The
Indian 57cu" Stroker Sport Scout Project
A wee bit of Background:
The Indian Sport Scout was the Springfield factory's challenger on the race track against Harley Davidsons 45cu" racers, in the late 40's racers squeezed more power out of the motor by "stroking" it to 57cu" using the longer stroke Chief flywheels with Scout rods giving a capacity of 930cc's
This project uses just such a "Stroker" motor in a 1936 Sport Scout frame
Bought as a basket case in December 2005 the project really got underway at the end of January 2006, when the rear section from Chris Ireland's 741B 'Bella' arrived . Originally I had planned to build a period perfect 1950's Bobber, but then i started to bolt bits together to see what could be done!
31/01/06 - With the front frame section and engine plates bolted loosely together I set them up on wooden blocks then bolted up the rear section .I'm still waiting for the shackles and top yoke for the 741B girder front that I have so i bolted up a Yamaha XS 650 front end that was lying around with a Triumph 16" rear wheel to keep it up!
Raking around for a tank in the spares pile I found an alloy trials one and dropped it on, a single sprung seat, and a set of bars from a T140 Triumph
Starting to look like a bike now, the wee fella jumped on with a pair of upside down Renthal trials bars to try it for size!
Dont miss the next thrilling installment !
Update 15/02/06
On close inspection of the front frame we found a crack running vertically down through the front of the headstock, a trip into Inverness and a neat repair was carried out by Richie Foss.
Just as i'd given up hope of the rear frame section coming from the States, the postie arrived this morning with a triangular box and an Import duty bill for £50, two months wait after having paid extra for air freight, must have been sitting in a container in a yard somewhere!
Front frame was dropped in to Ross-shire Engineering to get head stock line bored and bearing adapters made up to take Triumph T140 yokes and taper roller bearings. The single disc front end will take a 130/90 x16 tyre (just) , the same set up as the Triumph Bobber. Matching Triumph T140 hub and 130/90x16 on the rear will give single disc brakes front and rear, plenty of stopping power for a rigid Bobber.
Update 24/03/06
Heads are now back from the welders shop fins have been repaired
And the combustion chamber on the rear head has had a hole filled and reground
Next job on the list is to rebuild the transmission
meanwhile the frame has been given a coat of Smoothrite satin black, ready for this season's build up and shakedown.
Starting to take shape
Chromed Junior scout tanks will be mounted slightly wider than standard to keep clear of the seat hinge mounting a leather strip to match the seat will be fitted to cover the gap
Update 23/05/06
Decided to notch the frame seat tube rather than cut into the rear barrel and cyluinder head fins, so the front frame went off to Richie foss in Inverness again and once again he did a great job.
The engine plates and motor were bolted up and stapped to a work stool, then the front frame was bolted up, followed by the rear section and then tanks for a trial fit - everything fitting together nicely.
After a bit of a lay off on this project due to other commitments, I have recently started to make some progress.
A Joe Hunt Magneto was bought secondhand from one of the Chopperbuilder Forum members, he had used i on his Harley Shovelhead and decided to put it back to standard ignition. Grizzy kindly converted it to Indian spec and tested it on his Hotrod Chief/BSA Geronimo. Grizzy also fabbed a Stainless steel manifold adapter so that I could experiment with different carb set ups.
I've got a 1.25 " SU which was kindly donated by Chris Ireland and a 32mm Amal Concentric bought off ebay, waiting for trial.
I am also experimenting with a Triumph rigid frame 4 speed gearbox, which looks like it will fit in behind the motor niceley and let me use a Hayward belt drive kit which was left over from the Triumph project.
Just took delivery of this fantastic hand carved mahogany gearshift knob by Pete Vivian
Raven in a Warbonnet
Credits
Parts and advice - Grizzy, Robin Oakley, Chris Ireland, Alan Gould
Help with the build - Colin Craig
Welding - Richie Foss
Machining - Ross-shire Engineering
Wood Carving - Pete Vivian