1914 Indian Twin Board Track Racer

In a matter of only 10 years from its humble beginning, Hendee Manufacturing became the largest motorcycle producer in the world with its line of Indian single cylinder and twin cylinder motorcycles. They also became world beaters on the tracks around the globe with a selection of production based race bikes and one-off factory exotics. The famous Hedstrom engine had an inlet over exhaust valve configuration that was quite powerful in its day although prone to wear from the complicated engine design.

In 1914, one of the popular as well as spectacular attractions was board track racing. Velodromes using long wooden planks for a base made racing somewhat like a Roman circus where spectators could view the entire track from the comfort of their seats. Meanwhile the motorcycle competitors would speed around the highly banked surface on machines that had neither brakes nor throttles. It was equally dangerous as it was fast with speeds reaching 100 mph.

The motorbike offered

This 1914 Indian Twin Board Track Racer was purchased by Robb Talbott from the Larry Pedersen collection for display in his MotoTalbott Museum in Carmel, California. In fine condition, this complete machine has remained on static display, and although fully inspected in our shop, will need to be re-commissioned before returning it to regular use as a track weapon on the boards.