Sunday 26 February 2017

Indian Powerplus (1918) Vintage models of indian Spceifiacaton, Top speed

Posted By: ygshhd 12:08 Leave a Reply

Indian Powerplus

Finished in Indian's traditional maroon, the Powerplus lived up to its name by delivering plenty of performance with its 18bhp, 42-degree side-valve V-twin engine. Long-distance ace Cannonball Baker’s string of high-speed record runs helped make the model popular, and it remained in production for almost a decade with few changes.

Indian was the biggest American manufacturer in motorcycling’s early years, producing large numbers of V-twins from its sprawling factory, known as the Wigwam, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Indians were fast, in every sense. They won races on board tracks, dirt tracks and even at the Isle of Man TT (where Indian took first, second and third in 1911). They set top speed records and posted quickest ever times for coast-to-coast trips across America.

Among the best and most influential of the early Indians was the Powerplus, which was introduced in 1916. As its name suggested, its engine was a more powerful version of Indian’s existing unit, a 42-degree V-twin. The Powerplus had a side-valve layout in place of the traditional F-head (or inlet-over-exhaust) design that had been Indian’s mainstay since the firm’s first twin- cylinder model of 1907.

Ironically, Indian’s best days were already in the past when the Powerplus arrived. The firm had been set up in 1901 by George Hendee and Oscar Hedstrom, two former bicycle racers, and had grown quickly. Production reached almost 5000 bikes in 1909, and by 1913 was over 32.000. But the following year Henry Ford set up his first car assembly line, and the US motorcycle market took a sharp downturn. Indian would never sell as many bikes again.

Co-founder and chief engineer Oscar Hedstrom retired in 1913. The Powerplus was designed by Charles Gustafson Snr., who had previously worked for Reading Standard, which had built America’s first side-valve bikes. The new machine met with resistance from some Indian owners loyal to Hedstrom’s F-head machines. But one ride normally won them over, because the Powerplus lived up to its name by delivering considerable extra performance.

Its 998cc long-stroke engine produced a claimed 18bhp, well up on the previous Big Twin, and gave the Powerplus a top speed of over 60mph (97km/h). The new motor was also cleaner and quieter, due to its enclosed valvegear. It had a three-speed gearbox with a hand change and foot clutch. There was also a back-up hand clutch lever, located to the right of the fuel tank because Indian’s throttle was on the left.

The Powerplus chassis was similar to that of the old model - understandably, because Indian was already offering optional leaf-spring rear suspension, years before most manufacturers would do so. A leaf-spring design was also used for the front suspension. Controls were via a complex system of rods and linkages until 1918, when cables were introduced.

Record-breaking performance

Long-distance legend Erwin 'Cannonball’ Baker gave the Powerplus the perfect introduction in late 1915, when he used a pre-production bike to set a new Canada-to-Mexico Three Flags record - covering the 1655.5 miles (2664.2km) in 3 days, 9 hours and 15 minutes. The following year, he set a 24-hour record of 1018.7 miles (1639.4km) in Australia, despite hazards including giant parakeets and driving rain. And in 1917, Baker rode a Powerplus to another 24-hour record of 1534.7 miles (2469.8km) on the Cincinnati board track.

The Powerplus itself also proved impressively long-lasting, remaining in production until 1924 with few changes. It did, however, gain a new name in its old age. Following the Chief’s introduction in 1922, the Powerplus was restyled the Standard to avoid overshadowing the new model.

Indian's left- hand throttle control meant that levers for compression release and gearshift, along with the back-up clutch operation, were located on the right side of the Powerplus fuel tank.

Indian's Eight-valve Heroes

Indian gained considerable publicity from the exploits of its racers, notably the daring board- track stars including Jake de Rosier, Charles 'Fearless' Balke and Eddie Hasha. They rode tuned, stripped-down V-twins which diced at well over 10Omph (161 km/h) on the steep boards. But the sport went into decline following the deaths of Hasha, Johnnie Albright another Indian pilot and six spectators at a New Jersey track in 1912. De Rosier, winner of over 900 races and the holder of many speed records, left Indian for Excelsior. He died of racing injuries in 1913.

Indian’s board-race bikes were powered by fire-breathing eight-valve V-twin engines with open exhausts. Low handlebars gave racers a streamlined riding position.

This bike's leaf-spring rear suspension was a factory optional extra. Indian's leaf-spring front suspension system was used for racing and hillclimb bikes, as well as roadsters.

Specification Indian Powerplus (1918)