Indian Motorcycle is in Bob Stark’s blood. His father had an Akron, Ohio dealership started half-a-decade prior to the Hendee Manufacturing Company changing its name to “Indian Motocycle” (that’s right, no “r”). Stark first started wrenching at his dad’s dealership in 1944 – at which point Indian was almost entirely focused on producing machines for the Allied war effort, making bikes for France before churning out Model 841’s for the US Army. After the war ended, civilian bike production started back up, initially only offering the Chief before releasing a 440cc (436cc) vertical-twin-powered Scout in ’48, as well as a 220cc (218cc) OHV vertical single known as the “Arrow” that same year.
The new smaller displacement models were designed to compete with the increasingly popular lightweight foreign import models like those from Triumph and BSA, however the decision to abandon the successful V-Twin Scout platform in favor of the new engines didn’t go over very well with the American market. Indian customers liked the three-quarter-liter engines they’d grown accustomed to and making matters worse was the fact that production costs ended up exceeding the amount Indian had anticipated, only compounded by ongoing warranty issues.
The company was becoming increasingly short on cash, borrowing more and more in an effort to stay afloat. After the war Indian was expecting a sales boom and though that boom did eventually arrive in the 1960’s, Indian had already gone under by that point. Meanwhile Bob Stark was still working at his dad’s dealership and bought his first Indian motorcycle in 1949 – a 741 Scout, six years before getting his Mechanical Engineering degree from what’s now known as Case/Western – a decision purely motivated by the desire to create parts for Indians.
While the company did have good intentions, its reputation for big V-Twins and inline-fours clashed with the new smaller offerings. One writer from American Motorcyclist described the “Arrow” moniker as “appropriate, since this is one of the weapons the once-proud Indian Motocycle Co. used to shoot itself shortly after World War II.”
Aside from the public’s general feelings on the new Indian lineup, one of the silver-linings of the late-’40s/early-’50s for Indian was its Wrecking Crew – a race team made up of Bobby Hill, Bill Tuman, and Ernie Beckman. The Wrecking Crew dominated the competition be it on dirt or tarmac. Hill won back-to-back victories at the ’51 and ’52 Springfield Mile while Tuman won it the following year in ’53. Unfortunately that was the same year Indian officially ceased all production.
In the following years, the company sold the rights to its name to Brockhouse Engineering who would go on to sell imported Royal Enfield models under the Indian name and brand for five years until the dawn of the 1960s. A handful of years later Burt Munro would famously push his heavily modified 1920 Indian Scout Streamliner over the Bonneville salt flats at a record-breaking 184.087mph (and a reported “unofficial top-speed” of 205.76 mph. Three years later with the help of his friend Sam Pierce, Bob Stark started Starklite Cycle, a business catering exclusively to Indian owners, manufacturing parts, servicing, and restoring machines from America’s oldest moto-marque.
Within a few years of starting Starklite it became increasingly clear that the scarcity of parts needed for older Indian models was a very real problem that had the potential to destroy the business. With an encyclopedic knowledge of Indian components and an exceptional grasp on engineering, Bob starting manufacturing his own parts. His catalog of Indian components made in-house has now grown to include over 3,000 items and counting.
Unsurprisingly Bob’s passion for Indian machinery was passed down to his son, Gary, who was given a basket-case 1947 Chief at the age of five and told he had until his 17th birthday to get it sorted or it would be sold – a task Gary achieved 65 days before turning 17. Gary went on to get an engineering degree at CSU Long Beach and now works as the parts manager at Starklite, along with his mom (Bob’s wife). The combined experience, knowledge, and expertise of Bob and his son have led to Starklite turning into something of an institution in the Indian community. The Perris, California shop prides itself on answering questions, diagnosing gremlins, or solving historical moto-mysteries for customers.
This particular 1949 Indian Arrow example has been turned into a Flat Track racer, and prior to being sold to its current owner, was one of Bob Stark’s personal bikes. According to the seller Bob built this 1949 example, boring out its 218 cc engine to an unspecified displacement in an effort to bolster horsepower. The swing-arm is said to be one of Bob’s unique designs, and though some Arrow’s do have hardtail frames, I see other Arrows online that have the same or similar rear suspension, so who knows. (If you do, let me know in the comments).
There’s no word on mileage, but the ad does say this example “runs great and is ready for the track”. I assume this was a resto-mod project, especially when you consider the asking price. While the Arrow is one of the lesser-loved classic Indians, (and it has a small engine), it’s still a classic (American-made) Indian.
You can find this ex-Bob Stark built/owned 1949 Indian Arrow Flat Track Racer for sale here on Craigslist in Perris, California with a price of $10,000.