Cycle News Archives
COLUMN
Kent Taylor
By Eight Horsepower of Fun
Scrolling through motorcycle ads is a practice reserved not only for those folks who are buying and selling motorcycles. For classically graying riders, perusing the classifieds helps launch one on a journey into the center of your consciousness, a ride to the land inside of your mind. Pass through that frontal lobe, wheelie over the precentral gyrus, jump across the central sulcus, and then gas it hard to the cerebral cortex, where most of our memories are stored. In this region is the little-known (and scientifically unverified) “garage lobe” where we keep the motorcycles of our youth. These are both cycles that we actually owned and those we only dreamed of owning.
A minicycle of some variety will have a space in this garage, so our memories are primed when we see them pop up for sale now and then, often at prices that are three or four times the original MSRP.
The Indian SE-74 is one such machine, and it was tested by Cycle News in the March 6, 1973, issue. Kids both small (aged 9) and big (the full beard being the most noticeable clue) gave the little Indian a good workout, squeezing as much fun as they could from the bike in a short time.
There are nearly as many stories about the Indian Motorcycle company as there are actual Native American tribes. There was the original manufacturer from Springfield, Massachusetts, and the current Indian, recently sold off by Polaris. In between, the brand was passed around like a peace pipe, landing at one time in the hands of motorcycling entrepreneur Floyd Clymer. Clymer sold a line of Italian-made minicycles, branded as Indians, and even though they shared nothing in common with the legendary V-twin machines, these Indians were both durable and fun to ride.
“It’s a right fine-looking little piece of two-wheeled machinery,” wrote Cycle News. “It has a real motorcycle kickstarter, a four-speed one-down-three-up shift pattern, very good front and rear brakes… all the real stuff.”
In 1973, many minicycles looked more like minibikes. The Honda Mini-Trail 50, the CT70, and others had small wheels, fold-down handlebars, automatic clutches and low seat heights. The Indian SE-74, along with the Honda SL70 and the Suzuki TS50, looked and felt like a real motorcycle. “Not a minibike, but a motorcycle that shrunk,” they wrote. “It’s about a 50 percent reduction version of an off-road-oriented enduro machine.”
The engine manufacturer was Minarelli, and like the Italjet mini MX’ers of the day, the Indian was a performer, with Cycle News stating that “it just may be the fastest thing in its class.” The stats show that the Indian had about eight horsepower, which would have made it faster than the Honda. The staffers all agreed that it could’ve used an extra gear (or two), though that was the only complaint about the engine.
Handling was first-rate. “It handles bumps, jumps and ripples with aplomb,” even with a 170-pound rider in the saddle. The crew even suggested that the Indian probably handles better than it needs to! “The tread pattern, which is a cross between a trials and universal pattern leaning toward the trials end, will hold or slide depending mainly on the speed and angle at which you have the scooter. It would corner inside of most anything else on the track.”
Good handling and plenty (relatively speaking) of power make for a good motorcycle, though not necessarily one that everyone wants to ride. What made the Indian SE-74 great was the fun factor. “The big kids, 25 and older, were roaring around like a bunch of idiots, dragging their feet and throwing the little bugger around with the throttle wicked to the stops.” When the crew finally released the bike to their 9-year-old tester, he disappeared on the track (Indian Dunes, of course), returning some time later as a seasoned pro, “sliding it around corners and flying through the tall grass.” The big boys then took over “…intimidating the little kid until he gave it back, we went off and had a grand old time the rest of the afternoon, running up on 100s and 125s and throwing it into the corners underneath them.”
Clymer Indians, as they are sometimes known, disappeared in the early ’70s, when Floyd suffered a fatal heart attack, making the Indian brand a nomad once again. The little two-strokes make an appearance in marketplace ads now and then, usually in pretty rough condition, which is as it should be. Fun motorcycles should have all the fun wrung right out of them.CN
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