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ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, THERE LIVED a handsome young biker named Benny. Read the first page
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The characters that are introduced to us, Parts Father, Chaz aand Magoo are figures plucked from the autojumbles and bike meets you would come to expect in the U.S. The other side of Fred, the author, the family man, the intellectual lead us to a different side of the tracks.
1.If you buy an Indian, buy a Chief. The Chief was the flagship of the line. They made more of them than any other model, so parts are (relatively) easy to come by.
2.Learn to accept the 5/10 law; if you buy a Chief basketcase for $5,000 you will end up putting another $10,000 into it.
3.Whatever you do, don’t buy a basketcase. They are pigs in pokes. They will break your heart, they will drive you mad.
To this I would add another rule – if you are rebuilding a 50 year old bike from a box of bits, do not set yourself time limits. So obviously Haefele bought a $5,000 1944 (well the frame was 1941, the engine was 1947, so 1944 seems a fair average) Chief basketcase and set himself a target of taking part in the Sturgis Run (whilst Sturgis is mainly given over to Harleys, there is a smaller but more “real” area devoted to the Indian).
Rebuilding the Indian chronicles Haefele’s race against the clock to restore the bike in time. But this is more than a simple catalogue of parts needed and action taken.
His passion for the project is obvious. From why he bought the bike, the thrill of seeing restored parts coming back, meaning the day he can work on the bike gets much closer. There is also a lot of humour regarding his decision making -his continual change of mind about something as simple as the colour is gently but warmly amusing - stick at the original capacity or bore out the engine for more performance? White walled tyres or not? Working from a bucket of bolts, there is a lot of scope for making changes, and Haefele agonises over all of them!
There are frustrations – after what seems an eternity, he still hasn’t undertaken any work himself! But then things start coming together – and of course, the inevitable problems appear.
From here on the story picks up apace and I found myself not wanting to put the book down.
Intermingled with the story of the Indian’s rebuild are tales of Haefele’s life and what drove him to become the man he is and just what made him decide to take on the project. These give the book a vital balance.
Perhaps the real delight of this book is the development of friendships over something as supposedly simple as putting together a bundle of parts. Likewise, his coming into contact with diverse characters - some introverts, some extroverts, some decidedly dodgy, if not dangerous – but all connected by their love of old motorcycles is a joy to read.
Does Haefele make it to Sturgis? Well that would be telling. But anyone that has ever rebuilt a classic motorcycle will find themselves identifying with this book. And for those that have not, this book will give an insight into what drives people to do so.
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