INDEX - Issue 21-1 WOW - Bill Patt Issue

Cover: ~ In Memoriam ~ William N. Patt, Honored Director June 14, 1920 to July 7, 2003 Article on page 10

Page 2 Association Information

Page 4 Editor's Report

Page 5 Minutes of the Annual Meeting

Page 6 Presidents Report

Page 7 Vice-Presidents Report

Page 8 Membership Chair & Internet Report

Page 9 Picture: It’s COLD in New England!

Page 10 Comings and goings

Page 11 Meet Photos and Beast Report

Page 12 Centerfold pictures

Page 15 Calendar of 101 related events

Page 17 In future issues

Page 17 Correspondence

Page 20 –Bob Kelley Article The 101 Scout, a product of its time

Page 22 Advertisements, cover photos needed, 75^th Anniversary of 1929 & Foreign Members Note

Page 23 S hop Manual (R&O) information

Back Cover: Jeff Alperin’s beast ready for a New Year’s ride (article on page 11)

Editor's Report:

Well, not quite as bad a quarter. We “only” lost a cat and Randy’s dad’s dog this time. Great cat, great dog, I was really fond them both, and they NEVER went into the road but this time they did and you know the rest of the story. So that’s the sad news.

We are spending most of our spare time going through the mountains of stuff from Randy's parents farm - but you HAVE to go through each thing. Their filing system was "eccentric" so you will go through a box with hundreds of recipes and in the middle find a birth certificate or a deed. So you can't just toss anything, it ALL has go be gone through, all 66 years of accumulation! So we're away from home a lot during the week but at least there's an end in sight. Thank heavens Jenn is with us to help with running the house (and running Mandy around!). Randy’s sister came for an extended visit from California to work on stuff in house and estate and took up all of our time for the better part of a month between the visit and the preparations.

THEN the “worst” happened – my beloved MAC (Computer) died and almost took the WOW and all of my records with it (yes, I back up but no I hadn’t for awhile). So first I had to cough up the bucks for a new computer (I bought a lap top so I could TRAVEL and still work on 101 and other STUFF) then we had to work on getting in a new hard drive, in tandem with the old one so you could get the data off the old into the new. This took WEEKS as you could only get a minute or two at a time before the darn thing crashed. As you can see, I did it but then I had to redo the whole set up as it was set up in MAC and I am now on a PC for a laptop. THEN I had to rescue all the STUFF I had saved in AOL to put into this issue file by file. Sigh.

So your WOW is obviously late, but here it is. The next issue is already getting pasted up so if you have anything you want in it get it to me right after you read this. Thanks for being so patient with us – I am really looking forward to an uneventful issue some day again!

New to this issue: a CALENDAR so you can communicate your plans and meets to other 101ers and see who’s going where. Let me know ANY meets that will have 101 representation and I will publish the information for members. Especially let me know WHAT the 101 representation will be so members can plan accordingly. Club events will be listed also, obviously. We have so many active members that travel to go to 101 and supporting events (yeah! Gordon Rinchler, attending the FUN RUN from Michigan!) that it’s time to start noting it so 101ers can make plans to meet and bring their 101s where they know they’ll be others!

President’s Report:

Well, another season of riding has ended here in the northeast US, while others are in full summer swing. Too bad we can’t just ride all the year long, but wintertime helps us to repair, redo or get started on our 101’s, so this is also a GOOD time.

This is the 75^th year anniversary of the 1929 101 so let’s see a great turn out this year to celebrate another birthday. Thanks again for another year to be able to keep the 101 alive.

Our annual meet this year will be in April at Oley, PA in conjunction with the AMCA national meet. Our schedule to have a 101 booth at AMCA meets is as follows:

February: Eustis, Florida (past)

April 23 & 24: Perkiomen Chapter at Oley, Pennsylvania

June 4 & 5: Colonial Chapter at Harmony, New Jersey

July 16 & 17: Prairie Chapter at Wauseon, Ohio

July 30 – August 1: Yankee Chapter at Hebron, Connecticut

August 20 & 21: Empire Chapter at Brookfield, New York

September 3 & 4: Chief Blackhawk Chapter at Davenport, Iowa

October 1 & 2: Chesapeake Chapter at Jefferson, Pennsylvania (White Rose)

Hope to see you there so we can visit. Randy

Vice President’s Report:

Dear 101ers,

The Fun-Run is over as is our annual meeting. It’s now time to work on getting our Indian 101 Scouts either built or in shape for spring, summer and fall riding.

I am overwhelmed by the worldwide interest in our little 101 Scouts. I shouldn’t be as I was overwhelmed by it way back in the forties as I explained in my report in the last issue of our WOW. In case you didn’t read that report, during my teens I had experience with a ’31 Harley 74 side valve, a ’38 Indian chief and a ’41 Harley 74 overhead valve but bonded with an Indian 101 Scout.

