BETTER THAN PUSHING…I HOPE.
Okay, so I have a thing about old bikes, especially American ones. Yes, I know it’s a lot more work to get, and keep, them running than new ones. And not many shops are willing to work on anything earlier than a 1980s Evo. Then there’s the issue of finding parts for bikes older than I am. All these are valid reasons to ride modern motorcycles. And yet, I am drawn to these classic and often demanding machines. If I were simply a collector of vintage Harleys and Indians, my main focus would be how they look. But as an active rider of old bikes, I need a dependable machine that can get me down the road and back. And most of the time I’m able to find just that.
Part of the challenge of owning, maintaining, and riding vintage bikes is their age. That means parts eventually gum up, wear out, break, or fall off. And that’s after someone has already sorted out the bike enough to make it reasonably dependable. When I buy a classic motorcycle, I try to establish what kind of shape it’s in, what it might need to work dependably as designed, and how much I can trust it on the road. Sounds pretty basic, right? Well, things don’t always work out as planned, something riders of older bikes learn one way or another.
After many years lusting for an Indian Four, I stumbled across a reasonable deal on a 1930 model right here in Connecticut. I wouldn’t even have to drive far to get it. Having sold a few bikes (including my original-paint 1965 Panhead), I had motorcycle money burning a hole in my pocket, AND there was room in my usually over-crowded garage for one more bike. So I drove up, test rode it, and bought it on the spot. That was over a month ago. I wanted to put at least a few hundred get-to-know you miles on the bike before putting it up for the winter. Riding time was running out for me. So, I planned to ride the 30-plus miles to NewRoc Harley-Davidson’s 2nd Anniversary Open House where I was to judge the bike show. Piece o’ cake. What’s 30 miles out and 30 miles back to a seasoned, vintage-bike rider like me?
The night before, I checked the oil and tire pressure. I installed a smart charger to the tiny battery and called it a night, feeling confident about the next day’s ride. When I went back to the garage the next morning, the temperature hovered around freezing with predictions of cracking 50 by mid-afternoon. I layered up my clothing and fired up the Four on the first kick. After it warmed up, I eased it into gear and headed down the road, feeling like a cool million bucks. For about a mile. Then it started to lose power. I looked down and saw one of the sparkplug wires had come lose. Easy fix and back on the road.
No matter what I did, the bike simply would not go any faster than 50 mph, and that was down hill. I figured it was still warming up, and rolled onto the parkway heading toward New York. The more I rode, the worse it sounded and ran. Up hills were the worst. After about 20 miles, I started to worry about damaging the bike. So I pulled over and checked it over while it sat idling. As I pulled out of the rest stop, any thoughts of staying the course disappeared in a puff of smoke as the bike began back firing and chuffing under full throttle. I took the first exit ramp, doubled around, and headed back toward my house, hoping I could make it back without help or damage to my bike. By the time I got off the parkway, the bike barely ran with all the backfiring, missing, and chuffing. At a red light, it seemed to idle well, so I hoped that meant I’d not done anything serious to this 77-year-old motorcycle. I pulled into a gas station and filled the fuel tank, hoping that either the gas was stale or I’d picked up some water in the tank. When I restarted the bike, it sounded strong and dependable. I was sure my problems were fuel related. I was wrong. But I did eventually limp my way home.
As I write this column, I have done nothing more with the bike. But I plan to inspect each sparkplug and to run compression checks on all four cylinders. After that, who knows? But I’m confident this hopefully minor frustration will allow me to better know my bike, and to learn more on how to diagnose and fix its problems. I hope.
VINTAGE HARLEYS and CLASSIC AMERICAN IRON
If you’re still reading this, you either enjoy my suffering and challenges, or you’re into classic American bikes too. Thanks, because I’m the guy here at American Iron Magazine who makes sure we feature at least one classic bike in each issue. We also work hard to share some classic bike tech and/or maintenance articles to help anyone still wrenching on the old stuff. I think it’s a shame that so many old Harleys and Indians are taken off the road and locked up in garages and sheds, or displayed as static art in museums or private homes. Some are modified beyond practical restoration; others are overrestored to levels way beyond when they were new.
If you’re a fan of classic American iron, or just want to learn more about these wonderful old bikes, I invite you to visit our latest online bulletin board,
www.CAIMag.com (Classic American Iron Magazine). It’s free and easy to register, which allows you full access to the forums, posts, calendars, and more. Hope to see you there. And you might be able to read about what I did to fix my 1930 Indian Four.
Ride safe, ride smart, have fun.
BUZZ KANTER
PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
March 08 - Better Than Pushing 
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