Saratoga Automobile Museum Garage

Unlike old cars, which require at least a garage or barn to be hidden away from the public, antique motorcycles can be stashed almost anywhere, especially if they’re in pieces. Witness the story of Marty Christopher’s restored 1914 Indian, which he has affectionately dubbed “Simonne.” Amazingly, he found it by chance while doing a favor for a friend.

“It was back in 1997,” he recalls as if it was yesterday. “I had a 1901 Mitchell motorcycle and an older guy I knew had a 1917 Mitchell automobile. I was at his house helping him put a transmission in the car when I spotted an old Indian engine on his bench. I said ‘Phil, what the hell are you doing with that old Indian engine?’ and he said ‘The rest of the bike was up in the attic.’ I almost fell over.”

After excitedly sifting through the pieces, Christopher struck a deal to purchase the Indian and took the parts home to begin figuring out what went where. “It was like a jigsaw puzzle,” he says with the attitude of someone who totally enjoyed the challenge.

The project, which would stretch out to four years before completion, included a great deal of time spent prepping the parts that were originally nickel plated so that an Austin, TX bumper shop could make them shine once again. The only other job that was “farmed out” was the leather work.
“We call them seats now but in those days they were called a saddle,” relates Christopher. “I had to have that and the front splash guard, or mud flap, redone by an expert.
“Otherwise, I did all my own work, including the paint. That included making or repairing the intake and exhaust valves, wrist pins, cooling fins for the cylinder and the head that I had to make and then weld on, sprockets, the rear fender and fender stays, suspension components and various linkages that were missing. And the exhaust system seemed to take forever to get it just right.”

That the investment of time, effort and love was worth it was proven when the refurbished Indian earned 99 ¾ points of a possible 100 when it made its debut at an Antique Motorcycle Club of America show.

And now that the bike is on display at the Saratoga Automobile Museum as part of the “American Motorcycles” exhibit, other antique motorcycle lovers as well as visitors more oriented towards automobiles can inspect and appreciate Christopher’s handiwork. Like the other motorcycles in the mini-exhibit, a “pile of parts” has become a link to the past that makes one appreciate the advances found in today’s machines even more.