1949 Indian Arrow, You only get one chance... - A Piece of Indian Motorcycle History? The Indian Arrow or ?149? was rare when new in 1949 with production limited to just 4749 built. Finding a running and riding example today is very uncommon and finding one in this condition is an unusual opportunity indeed. The Arrow was only built for 2 years, 1949 and 1950. It was Indian Motorcycle?s answer to the lightweight British motorcycles of the day that were finding their way to the US. In 1949, only ?Vertical Engine? Arrows and Scouts were built. The Scout was a Vertical Twin Cylinder model of 440 cc and the Arrow was a Single displacing 220 cc or 13 cubic inches. There were no Chiefs produced and sold as 1949 models nor was there any V-Twin Scouts. Do not confuse this with the later post 1953 rebadged Royal Enfield?s, this is a real Indian produced in Springfield Mass. This bike is in great condition overall and runs well. We have rebuilt the top half of the engine with new .020 over piston and rings, completed a valve job, replaced required gaskets and seals, rebuilt the oil pump and installed a check valve in the supply oil line. The Magneto was overhauled as was the carburetor. It has the exceptionally rare original Air Filter. All the cables have been replaced. The wiring was replaced or professionally repaired and the battery was new a couple of years ago, but had not been used until recently and works fine. It has a new Ignition Switch. All the lights function and an aftermarket ?Indian Head? has been installed (non-OE) on the front fender. Brakes work well. Transmission and clutch work as they should. The bike also has a rare rear fender mounted luggage rack. New 18? tires were installed; the original rims are 18.25?, so the new tires are a tight fit but work fine as original 18.25? tires have never been reproduced. The paint on the fenders and fuel tank is new and is show worthy. The fuel tank has been sealed. Overall, this bike is very nice and is perfect for a collection of very rare motorcycles. To be judged at an AMCA event, the bike would need a few things to compete at that level. The horn is era correct, but we do not believe it is original for the bike. It needs an exhaust pipe and muffler or at a minimum, re-plating to be show worthy. It has the original seat pan and the seat was recovered by the professionals at Heather?s Leathers and has the original embossing. Handlebars could also use reconditioning and plating. It has both the side stand and center stand but is missing the center stand retainer to hold it up. There are minor oil leaks just like when this bike was new. Do not expect 2015 technology here; this bike is 66 years old. The speedometer is original and showing 13,000 miles, we just installed a new drive cable and drive assembly, but the speedometer does not function. We will in
