It was a fun project. The first time I've ever pulled an engine out of an Indian, first time getting it down past the cams. Turns out I really got an intimate look at the engine because we needed to split the cases to access the rods for an upgrade.
In the end it reminded me of my time in a multi-line Japanese bike shop: different, but the same. It'd be like working on Kawi's and Suzuki's. Both are world-class quality engines that are similar, but with certain things that make them unique. In the case of the Indian it was the push rods. It was kind of strange to work on something with traditional style lifters, pushrods and rocker arms. It felt like I was back in high school rebuilding a 350 Chevy!
The Indian is as well engineered as the Vic's are - I mean they are world-class quality stuff. Not "small batch in a over-glorified garage" feel that I get from a Gilroy Indian, a 99 Vic, or a 70's-80's Harley. Well engineered, great quality in stock form. The only thing that blows about the Indian's is that they are just NOT a performance machine. Where the Vics are overbuilt, ready to accept another 50hp easily, the Indian struggles to break 100hp. It's sad really. The engine is built great if you never go past a simple intake, pipe, cam combination. On my dyno that'll bring low to mid 90's for HP. Other than that you'll have to upgrade EVERYTHING in order to get to the next power level. We made fun of Harley's for years for this type of dismal performance. Bummer to see them hobble a freshly designed engine to meet a certain look and sound. But, like I said, it's a high quality, reliable machine with the simple mods, just don't try to get it to meet the performance of a Vic, or I'm sad to say, even the Harley M8.
