While researching information and details for a Vincent Black Shadow replica I was building, I came across an old black and white photo online of a gentleman sitting on what looked to me to be a late 1940s Indian Chief motorcycle.
Upon a closer look, however, I noticed the engine was not the usual 74 cubic-inch side-valve Indian engine, but an OHV, all-aluminum Vincent Rapide engine. I was confused and intrigued so I clicked on the link. It told the little-known story about a short-lived prototype motorcycle that was a joint venture between Indian and Vincent in 1949. In a nutshell, Indian was losing revenue in America to Harley-Davidson, and their Indian Chief was down on performance when compared to some other brands. In an effort to save time and money, Indian sent a Chief motorcycle to the Vincent factory in England to see if the Vincent Rapide engine could be fitted into the Chief chassis to improve performance as the Vincent factory was at that time producing the fastest standard motorcycles in the world. The engine swap went rather well, and speeds of more than 104mph were reported after testing. A joint venture was in the works and the bikes would be called Vindian. However, the British pound sterling lost value and the executives thought it best not to proceed with the joint venture, and the Vindian Chief prototype was dismantled and sent back to America. Sadly, Indian closed its doors in 1953 and Vincent in 1955.
For me, I think the idea of a 1,000cc, aluminum, OHV V-twin engine in an iconic Indian Chief is a thing of real beauty and engineering. Now on another note, if I may, my wife Debra became quite the motorcycle enthusiast after meeting me. I have always been a motorcycle mechanic since high school, and I was always riding a bike, so it’s no surprise Debra and I dated and for years rode my Suzuki motorcycle. For more than 17 years, Debra was my faithful passenger, racking up some 150,000 miles with me. In all kinds of weather, she enjoyed it all, the charity rides, the poker rides and the Toys for Tots rides as well. About 4 years ago, Debra stopped riding. Sadly she was diagnosed with a rare form of Parkinson’s disease that left her weak and unsteady. One day Debra told me how much she missed our rides together. She wanted to ride again “just one more time.”
An Idea was born
I knew I needed to do something fast. I wanted her to ride again, and I wanted it to be on the most beautiful bike she had ever seen. I planned to build a (somewhat) modern version of the Vindian Chief prototype, but I would attach a sidecar for her safety. I thought it would be more practical to use parts from bikes that are more readily available, so, I started with a Yamaha V Star 1100 frame, because the rear suspension would not block the iconic Indian skirted rear fender. I then thought of installing an older 1990 Yamaha Virago 1100 engine as it is an all-aluminum, air-cooled, OHV V-twin engine with a good history of reliability. And if one squints, it could resemble a Vincent Rapide engine.
I ordered an engine and a frame in the hopes I could fit the two together and the rest I could figure out as I went. In about a week, I was able to fabricate new engine mounts and had the Virago engine mounted securely in the V Star frame. I was able to couple the drive shaft, and use the spoked V Star classic wheels, but I fit them with wide whitewall tires.
I was able to purchase a reproduction 1947 Indian Chief front fender, and a Yamaha V Star 1100 Classic fork assembly. The rear fender was a bit more work. For ease I wanted to use the V Star rear wheel and disc brake, but with a tire width of 170mm, a reproduction Indian Chief rear fender would not work. I found a damaged rear fender from a 2017 Indian Chief on eBay, so I ordered it hoping I could make it work. Well, after another weeks’ worth of cutting, grinding and welding, I was happy with the fit. Even the width of the fender was very close.
I used a fuel tank from a Yamaha V Star 1100 Classic as it resembled the Indian Chief look I was after. I needed to mount a speedometer and voltmeter in a chrome pod on the top of the fuel tank, so I used one from a Honda Shadow 750, but fitted the voltmeter where Honda had the gas cap. Making the electronic speedometer work took a bit of ingenuity. I attached 14 6mm rare earth magnets to the yoke of the driveshaft, and drilled and mounted a speed sensor through the swing arm and to my delight, it all worked, and within 2mph accuracy. You may notice I used one front brake disc on the front wheel. I would later add the second caliper to the wheel on the sidecar with a custom-made bracket.
I used an old set of beach handlebars and fabricated all my own cables. Aftermarket switches were used, with a custom wiring harness, three circuit breakers and a lithium ion battery. For the carburetion, I chose the carbs from a 1982 Virago 920 as I am familiar with the jetting on these. Likewise, I used the ignition box also for the 1982 Virago 920. With this combination, the engine starts immediately, runs well and sounds great. A set of pod air filters fit nicely under the tank. For the exhaust, I read that the Vincent engineers fitted an exhaust pipe for each cylinder, one on each side of the bike so, I wanted to do that as well. I had to fabricate the pipes using 1-3/4-inch stainless steel tubing I hand bent and TIG welded, adding upswept, chrome fish tail mufflers.
A black leather reproduction Chief seat was mounted with dual springs to round out the “Chief look.” Please bear in mind I was not trying to make this an exact scale replica, but rather a more modern, working replica that could be “ridden, not hidden.” I knew Debra loved the classic, iconic look of the ’40s motorcycles. I would make it safe and reliable for her enjoyment, even if she only rode once more.
What I have not told you yet was that I kept this bike a secret and planned a surprise reveal to her at a special event. I knew Debra’s favorite color scheme was blue and cream so I had my good friend Jay White do the paint and body work. Jay did an amazing job! It may not be exactly like the prototype, but I wanted Debra to love it. When I had all the ingredients for a working, two-wheeled motorcycle, I test rode the bike and to my delight, everything worked well. Now, to add the sidecar!
The Vindian gets a sidecar
From what I could find on Google Images, Indian Chiefs were often fitted with a sidecar that resembled a canoe. After a search on eBay, I found one, new in a crate! I would like to add that when the seller learned I was building this for my wife, he sent me the sidecar frame for free. What a great guy! This sidecar install was one of only a few I have ever done, but it all went smoothly and after just two small adjustments, the rig drives very well indeed. The final part was the fender for the sidecar wheel. I used another reproduction Indian Chief front fender. It was with my painter only one day before the planned reveal.
On a bright and sunny Saturday, Aug. 22, 2022, I surprised my wife with the custom built bike, surrounded by family and friends. Debra cried but could not wait to go for a ride.
A surprise blessing: Good vibrations
I thought Debra would go for a ride or two, but to my surprise, Debra loved the sidecar bike so much that she rode more and more. She began to perk-up a bit. After about 600 miles she told me she felt “the best” while riding. To my surprise, I noticed when Debra first got in the sidecar, her right hand would shake, but after about 10 miles of riding, the hand shake stopped!
To this day, Debra and I have ridden over 3,000 miles on the Vindian and she looks forward to every new ride. We have since learned that the subtle vibration from the V-twin engine could be the reason her Parkinson’s symptoms are reduced.
I call it motorcycle therapy. MC
