Museum Piece: 1942 Indian 841
We recently featured a 1934 Indian factory hill-climber here on Barn Finds. That bike was part of the massive collection of bikes from the Wheels Through Time museum in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. It appears they are selling a few bikes to make room for others and this 1942 Indian is one of those rides. It can be found here on eBay with a current bid of $8,500. It only has one bid and there is no reserve indicated, so it may go for less than five-figures. While it may look a little rough on the outside, Dale and the folks at Wheels Through Time are some of the leading experts when it comes to classic motorcycles. I’d bet they wouldn’t have acquired this bike if it wasn’t something special. Check it out and see if this might be the right project for you.
According to the ad, the cylinders have been removed and the valve springs and covers were lost. There are, however, several original parts included with the sale including the exhaust pipes, muffler, carburetors, and air cleaner. Apparently, the lost engine parts are the same as the Scout model, so hopefully, they won’t be too hard to find. Most of the bikes at the Wheels Through Time Museum are running examples and apparently this one has been in their collection for over 20 years!
The ad states there were less than 1,000 model 841s ever built! This one has been modified with full-skirted Indian Chief fenders. The extra pegs on the back also may indicate it was used as a stunt bike at some point. I’m not sure about that, but I guess it’s possible. Overall, this looks like a pretty rust-free example of an old Indian. What do you think?
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Comments
Interesting running gear- transverse V-twin/shaft drive.
Notice the blackout light to the right of the headlight…
As I recall, this was an attempt to get a big War Department contact that didn’t get the results Indian wanted. I think they did sell a lot of conventional Scouts, though. Harley built a BMW clone for the same reason. I’m tempted to call this an Indi-Guzzi, but Moto Guzzi hadn’t started building V-twins yet! If this bike had a more modern clutch and gearbox than the Scout and Chief, it might be a cool ride, but even if not, you’d be sure to be the only one at the 7-11.
Actually, Moto Guzzi dominated the 1934 World Championship circuit, then in 1935 took the first “Tourist Trophy” with a non-English bike (250 & 500 cc) with their 120 degree V twin..
1st of all, what a sad looking piece, 2nd, what an amazing piece. I never knew Indian had a V twin like that AND a shaft drive and some sort of rear shocks. Foot shift, but where’s the clutch? I mean, this bike looks pretty modern for the 40’s, what happened? You’d think this was the bike of all ages, yet I never heard of it. I have no idea what it’s worth, but sure looks cool.
The 841 was the Chief version of the Military Scout 741. Shaft driven, V twin.
If the head is missing it might be a spot of bother to find.
Fortunately for me, 42 years ago when I bought my 48 Chief Roadmaster in pieces, Valve covers were an item I needed. But I was in CT, and in Albany, Brownie Betar’s Indian Sales and Service was still in business. A former Indian Dealer. What he Didn’t have I never found out. Asked for Valve Covers, he pulled out a wooden drawer 2′ deep and 3″ long by 2′ wide, dropped it on the counter and said—“You want valve covers? I GOT VALVE COVERS”. Sold the Chief 36 years ago, and have a permanent bruise on my butt where I kick myself every time I think about the sale.
If you’re adventureous at all, You might consider a bit. Labor of love that will bring 5-6x what you paid initially
If “Wheels Through The Ages” have had this “Rare” bike for over 20 years and have done nothing with it during that time, and keeping in mind how many other bikes they have bought and restored during that time, then I would think that there is definitely either something irreparable, or unobtainable, to be able to restore this bike back to a roadworthy condition. Dale and his Son are more than capable of restoring this bike so, to me, there is something not quite right here, however, if there is somebody out there looking for spares to complete a restoration of their own then this could be a good buy.
My uncle was in the Army during WWII and rode one of these model 841’s from California where he was stationed to Kentucky where he lived in 1942 or 1943. I have a picture of my mom on the bike with him. What an adventure to ride a bike across the country in the 1940’s!
I think they are right about only a thousand being made, It was a prototype for the army. Made to be ridden in desert conditions. The V-twin turned the other way improved cooling and the driveshaft meant no chain to get eaten up with sand. Very rare bike.
Trip nines on the odometer. I’m all in.
Wheels Through Time pretty much keeps their bikes in mostly original condition. They actually take them out and ride them. Sometimes they fire em up and flog em inside the building. If you get a chqnc3 to go there by all means do so.
The Guzzi Bicilydrica was never a production model and the engine was mounted in the frame like a Ducati and not like Guzzis of today.
It put out about 52 up from 500 cc. Not bad for the early 30s.
Some people buy a lot more than they can restore! These were made as part of a bid for a military contract. Then the Jeep came along…..
After WWII, numerous specials were built like this by Sammy Pierce in SoCal. Became known as Pierce specials.
Moto-Guzzi loved the design. Became the basis for their V-7 line up and all post war twins. Their pre-war bikes were what you would call a L-twin.
I bought a 2019 Chief Vintage last month it is styled after this one
love those Indian’s
As I recall, this version of Indian was in a design contract competition with the Harley XA which copied the horizontally opposed BMW design. These were designed for Africa desert conditions, but the WLA Harley wound up being the main motorcycle used in WWII. As for the “valve covers” these are flatheads, and the finned heads are on the bike, but the headbolts appear to be gone, there were valve lifter covers, if they are different than the standard V-twin covers that might be the unobtainium, my guess is that you could probably use the standard covers or modify them. Both the XA Harley and the Indian are extremely rare.
It’s a shame seeing things like this in this condition, i could never understand why people just let things just sit and rot away, some real lazy people in this world.
Hey deak, not lazy, just busy with life. Other projects going, family, earning a living, and etc. And perhaps not even particularly interested in the unit. At least, all of the above must come into play with the vehicles we see here so regularly. Just be grateful they weren’t scrapped.
This thing looks pretty good in civilian livery. If I had the means I might be tempted to take on a project like this. I’ve always been curious about the transverse Indian.
I remember back in the mid-60s when Norm Grabowski took one of these and put a Corvair engine in it. I was impressed but less so after I found out how scarce these bikes were. Grabowski later grafted a sidecar onto it. I understand that it still exists…
With modern technologies of today what can’t be found can be made. We even have metal 3D printers now. As well as CNC mills and lathes. If you have the time and money this would be a great project and yes I’d put a vintage sidecar on it. What a cool bike.
That bike was a piece of crap when it was new and its still a piece of crap.
Wow, that’s a hefty statement. How do you figure? It was 1942, we hadn’t even begun with the advancements the war would give us. I’m not the biggest fan of vintage bikes, but I’d never say that.
this was Indian’s attempt to compete with the Harley XA at the start of WW2…Nice piece of history…
gone yestedee – 12 four $.
Love the springer up frnt, soft tail (’47?), and transverseVee/shaft driver. Never knew an Indian like that!?!
Engine stamp sez “845”, no?
845 is probably the serial number.