1929 Indian 101 Scout

Indian. Condition is Used.
Up for sale is a 1929 Indian 101 Scout race bike that was owned and raced by a James 'Jas' W. Melvin from Colton CA. Jas had a motorcycle repair shop in Colton where he modified and raced it in the 30s. I have heard that he won some big races with the bike but have been unable to verify that.
The bike is exactly like it was in the 30s, starts right up runs and sounds great, a real "hot rod". Have video of that but it has throttle issues. The throttle is gummed up and the cap on the handle bar is brazed on. I didn't try to remove it because it has the original handlebar grip and I didn't want to damage it. Also the kill switch wire is bare, insulation rotted away, the switch is taped to the handlebar, and one would have to remove the original tape that was done by Jas in the 30s, to replace the wire. The kill button works but the wire can't touch anything so I left it hanging. In those days racers made their own parts as shown by the Melvin stamped heads and other parts. The cam shaft and other internal engine parts were made buy him also.
I recall that Jas said he raced Hill Climb, the frame has been modified for hill climb but doesn't have the big sprocket one would expect but maybe was changed out at some point in the past. Not sure how the oiling system works, had a petcock at bottom of left case that when closed allowed oil to build up in case and then it would smoke, when drained or left open to allow oil to drip out no smoke. Mabey Jas had some kind of special system or I'm not doing something right. It has a petcock at the oil tank and might need to be regulated their. Jeff at Indian Motor Works in Denver bought a load of Jas's parts, memorabilia and documentation but unfortunately sold the documentation to a internet dealer before I contacted him. He still has a shelf full of Jas's camshafts and he knows the story. The picture with the Gentleman is James 'Jas' explaining racing techniques, he was about 90 when the picture was taken 25 years ago. I remember a magazine article about him that I saw about winning a big race in 1933 I believe. I don't remember the name of the mag and haven't been able to find it. Indian Motor Works had the mag but sold it as I explained before.
For a collector of vintage racing bikes, a museum or possibly a T.R.O.G. racer, a great piece of racing history.