute minimum –– only the rockers and connector rods and the tip of the spring stack move up and down with the wheel and brake. Contrast this with the entire skirted fender, forks, even the headlight on the later Chiefs. Low unsprung weight usually translates into sprightly reflexes.

But the core appeal of the 101 for me personally is harder to define than graceful handling. I admire the “just barely enough to get the job done” economy of design you see on this model. It’s as honest a pile of pig iron as you’re going to find anywhere. Earlier models can actually become more baroque in some ways, with tall and awkward wheels, fussy controls, wheelbarrow grips alongside your waist, an unnatural riding posture, more weight in some cases. This one nearly eliminates the linkage middleman between you and the road, or between you and the mechanical-feedback sensations you go out of your way to enjoy, such as the gears meshing or the crisp turn-in of the forks or the tread loads on the road surface shifting.

You get: An engine so simple it will run on 70-octane gas and (at least in my experience) doesn’t overheat even in city riding in the high 90s; a mag ignition that will get you home with no battery; the most direct shifter action imaginable; a low frame that’s easy to horse around in tight quarters and lets you plant both feet on the ground with knees bent. To be fair, the “barely enough” roster extends to a few negatives: Barely enough generator output to run full-time lights, and that’s with our feeble stock headlight (which should be plenty visible to other motorists just the same); a cruising speed limit that’s probably marginal for the faster secondary highways, depending on traffic conditions where you live; pre-1931, brakes that feel OK around town but lack reserves at higher speeds. I do believe some of Indian’s antiquated and crude engineering features that can bring complaints with the higher speeds and much higher weight of the postwar Chiefs are possibly overstressed in that application, while they can get the job done sweetly with our simpler demands: The stock fiber clutch plates, the small drum front brake, the crank breather.

What can you say about a machine that wears a frame tube atop the tank, exposed seat springs, even a hand oil pump (let them think it’s the sole delivery system, I say) on its sleeve with no shame or apology? Whose stock gauges consist entirely of: A sad little ammeter? One of my bikes has no mirrors; the other lacks a chainguard.   

You have to have a certain pure core love of antique iron in its most elemental form to invest nearly the same cash in this machine that would get you a later flashy cruiser with more comfort and a much higher head-turning quotient at rallies. My neighbor’s brother with a window-pane-rattling straight-pipe custom big twin saw me coming and going for years on my 37” 101 without batting an eye. One day, a friend stopped by and then left on his nice turquoise ’48 Chief, and this guy beat a path across the street all out of breath to ask what kind of bike that was.

That was a really fine machine. This one is just as grand in its own way, but you need a certain sensibility to appreciate it.

OWLS HEAD TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM
Owls Head, ME (207) 594-4418 - info@ohtm.org or  http://www.owlshead.org
Cordially Invites 101 Association Members to the following motorcycle events for 2003:

• June 28 - New England Antique & Classic Motorcycle Auction
  NEW! Classics like Indian, Harley Davidson, Triumph & more
• August 31 - Vintage Motorcycle Meet & Antique Aeroplane Show.  Draws 200 antique/classic plus over 1,000 modern bikes

101er Makes the News!!

Congratulations to Dave Ingersoll #613 - he and his 101 were featured in a 4 page color spread in American Iron Magazine, May 2003 Issue. Jim Babchak wrote the article and our own Buzz Kanter #254 took the photos.

Here is an excerpt paragraph on the history of the bike:

" In 1929, Indian Motorcycles shipped our feature bike from Springfield, Massachusetts, to Mt. Kisco, New York, for use by the Mt. Kisco police department. For reason unknown (possibly a funds shortage brought on by the Great Depression), the police department never completed the sale, so the bike remained with the local Indian dealer, Lou Carlson, on Grove Street in Mt. Kisco. Robert Ingersol, David's father, saw the machine, liked it, and bought it in 1929. Robert used it for years (probably through the mid-1930's), and later rolled it into his barn. Robert was a farmer in the area, and the arrival of two sons, in conjunction with this work, kept him plenty busy in the ensuing years."

Here is a paragraph with emphasis on The 101 Association:

Dave joined the Indian 101 Club, which is devoted to the preservation of the Indian 101 model (1928-1931) and met the club's founder, George Yarocki. If you've been around Indians long enough you will have heard of George. He is affectionately referred to as "the father of the 101" because of all the work he has done on behalf of the model. He formed the club and has been its backbone all these years. As a matter of fact, about 20 years ago I bought a 101 Scout from Merit Brown in my hometown of Peeksill, New York, and George was instrumental in helping me get parts and information for it at the time. I then acquired a second 101 bike for parts. When the time came to sell it, I called George and he bought both of them."

