Monday, September 1, 2014
Ran When Parked - New Zealand Edition
1941 Indian 741B - It's not everyday I get a "Ran When Parked" suggestion from someone in New Zealand so I pretty much have to post this one. If I'm not mistaken (hopeful the Indian gurus will chime in if I'm wrong) the 741B is the bike Indian built as an attempt to gain the US government contract for motorcycles during WWII. The specs provided called out a 30.50 ci - (500cc), which Indian supplied. Supposedly Harley Davidson concluded what the military really needed was instead a 45 ci (750cc) bike as a 500cc wouldn't provide enough beef to do the job. Ultimately the HD WLD won and the rest is history. The breather on this one certainly suggests a military spec. I've heard the 741B's are in fact pretty anemic from a performance perspective. Assuming the price shown is in US dollars it seems a little pricy to me but I don't really know the Indian market. Maybe rarity justifies the the price.
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Price was in NZD: $15k NZ = $12.5K US
From the Indian Owners Register of New Zealand: “New Zealand has a large number of the military 741b models as there are rumored to be around 5000 sold off here as war surplus after WWII which, at the time, meant they were cheap to buy! Most New Zealand Indian riders have had at least one of these reliable old workhorses and there are still plenty to be seen riding around the countryside.”
Cool little bike. I suspect Indian and Harley paid the Army NOT to bring them home after WWII. That would have been tough to compete against price-wise.
Not sure what it would take to convert the 741 to a 640 (45")...
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