My dad was an Indian enthusiast and had owned several Indians during his motorcycle experience. By the time I came along his riding days were long gone but from as early as I can remember, he spoke of his last machine, a 1916 Indian power-plus. He spoke of this machine with affection and a remarkable degree of respect for the Indian designers and engineers.

When I came home with my first Indian at age 14, a ’28 Indian 101 Scout, he looked my treasure over and remarked, “it’s an Indian alright but that’s a Reading-Standard motor.” I was crushed and fought back showing him the Indian name casted into the primary case. He said, “don’t matter what the casting says, it’s a Reading Standard motor.” I then gave up and decided to enjoy my motorcycle in spite of what my dad mistakenly thought.

I think it was around 1983, when Emmett Moore contacted me about possibly starting an Indian 101 group that I began to delve into the history that preceded the 101 scout. To my amazement, there it was - Dad was not wrong!

According to Harry B. Sucher, D.V.M. and author of “The Iron Redskin”, the Reading Standard Motorcycle Company of Reading, PA employed Charles Gustafson during the year 1906. During his short stay at the Reading Standard plant he designed a simple V-twin motor with mechanically operated valves. This motor was based on the French Peugeot design which had an atmospherically operated intake valve.

Gustafson’s motor in both single and twin cylinder types formed the basis of Reading-Standard production until the company’s demise in 1924. This was some feat for a self-taught mechanical and practical engineer! Charles Gustafson joined the Indian company in either 1907 or 1909 as there are conflicting reports concerning this. No matter though, as his great contribution came around 1915 when Charles Gustafson was Oscar C. Hedstrom’s assistant. It was time to redesign the Hedstrom motor due to its expense of manufacture as well as the difficulty in keeping the overhead valves adjusted.

Charles offered the opinion that a well-designed side valve motor could be a simplified improvement. This would be similar to the one he had developed for Reading-Standard. This motor designated the “Powerplus” was built and proved to be more powerful, cheaper to build and easier to maintain than the previous Hedstrom motor.

This was, in my opinion, the beginning of our 101 Scout. Charles B. Franklin joined Indian in 1917, succeeded Carl Oscar Hedstrom as chief engineer and began work on the early Scout motor, which went into production in 1920.

Somewhere in here the single cam Powerplus motor gained a second cam. I suspicion Charles B. Franklin, a formally trained engineer specializing in volumetric efficiency, had something to do with this. His contribution to the design of the early scout motor, which then became our 101 motor, was brilliant to say the least but lets not ever forget Charles Gustafson Senior, designer of the Reading-Standard motor. A design so unique that my dad recognized it as his work all those years later, in 1941! End. GY

Membership Chair Report:

Memberships are coming in every day - if you haven't renewed, think about it and send it in today! You don't need a form - just drop me a line and I'll take care of it. I did not send out renewals last year but will catch up the second first quarter of 2004. If you know friends who are 101ers, mention it to them!

Internet Report:

The members-only discussion list grows weekly. As of this writing we have 185 members on the list. If you are hesitant about joining because you are afraid of a large volume of emails, there are a few options. We can make it so you get ONE email per day with all the emails sent that day or we can even make it so you get NO emails and read them online. If you would like to join but are hesitant to do so email me at rwmc101@aol.com and I can set up your email delivery to suit your needs.

The 101Scout.com page gets an average of 150 hits a day on it's home page. It has had a total of 517,268 hits since it's inception in 1998. MOST of our new members come to us from the internet and we get a couple of requests each week from NON members wishing to join our members-only discussion list so we're doing SOMETHING right! Imagine that many people interested in 101s on the Internet.

Keep this in mind for your advertising - the website is seen by a LOT of people. We do have a link page that we can link to your business and/or email from that’s FREE for members, and we can even use your logo - go to http://www.101scout.com/links.htm to see what I mean. Email me if you would like me to link you up.

Comings and Goings

Deceased: #5H, Honored Director Bill Patt:

~ In Memoriam ~

William N. Patt

June 14, 1920 to July 7, 2003

By Doug Strange

Bill to all of us, he was a great mentor for many of us in the hobby, and an important part of my life within the Antique Motorcycle Club of America and as a close friend. His AMCA #59 speaks for itself, and he was one of the charter members of the Perkiomen Chapter. In the early days of the AMCA, you never saw a 101 Scout except for Bill’s and Pat Flanagan’s bikes. He was the unspoken patriarch of this Indian motocycle, and when George Yarocki formed the 101 Association, he was one of the first members onboard.

