girls ross compact- indian board track build.

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icyuod2

icyuod2

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my first visit to the forum i fell inlove with the many cool boardtrack stylized racers on the forum. boardtrack fans replica's are just top notch as well as many others. it was something i just had to have. :) recently i was introduced to a local guy that sells the bicycle engine kits cheap. he buys motorcycle parts across sea's and fills up empty container space with such items.

i've had this old girls ross compact in my backyard all summer. i paid $10 for it just to rape the sturmey archer 3 speed rear hub (which i ended up not using.lol)
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i needed to do something with the bike (ie get it out of the back yard) winters coming fast. so yesterday i decided to start my very own indian inspired board track racer.
spent the day at a friends cutting and welding the bike together.
BoardTrackRacer003.jpg

i'm very pleased with the end result.
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now i have my rolling chasis, i'm in need of some help.
i was hoping somebody could help me out with the workings of an old indian. the pic's i've seen all show very clean bars. i'm wondering where things like the clutch, brakes etc are located/how they work. i'd like to fashion similar devices for my indian.

btw whats the lever for in this pic? it looks like its connected to the crank arm, which just confuses me. :)
is it a brake? throttle? shifter?
any help would be greatly appreciated.
indian.jpg
 
Not all boardtrack bikes were alike. Most had no brakes or clutch. You started the bike by holding a valve open and releasing the compression then pushing or pulling the bike (some had pedals) finally when you have the rear wheel spinning fast enough you close the valve which creates compression it fires (hopefully) and away you go! Direct drive with no brakes or transmission. I left out all the parts about choke and spark but, thats it in a nut shell. Great looking bike by the way. I will certainly be watching this one. :mrgreen:
 
thx board track that is soooo helpfull. i watched a handful of video's and got a good idea of how they role.got a game plan for building my replica throttle (cause the cheap one with the engine sucks)

so some had no clutch or brakes and other had multiple clutch levers and braking systems ?
quick question the flesher flyer had a few different ways of braking including back pedaling,
i was wondering is it o.k. to use these engine kits with a coaster style brake? the instructions dont mention it.
with the sprocket connected to the spokes just wasn't sure if the coaster brake was a recipe for disaster.

thx again for the bikes that inspired me and the link.
 
spent most of the day playing make up games for my pool league, so i didnt have time to work on the bike.
i did however pick up a few parts.
got a set of old schwinn pedals, and i ordered a small schwinn 70's stingray type sprocket. they look very similar to the indian sprocket.
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got an 8" pulley from tsc to fill some of the void in the frame.i'm gonna try and make my engine look more like the indian power plant without adding too much weight. gotta get an arbor, then the plan is (on this side of the bike) to mount the small sprocket in the center of the pulley and a second mounted to the crank (between the bearing seat and lock washer). strictly for looks, but it will all turn as you pedal the bike.

IMG_1789.jpg

i wont be using these exact sprockets (or the toilet paper tube i'm using to hold things inplace) :)
again this is the look i'm going for.
indian.jpg
 
i haddn't given it to much thought. i have no idea what the frames of the seat look like.

my plan, use the metal seat pan pictured above.ill reshape the sides (thin sleeker),remove all the mounting hardware, weld a seat clamp towords the front of the pan and bolt on 2 rear supports at the back. i have some 9oz vegtable taned cowhide. figured i'd dye and use it or an old brown leather jacket from goodwill/salvation army etc, to stitch a seat covering. the idea being to make it look worn and aged.

i do a fair amount of leather work for my other hobbies so i fugured an old seat should be easy. :)
 
thx guys, looks like i'm gonna have to change my plans for the seat. :)

i also changed my plans for the bottom end. couldn't find the pieces i needed to mount the sprocket, so i went with a pulley instead. i think it still looks the part (or close enough) should look alot better after paint.
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today i'm gonna pick up my stainless tube for the tank and ss rod for the fork supports.
 
Looking good!! I really like this build, looking forward to seeing it finished! Bet it'll be cool, love those old Indians! :)
 
thx for the kind words. i'm pretty excited about this one also.
couple more pic's of whats in store.

picked up a set of fat franks from my lbs, and a set of red anodized rims. the rims came from an ebay beach cruiser. when my friend purchased it, he also bought the 144 spoked rims. these have been sitting in his living room ever since. (never riden) got a good deal on them.
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i'm really not keen on the reflective stripe on the tires. gonna hand paint an overweight red pin stripe to hide it (ie spin the wheel and hold a paint brush to it)

also found my way to the metal superstore to pick up stainless for the forks and tank.
IMG_1819.jpg

i'm hoping to get it all welded up by the weekend.

thinkin about leaving the tank bare, with the exception of the indian logo. what do ya think?
 
I think I'd paint the tank the same colour as the rest of the bike, but as always that's just a matter of personal taste...and when I come to think of it, the Brough Superior had a chromed tank and that's a beautiful bike. Follow your instinct! :D Are you planning to paint the rest of the bike red? I've seen pictures of two old Indian boardtracks that where white and green, a bit unusual but good looking! I've got that picture in a book, I can scan it and show you if you like?
 

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