Newell's Jewell, Jacks Model 'O'

The first time I tried to contact Jack Newell to talk about his 1917 “O”, his wife told me he was away at a rally in the northern part of South Island, New Zealand. Past experience has shown me that owners of Indians, in New Zealand at least, are rally enthusiasts. Jack is no exception.

The bike came into his possession 36 years ago, having remained in the same family for all of the prior 41 years. Jack was visiting one of his nephews of the original owner and, as is so often the case while in the workshop, the discussion shifted to old machinery in general, and then to old motorcycles. Jack had owned a big Indian in the years just before WWII. The nephew then asked Jack, “Would you like an old motorcycle?” Before Jack had time to respond, the nephew gestured for him to move, and pulled the cover off what, until that point, had been a most comfortable prop to lean against. The prop was in fact the Indian- complete except for the tires. The nephew then gave the bike to Jack.

 The little twin had not been run for a number of years, so once he got home, jack set about getting it going. This was achieved without too much difficulty, and in fact, the first major strip-down was not undertaken until 1972. This was all in preparation for a national Vintage Motorcycle Rally to be held in Christchurch that year. Initially it was felt that replacement pistons might have been a problem. However, after some serious detective work, Jack found that those from an early model BSA Bantam should fit.

 “They just went straight in, as though they were a replacement part made by an Indian,” Jack said. He also machined his own big-end shells. As could be expected, after such a long period of storage, both the paintwork and the nickel plating were tired – the paint crazed and the nickel-plating deeply corroded. Fortunately the paint underneath the fuel tank was still in exceptional condition. The surface was polished, then presented to a specialist spray painter in Christchurch, his job to mix an exact match to the original color. Only when that was achieved was the bike stripped and prepared for the baked enamel finish that it now wears so well.

The history of this model suggests that Newell’s bike might have become more plentiful, had it not been for the surging popularity of the V-twin in the teens.

Prior to the release of the Model “O”, the Hendee manufacturing Company had already one unsuccessful foray into the small capacity motorcycle market, with the Model “K”. In many respects, the “K” series Featherweight was doomed to failure. It was underpowered (the 13.5 cubic inch two-stroke motor produced a meager 2.5 horsepower), dealers didn’t fully back the venture because in their eyes the machine wasn’t considered an integral part of the Indian lineage, and finally, as the factory shifted more and more to the war-time footing, production effort became increasingly biased toward large capacity V-twins.

  In an attempt to resuscitate lightweight production, Indian developed the 15 cubic inch (257 cc) horizontally opposed “Light-twin.” The power plant owed much to an English design developed by Douglas, first as a 2.5 horsepower engine in1906 and then, as a 2.75-horse direct belt drive version in1907. The ‘Light-twin’ frame, however, was simply a “Featherweight” with slightly heavier tubing and a modified, elongated fuel tank mounted to the base of the frame backbone.

This was the model ‘O”, and because all the contributing factors which led to the demise of the “K” still existed in 1917, it too was destined to fail.

  In 1918, a few cosmetic changes were made to try and make the machine more attractive and perhaps more easily identifiable as truly “Indian.” The front suspension was changed to the typically Indian trailing link forks with elliptic leaf springs, and the saddle design was changed and the larger footboards were added. But after only a few months, production of the revised version of the lightweight ‘O” ceased.

Significantly, as Britain became embroiled in the war with Germany, British motorcycle manufacturers were no longer able to use German accessories on their machines. What initially may have seemed an imbalance firmly in the favor of the U.S., in terms of the movement of lightweight motorcycle technology across the Atlantic, progressively swung towards Britain as embargoes on German manufactured products began to bite. Bosch electrics were a case in point. Because no equivalent replacement could be sourced from within, many British machines of that era carried Splitdorf or Dixie magnetos, a trend that continued until a satisfactory, locally made unit became available. However, the American lightweights never did make a significant impact on the foreign (or for that matter, the domestic) market.

  But if Jack`s bike is any indication, the model`s failure was certainly not attributable to a lack of reliability or performance. Over the years, Jack said, the bike has proved not only reliable but a real delight to own, a conversation piece. At one rally three years ago, Jack did have problems with the bike oiling up the number one plug. “With a total-loss oil system, using the hand-pump it`s hard to reach a happy compromise. There`s either too much oil and it oozes out everywhere, or, alternatively, you run too light and the engine nips up. On that trip, I just had too oily a mixture.

On returning to Christchurch, the engine was stripped and the pistons replaced. Now he runs the bike on a thin two-stroke mixture with only the occasional supplement of oil form the hand pump. The result: trouble free motoring.

 The carburetor, a non-proprietary British Brown and Barlow, was on the bike when Jack first got it. Significantly, the engine runs well on both unleaded and super. “Just whatever I happen to have in the tin,” Jack said.

 On viewing the “O.” I formed two lasting impressions. Firstly, the bike seems so delicate, and, on closer examination, how superbly engineered the whole unit- a handlever and footboard independently operates an external contracting band and an internally expanding shoe. My immediate reaction was to question how effective such a system would be in an emergency. Jack then pointed out a slight bend in the right-hand, lower rear frame strut; all the result of serious pressure on the footboard during a panic stop! Jack simply states that the bike stopped “very quickly.”

 In a sense, the delicate look of the frame might suggest fragility. However, Jack assures me the beautifully curved, paired downtimes are an integral part of what was a very advanced cradle design frame and what is still a surprisingly rigid unit. The so-called “cushion-cartridge” suspension on the front forks is also of interest, if only because compression/relaxation of the spring induces a slight, but continuous alteration to the wheelbase..

In terms of performance, the Model “O” will cruise at about 35 mph and return between 60-65 mpg, a figure undoubtedly assisted by what was in its day a quite-novel, three-speed gearbox (as opposed to the more common two speeds). I was quite amazed to hear Jack say he had ridden the bike to a National Motorcycle Rally at Greytown, which involves a ferry ride across Cook Strait and then a ride north from Wellington (New Zealand`s capital). It`s a journey of only about 50 miles; however a few miles out of the city, the journey is punctuated by the famous Rimutaka Range, a steep, twisty road which climbs about 1500 feet in 10 miles!

 On another trip, Jack took the Indian to Akaroa from his hometown of Rangiora (near Christchurch), a round trip of about 100 miles. This is significant, because half of those miles are a steep climb up the flank of an extinct volcano to “ The hilltop,” and then an even steeper descent into the caldera which forms the magnificent Akaroa Harbour- a motorcyclist`s paradise. On the return journey, once clear of the volcano, Jack ran headlong into one of Chrischurch`s infamous Nor`westers- a strong, warm, dry,’chinook” type wind.

“I finished up doing most of the ride back from the peninsula in second,” Jack said. “It may have taken a little longer, but as usual, eventually we got to where we were going.”

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