Congratulations, Dave! Thanks for putting it in, Buzz!

Dear Fellow 101ers,

As I am renewing my membership, I thought you might get a kick out of how I got my 101. I put an ad in my local small town newspaper looking for a 40's to 50's Harley. While I was at work my wife Connie got a call from a woman that said her husband had his dad's old Indian and he was interested in selling it! When I got home, my wife told me of the call and I said, "WOW, I didn't expect an Indian - what's her phone number?" To which she says, "I didn't get it, you wanted a Harley!"

I put a new ad in the paper saying, "Would the lady with the Indian please call back to save wife". She called back laughing and I scored with a fair deal on a scout, not more than a mile from my house I never knew about! Kevin Borglin #166

Hey Joanie!    I have a new domain name now also - www.motordrome.org . Too many people confusing us with other similar sounding sites.  The old www.wallofdeathonline.com is still good also, but the "Pipeline/Slope/5929" one is no longer valid. Been sorting pics to archive for museums.  Sending 2 pics of me & Lily... (Toys 4 Tots run, and at home on the road!) ( "Joanie... meet Lily...!") ...and of trickriding on Scout at the California Hellriders' Wall. LOL. Thanks, Live to Ride! -Sam #258

INFORMATION ON SHOP (R&O) MANUAL

[Note all profits from the sale of this "SHOP MANUAL" go to the "101 Association, INC." a historical non-profit organization Sec.501(c) (3). Determination #948(DO)(3-79)]

The Indian 101 Scout Repair and Overhaul Manual

Our Repair and Overhaul Manual now has all 50 Sections addressed with a total of 244 pages. The Hard Cover three ring binder set-up will still be available for awhile but will be phased out early in 2000 due to the extreme cost of mailing. This will be replaced with a nice “spiral bound” edition with laminated color covers, front and back. This spiral binding is of the type that can be removed and pages added without any special machine. It will be more difficult and take a bit longer to remove and add pages but the book will be even easier to use out on the workbench than the three ring binders we now use. Soiled paged can be ordered at any time form your 101 Association at minimal cost.

The Indian 101 Scout Repair and Overhaul Manual, or as we know it, the "Shop Manual" is a collection of detailed information on the Indian 101 Scout built 1928 through 1931. The manual consists of sections similar to the way the Indian Parts Books are set up.  This manual is in a state of continuous improvement by members of the 101 Association, Inc., and others.  As new information becomes available, the new sheets can be added.

The following prices are in effect tight now but follow your WOWs, the 101 web site, or the G.L. Yarocki Company web site for updates. All are Laminated Covers Spiral Bound.

Members get discounts at meets!

United States...$75.00 …  Includes Priority mail shipping.

Canada... $77.0  …  Includes Printed matter airmail postage.

Mexico... $83.00   …   Includes Printed matter airmail postage.

Western Hemisphere (except Canada & Mexico)… $81.00. Includes Printed matter airmail postage.

Europe... $86.00 … Includes Printed matter airmail postage.

Asia & Africa... $92.00   … Includes Printed matter airmail postage

Pacific Rim... $94.00  …  Includes Printed matter airmail postage.

ORDER FROM GEORGE YAROCKI  - 860-482-9215

 Email: gyarocki@snet.net

ADVERTISEMENTS

Notice - Ads will be run once unless Joanie is advised otherwise. ONLY SCOUT ADS ACCEPTED. Line ads for members are free – half page ads are $15.00, whole page ads are $25.00 – this is to cover extra postage. When submitting ads, if you can send them by email or fax them to our computer (508) 867-6627, I don’t have to retype or scan them and they will appear as YOU sent them.

Notice: A Sincere effort is made to see that all advertising in this publication is legitimate. Advertising ceases when we find an ad misleading, parts of poor quality or not faithful reproduction. The 101 Association or Its Officers or Directors may not be held responsible for injury or loss of property resulting from purchases made from advertisers listed in this publication.

FOR SALE: 1929 101 Scout, 45ci. 5 yrs since restoration. Contact Werner, Germany….

FOR SALE: 101 Kickstarter Return Springs. Max Bubeck, Pam Springs…

Indian Club (Editor's note for your information): The Laughing Indian Riders Club. Yearly dues are $10CDN. For US and Overseas, $10.00 US. Contact Don Doody #341. Laughing Indian Riders, POB 47, Pender Island, BC, V0N 2MO Canada

TO READ THE ENTIRE ADS, PLEASE JOIN THE CLUB!