Got home with enough daylight to start tinkering....

 

Compression is good...4 kicks on a couple squirts of oil...

 

Hooked up a battery,...the

ampmeter pegged hard...someone had apparently stuck something it the ign. switch...(love it when people do that)....but, more on this later...

 

Cleaned up the points & replaced the condensor (used one for an Enfield Bullet).

 

This bike was still wearing its original Dunlop tires....

...I was amazed that they held air....I would later find that someone had replaced the tubes...but, put the tires back on??!🤪
So, After a few days of tinkering..I got it started!

 

I can't get the video to load for some reason....but, It RAN!! I pulled in the clutch, stepped down on the gearchange...got a little clunk,...let out on the clutch...slowly...and away I went!!..
Had it home a little more than a week and I was doing laps around the driveway!!...
I rode it for about 5 min...as the tires disintegrated!!! Throwing chunks of tread off...I pulled it into the garage and began to tear it down...

 

With Videos … I believe you have to upload them to YouTube and then share a link here …

 

 

 

At sometime in it's life..it had been laid down or some sort of accident....the handlebars were tweaked a bit, the L foot peg was bent up almost touching the engine case and the gearchange lever (which is on the L on these bikes)...was also bent up...can't really tell in this pic...but, the whole frame, downtube & foot peg mount were twisted....

it had a lovely flat black spray bomb paint job...covering most everything (except the exhaust & engine)...and after sanding on it a bit....underneath it was olive drab green...also all over....

 

 

Chapter 2:

The rebuild begins....So, after straightening the frame and taking all the tin down to bare metal...(amazing...no dents in the tank, but, I think the "bob" on the front fender may have been the result of a wreck)...it had a wrinkle at the crown, between the forks.

 

Yep,..that's the same wheel as above...minus the spray paint & w/ a new tube, tire & rim strip

 

If the wire coating is frayed....a couple rolls of black elect tape should fix it....

 

 

Awesome progression!

 

Good content. Wish mine was that complete. Thanks for putting it out there.

 

Thnx Crazyhorse,...I'm about to get to your original Q....just trying to cover this whole thing in order.
So, ...next chapter,
I got a copy of both the service manual and parts list...the later has info on the swing arm bikes.
It has both the Indian part #'s and the original manufacturer's where it applies....I checked in with Baxter Cycle in Marne, IA..(side note:...if you've never been there. I can't reccomend it enough)! Their vintage bike showroom is better than some museums!

They had n.o.s. points & cond. Shazam!

 

 

Only one LITTLE problem...that's NOT what is actually on the bike...apparently, the manual is wrong.
They are Lucas but, I have no idea what part #...anybody else figure this out?
I did replace the loop part of the points...used Enfield Bullet 500...fits w/ a slight mod. I put a new contact in the stationary side.

 

A reccomendation:
If you're gonna work on Brit bikes....get a set of Whitworth wrenches

 

It had been about a month since I bought it at this point in the story...
And I had been researching and looking for any credible info on paint colors and how it should be painted....lots of pics on the net...some with frames painted same color as the tins, etc, etc...
But, right there in the service manual it says: black frame & headlight, fenders, tank, chainguard & toolbox in black, Indian red, yellow, green or royal blue.
I could not really find what I considered original paint ANYWHERE on this bike.
Someone had stripped and painted drab green...military style..
So, after much discussion,..and changing my mind a couple times....

 

 

Yes I picked up an original Brave manual 4-5 years ago because it appeared to me that a number of parts on the Brave were the same as my 249 Scout, which makes sense. Have you gotten your Tank decals from the Aussie's? Mine arrived last week.

 

I really like that Blue. Its a darker blue then I have seen on the Scouts & Arrows and a much better choice.

 

Yeah,...they aren't the best quality, and, they are a bit bigger than the originals.
A few questions: Do you have an Arrow? (I thought the fenders looked very similar) used the same pattern?
Do you not have a complete bike? What are you missing?