Bill’s own 101 Scout was found propped up against a tree in an old apple orchard nearly 45 years ago. He got on his hands and knees pulling the brush away, just thrilled that he found this old Indian. He knew what it was immediately. The wheels had rotted into the ground, and the gas tank and engine were missing. But the motor and tank were found, safely stored in the trunk of an old car on the property. With uncanny luck, the motor had been freshly rebuilt at a local Indian dealership before its hibernation in the car. He quickly went home and borrowed the $25 needed to buy the derelict motorcycle. New wheels of the same patina as his bike were found at the Hershey AACA car show and he was on his way. When first riding the Indian, he noted how hard the bike rode…that is until he hit one of Pennsylvania’s famous potholes. That loosened up the front spring and a smile grew upon his face. Bill’s 101 has been enjoyed and ridden by many over the years, from the Atlantic Ocean’s edge to Davenport, and as far south as Florida. It was his pride and joy. About two years ago as his health was beginning to fail, Bill and I were working on his bike when he turned to me and said, “take care of it”. He was passing the mantle of ownership of this special motorcycle onto me. I may be the custodian of this motorcycle now, but it will forever remain Bill Patt’s 101 Scout. I hope that when you see his Indian 101 Scout in the show fields, you’ll think of Bill.

Ed note: Cover photo was sent to us by Doug of Bill

THE 101 SCOUT –– A PRODUCT OF ITS TIME By Bob Kelley

It came to me while I was station hopping. I saw an image of a racing motorcycle squirming briefly under its rider as he straightened up from a curve. I thought: That’s what makes a sport bike different from a cruiser. It’s light and nimble enough to squirm under you. And then I realized that the 101 Scout is actually a sport bike.

It’s hard for us to think of it that way because we associate "sport bike" with colorful plastic fairings and a massive power-to-weight ratio. A traditional-profile machine with upright seating that tops out at 70 M.P.H. doesn’t seem to qualify.

But that’s because we are not viewing these motorcycles through the prism of the 1920s. We need to dial our perceptions way, way back to flappers and Al Capone and "The Great Gatsby." Back then, inexpensive cars had taken the place of motorcycles some time previous as the most practical transportation for a family. Those who rode motorcycles for whatever reason –– in the case of police and possibly some farmers, those reasons may have still been mostly practical –– often found themselves on tall, large-displacement models that were designed mostly for hauling sidecars. Visiting the Indian dealership and seeing a sleek, low machine like the 101 must have been pretty exciting. Nimble handling and decent acceleration would be enough to qualify this beast as a sporting mount. Top speed was mainly theoretical back when the typical roads still had dirt surfaces.

Naturally, the racers of the day seized on the lightweight, rev-happy 101 Scout as a great platform for dirt tracking and hill-climbing. Indian made the sporting nature of these motorcycles more or less official when it named the successor the "Sport Scout," which in the view of some motorcycle historians was simply a Class C racer being sold in street-bike form to the public.

It’s not hard for me to think of my own 101 Scouts as being something akin to really old racing bikes. That’s because most of my riding is on twisting back roads with light traffic. When you have the road

to yourself and you straighten up and crank the throttle all the way around in second and let it roar its way up to a quick shift into third, you feel you’re riding some sort of half-wild quarter horse that can barely be contained. Bucking around slightly over a raised manhole cover heightens this sense of wild abandon. It all ends when you find yourself in the right lane of a bigger route with people swarming to pass you on the left –– until you readjust your perceptions of speed and wind up the revs enough to keep pace with the others.

By 2004 standards, it seems pretty laughable to pass off our beloved 101 Scouts as genuine sporting iron. But if we had access to that mythical time machine and could head out for a brisk ride in the country in the late 1920s, we might see things differently. Keeping a sharp eye out for deep ruts in the road or farm animals wandering across, you would open ’er up in second. The familiar V-twin snarl would send you hurtling past a wobbly old Model T as it belched smoke and clattered even louder than your loose valve tappets.

You would probably be a rakehell wearing mud-splattered goggles, gauntlet gloves with huge bells, and a scarf, maybe even jodhpurs. Most likely, you would be the fastest-moving object out there. There was faster iron on the market, but probably not in your town, available at the trusty old Indian dealership with its reasonable prices and easy parts availability and the wealth of local people who knew how to do the servicing and minor repairs.

It was a heady time to be alive. Charles Lindbergh had just done the first solo nonstop plane flight across the Atlantic. Ornate radios were pumping this new jazz music into people’s homes. Talking movies had arrived. The party was going to end soon with the big stock market crash –– roughly halfway through the brief production run of the 101 Scout –– but these bikes were a product of the more exuberant and carefree period before the Depression. If you had some money in your pocket, you might be inclined to swing a leg over a rakish sport bike and follow the road wherever it leads.

Maybe when we look at our 101 Scouts, we should try to picture men in boaters and women with bobbed hair dancing around in the background and passing a bottle of hooch. It’s a stylish steed that would look right at home parked at a lakeside party surrounded by the extras from a Clara Bow movie.

And the next time you pass a sport bike and wave, remember, you’re riding a sport bike, too. Just subtract about 75 years and it all becomes clear.