1935 Indian Dispatch Tow

Post Sale Update: This Dispatch sold for $32,500 after 22 bids on Bring a Trailer.

According to The Iron Redskin, the Indian Dispatch Tow was built to fix a problem that a Packard dealership was having near the Indian plant. The dealer wanted a way to deliver customer cars without requiring an additional employee with a car to go alongside. While that story is probably fiction, Indian did develop a nifty solution to the general problem.

What was the solution? A 3 wheeler with a tow bar on the front. Now a dealer (or repair shop) would just send one employee out, who would drive the customer’s car with the Indian in tow. After dropping off the customer’s car, the employee could hop on the Dispatch Tow and ride back to the shop. This was possible thanks to a tow bar that flipped down from the front of the bike and secured onto a car’s rear bumper. For more on the Dispatch Tow, check out this profile from Motorcycle Classics.

This example (Chassis #: FCE886) was apparently restored by a museum in the 1990s. The current seller acquired it 5 years ago, had some more work done, and has since ridden it just 50 miles (estimated because there’s no speedometer/odometer). Last year the trike got a new battery and an oil change, and the sale includes the seller’s records dating back to 2013. This Indian won best in class at the 2017 Quail Motorcycle Gathering, and now it can be yours. I hope you get to put more than 50 miles on it, though!