1911: Indians Sweep Isle of Man TT

The Hendee Moto-Cycle corporation is over half a century gone, but 100 years ago, they were the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world (lo, how the mighty do fall…), and originators of many ‘firsts’ in the business.  The first to create a ‘works’ professional racing team, with the first professional team rider (Jake deRosier), and certainly the first factory racing team sent abroad.  In 1910 Oscar Hedstrom (designer of the Indian) sailed to England to supervise the factory effort.  An Indian had placed 2nd in the twin-cylinder class in 1909 (Lee Evans aboard), and Hedstrom, mindful of potential export sales, subsidized Billy Wells’ London dealership, and racing exploits at Brooklands and the Isle of Man TT.

Success eluded Indian in 1910 as well, as their team was plagued with a batch of rotten innertubes, which spat riders off like watermelon seeds.  Two riders were injured in spills, and the rest were exhausted from constantly re-inflating their tires. The best Indian could manage was Jake Alexander’s lowly 14th place.

1911 was a different matter.  Hedstrom brought his own mechanics (3!) and Jake deRosier on a steamer from New York, determined to have a better result.  The ACU had changed the route of the TT to the ‘Mountain’ course (over Snaefell, a 1400′ climb), in an effort to force English manufacturers to adopt gears and clutches.  The whole ‘point’ of the TT was to ‘improve the breed’, and in this, the ACU showed much foresight…if you want to win races, you had better develop your product line.

Indian was immediately at an advantage, as their machines already had two-speed gears, clutches, and all-chain drive as standard.  English makers scrambled to attach epicyclic rear hubs and bolt-on clutches to their belt-drive machines.  Only the Scott two-stroke twin had a two-speed chain drive as standard, and this revolutionary little machine was certainly a threat, being very quick and with excellent handling. The capacity limit of the twin-cylinder class had been reduced to 580cc, so Indian sleeved-down a few examples of their ‘little twin’ for the races.

The result of their efforts could not have been better; Oliver Godfrey rode the first non-English motorcycle to win the TT, and after Charlie Collier (who had been 2nd) was disqualified for an illegal re-fueling, Indians took the top 3 spots – a clean sweep!  The delicate Scott twin had taken the fastest lap, but couldn’t keep the pace.  Jake deRosier’s velodrome tactical skills proved little use on the Island’s goat-path circuit, and he fell many times. Still, he did very well at paved venues, and in a battle of Titans, beat Matchless’ Charlie Collier, England’s top racer, in a 2 out of 3 race at Brooklands, just after the TT.

Indian sent factory racers to England until 1923, when Freddie Dixon placed 3rd on a single-cylinder model, and after that, silence.  No American-sponsored, American-made racers appeared in Europe for nearly 50 years, until the Trans-Atlantic Match Races began in the early 1970s, which saw the likes of Dick Mann, Cal Rayborn, Dave Aldana, Gene Romero, Don Emde, etc, battling it out on H-Ds against Norton Commandos and Triumph Tridents.  A worthy subject for another article!