Tag: Military Motorcycles

Back in print, and only $9.95!

The Complete Book of Military and Police Motorcycles is back in print. I wrote the book over 20 years ago.  Then the Internet accelerated and the printed book market tanked.  Paladin Press (the publisher) went out of business, and just like that, so did the book.  But that was then and this is now, and The Complete Book of Military and Police Motorcycles is back in print and available on Amazon.

You might wonder:  Where did I get that fantastic cover photo?  The photo shows Trooper Ralph Dowgin, a New Jersey State Trooper who went on to command Troop D (the Troop that patrols the New Jersey Turnpike, the most heavily-traveled road in the country).   I actually met Trooper Dowgin when I was a boy (my Dad knew him).   The photo came to me from my good buddy Mike B, who retired as the New Brunswick, New Jersey, Chief of Police.  Like they say, it’s a small world.

The story of police and military motorcycles is an intriguing one, espeically as it applies to the US War Department, Indian, and Harley-Davidson. During World War II, the US government bought motorcycles from both Harley and Indian, but the positions taken by Harley and Indian were worlds apart.  The Feds told both manufacturers they had to stop producing for the civilian market and focus exclusively on military motorcycles.  Indian did what they were told.  Harley told the government that they, not some government bureaucrat, would decide who to sell motorcycles to. Harley called the government’s bluff, and they got it right.  The War Department continued to buy Harleys as Harley continued selling to the civilian market, and the results were predictable: When the war ended Harley still had a civilian customer base and Indian did not.  Indian struggled for a few years trying to regain market share, but the damage was done and the handwriting was on the wall.  Indian went under in the early 1950s.

If you buy a copy of The Complete Book of Police and Military Motorcycles, understand that it describes the market as it existed when the book was published in 2001.   Things are a little bit different now.  Future plans call for an update to include today’s military and police motorcycles, but that’s far in the future and the book will sell for a bunch more than $9.95.   I’ll have a Kindle ebook version at some point in the future, too, but it’s not going to be immediate.  For now, it’s print only, and it’s only $9.95.  Spend the bucks, make a friend for life, and don’t forget:   Click on those popup ads!

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The Lyon Air Museum

This is a cool story. Good buddy Mike was visiting us here in Leftist Lunacy Land (i.e., the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia, where I hang my hat) and we thought we were running out of things to do.  Sue hopped on the Internet and found the Lyon Air Museum near John Wayne Airport in Orange County.  I’d never heard of the place, but it was awesome.  As expected, the Museum had the obligatory collection of restored World War II aircraft, but (to my surprise) the place also housed a great collection of vintage motorcycles and more than a few interesting cars.  Take a look at the motorcycles.

1945 Indian 340B as used by the US Army.
1943 German NSU Kettenkrad HK 101 Tracked Motorcycle.
1943 Japanese Rikuo Motorcycle and Sidecar.
A 1931 Panther Motorcycle with sidecar.
A German BMW.
1943 BMW R75 with Sidecar.
A 1921 Harley.
An Indian V-twin.
A Russian M-72.
A 750cc German Zundapp, another motorcycle used by Germany in World War II.

The Museum was founded by Major General William Lyon, an entrepreneur and civic leader based in southern California.  The William H. Lyon Company is one of the largest real estate developers in the world.  General Lyon died a few years ago at age 97.

A view from the Museum’s balcony.

There are many interesting aircraft on display inside the Museum.  One of the coolest exhibits was outside the display area, however, on the tarmac just outside.  That’s the highly-polished B-25 that was General Lyon’s personal aircraft.

On the tarmac, just outside the display area.
Fantastic nose art.

The Lyon Air Museum is located at 19300 Ike Jones Road in Santa Ana, California. You can learn more about the Lyon Air Museum here. Trust me on this: It’s worth the ride.  You’ll have a good time.

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Indian ExhaustNotes!

We were visiting the Planes of Fame last month when I spotted the US Army World War II motorcycle you see below…

At first, I thought it was a Harley WLA 45, but nope, a nice young fellow named Paul was working on the motorcycle and he told me it was an Indian.  Wow, you don’t see too many WWII US Army Indians.  I was a bit embarrassed (after all, I wrote a book about police and military motorcycles), but the beauty of this motorcycle soon made me forget that.   Check out these photos, folks…

When I returned home, I had to look up what I had written two decades ago about the Indian 741 in The Complete Book of Police and Military Motorcycles…

INDIAN WORLD WAR II MOTORCYCLES

During the war, Indian produced about 40,000 motorcycles and essentially devoted its entire operation to military production. It produced few civilian motorcycles (the company did not even bother to print a catalog in 1942), although it maintained a small amount of its production capacity for police motorcycles. It sold its military motorcycles to the U.S. Army and to several other Allied nations, most notably England. Indian offered several models during World War II. These included the Model 741, the Chief, the Model 640B, the M1, and the Model 841.

The Model 741

The Model 741 was Indian’s main military motorcycle. It was the machine Indian had developed in response to the U.S. Army’s ill-advised initial requirement for a 500-cc military motorcycle. The Model 741’s engine actually displaced 30.5 cubic inches (or 500 cc), and for this reason it became known as the “30-50.”

The Model 741 was based on Indian’s Junior Scout. Its 500-cc, V-twin engine was the Junior Scout engine detuned for increased durability. It only produced about 15 horsepower. The Model 741 had a hand shift and a foot clutch like the Harley-Davidson WLA, but the Indian motorcycle put the shifter on the right side of the gas tank instead of on the left side as Harley-Davidson had done. The motorcycle’s throttle was in the left handgrip, in accordance with the army’s initial specification. As Harley-Davidson had done, Indian extended the front forks to give greater ground clearance. Indian also extended the rear frame for the same purpose. The Model 741 also used the much larger Indian Chief’s transmission for increased reliability. The Model 741 had a rifle scabbard on the right front fender and an ammunition container on the left front fender.

The Indian Model 741, like the Harley- Davidson WLA, was not a high-performance motorcycle. Both machines weighed over 500 pounds. Both machines had top speeds of approximately 65 mph. The army was more interested in durability than in top speed.

The U.S. Army used the Indian Model 741 during World War II, as did the armies of Great Britain, Canada, Poland, Australia, and Russia. Indian also sold Model 741s to the British Royal Air Force.

Here’s the best part of this story…The Complete Book of Police and Military Motorcycles is still in print, it’s just $12.95, and all you need to do to order it is click on the link you see here.

Oh, and one more thing.  If you live for the sound of exotic ExhaustNotes, I saved the best for last…