Indian 1907 ‘CAMEL BACK’ 2¼HP 311cc 1 cyl IOE 3407

Indian 1907 2¼HP ca 311 cc IOE ‘CAMEL BACK’ engine # 5378
Oscar Hedstrom and George M. Hendee, both active in the cycle racing world, got together to found the Hendee Manufacturing Company as a partnership, with Hendee as President and General Manager, and Hedstrom as Chief Engineer and Designer. Their first prototype was presented in 1901 and during that year six machines were built, of which two were sold. The first machines were powered by a single-cylinder, ca 213 cc ‘F-head’ (inlet over exhaust) engine that formed part of the ‘diamond’ frame – in the Indian’s case it sloped rearwards to act as the seat tube. An advanced feature in motorcycling’s early pioneering days, chain drive was used by Indian right from the start. The Indian single proved very successful and was produced substantially unchanged for some years. In 1905 a sprung front fork and twist-grip control of throttle and ignition were introduced and in 1906 the engine capacity was brought to ca 311 cc. Engine production was sub-contracted to the Aurora Automatic Machinery Company between 1902 and 1907, when Indian took it back in house.
New for 1907 is the separate oil tank behind the engine. The ignition spark is provided by a coil which is housed in the cylindrical box under the front down tube. The larger tube above it houses the battery that consists of three dry cells. The charge will last from 800 to 2,000 miles, “dependent on care afforded”, as the company put it. Indian claims that only the best materials and equipment are chosen, and interestingly the saddle is a foreign product, an English Brooks B 100 that is available in several configurations to accommodate riders in various weight categories. Indian mentions they are the sole agent for this saddle in the USA. It has patented compound springs, one in tension and one in compression that avoid all tendencies of the saddle to bounce or rebound when travelling over rough places. The saddles are very expensive, the catalogue notes: “The cost of these saddles is almost prohibitive, but they are supplied on the basis that there is nothing too good for the Indian.”
Not many early Camelback Indian have survived; this superbly restored 1907 model comes with “Old Sol” acetylene front lamp and was part of the well-known Dubrovnik Indian Museum Collection in Croatia.