Sometimes it seems that Indian Motorcycles have had more lives than Lazarus. There are various incarnations but the focus here is on an original, a 1937 Scout 750 that was was part of the “Wheels Through Time” museum exhibit for twenty years. It is currently located in Maggie Valley, North Carolina and available here on eBay for a starting bid of $11,250, zero bids tendered so far.

The Standard Scout, having been introduced in 1932 and discontinued in 1937, utilized a single frame for both the “Chief” and itself.  The seller indicates that this example has the forks, fenders, gas tanks, chain guard, generator and exhaust from a Chief but he does not indicate if these parts are original. Power is provided by the Standard Scout 750 CC “twin” engine. According to the seller, this Indian was last registered in 1966 and currently has no title so that may or may not be an issue depending upon the new state for registration and titling.

The overall condition shows as 1937-era original. The seller suggests that this Scout while having a good look, would make a great project for conversion to a full-on Chief or a 750 CC Scout bobber TROG. The good look that it has, however, along with its originality and completeness, makes it a great candidate for preservation as is and probably wouldn’t require much effort to return to road-worthiness. I have to say that the left-side mounted, take-your-hands-off-of-the-handlebars, gear shifter would make me a bit nervous. The seller states that the serial number is low, indicating it is an early ’37 build – not certain if that is a value enhancer or not. Unfortunately, this 18 HP Indian engine comes with the old, “ran when parked” saw and it will not start as it sits.  The seller thinks it has a magneto problem and advises that the engine does turn over as well as having no broken cooling fins. The bike rolls easily on its own so that’s positive too.

The only enhancement spotted appears to be what are additional gauges mounted on the handlebars above the headlight. They blend in well and it’s hard to go wrong with an added oil pressure gauge. The original Indian speedometer is in place and other than the obvious bezel corrosion it appears as functioning. Even the Indian mascot decals, adorning either side of the fuel tank, are still recognizable.

In the pre-World War I era, my grandfather was a biker and the President of his home state’s motorcycle club. He’d do crazy things like go on 250-mile trips at a time when there were few paved roads and race crack, high-speed passenger trains along the rail right-of-way. He was a devoted Harley-Davidson man and considered Indian to be that “other” brand. When he was in his ’80s I told him a brief story about me riding a three-cylinder, Kawasaki Tri-Star bike. He looked at me a bit confused and said, “There are only two kinds of motorcycles, Harley-Davidson and Indian. This was in about 1972 so I had to tell him that Indian was gone for almost 20 years at this point. Without skipping a beat, he intoned, “As I said, there’s only one kind of motorcycle, a Harley-Davidson!”

Indian has been through several generations, the original Indian Motorcycle Company (1901 to 1953), The Indian Motor Cycle Company of America (1999-2003), The Indian Motorcycle Company (2006-2011) and the current iteration manufactured under Polaris Industries. The current line-up is impressive and hopefully, in for the long-haul, this go around. And while nine years, since 2011, isn’t a notable milestone, it is evidence of stability. If you’re in the market for a domestic bike, you can check out the new ones, but how about considering an original one like this Standard Scout? It is truly the real deal.