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                           Indian cylinder 1940 HIGHLIGHTS·       Sold with Swisstitle (and former US title) and  Swiss FIVAVintage pass·       Restored·       147th unit off theFour cylinder production line in 1940.  ·       Known names of previousowners·       Frame 440147·       Engine DDB147B·       sets of Keys  included plus spare tire and some gasketkits.
AfterWilliam Henderson sold his fiscally troubled Henderson Motorcycle Company toSchwinn in 1917, his 4-cylinder passion re-emerged as the Ace MotorcycleCompany. The first Ace Four was offered for the 1920 season and retained muchof the Henderson’s features including the 'F-head' inlet-over-exhaust valvegear. Breathing improvements made the Ace the fastest production motorcycle inthe world that year with 90 MPH top speed, but sales were not so fast for theexpensive machine; the company got flat in 1924.Indianpurchased the Ace name, rights and tooling in January 1927, and produced the‘Indian-Ace’ for 1928, which was basically the same machine painted red. Withina year, Indian enlarged the motor to 1260cc with stronger internals andrestyled the machine to fit the rest of the company’s line. The Model 401 oflate 1928 kept the Ace frame, but the Model 402 of June 1929 had newall-Indian twin down-tube frame, Indian’s signature leaf-spring fork, and atank-fender combo very much like the Chief. The engine got 5-bearing crankshaft,which increased reliability, and this ‘Ace type’ engine carried on untilmid-1935 when the ‘upside-down’ Four was introduced with its exhaust-over-inletmotor, which was not well loved even though it had more power. rapid redesignmeant new engine for 1938, with return to inlet-over-exhaust configurationfor the Model 438. The cylinders and heads were cast in pairs with removablecylinder heads in aluminum; this increased the finning area, which helped theengine run cooler, and produce more horsepower-proven by the top speed of justmore than 100 MPH. By1940, the frame was updated to include plunger rear suspension, which increasedrider comfort. By now, the wheels were 16 inches rather than the original18-inch diameter, and the fenders gained their iconic full skirts, one of themost recognisable motorcycle features in history. It’s dubious whether anyAmerican company found 4-cylinder motorcycle production profitable; they werecomplicated and thus expensive to build and to sell but made excellentrange-leaders for the Indian line. Indian Fours were popular with policedepartments with their 100 MPH top speed and ability to dawdle at walkingpace smoothly, making them ideal for both pursuit and parade duties. The adventof World War II meant Indian ceased production of the Four, and the 1942 Model442 was the final year in that iconic, full-skirted configuration.Remarkably,this restored 1940 Indian Four carries chassis number 440147-with engine numberDDB147B and comes with 18” wheels for improved ride. Bike comes with various titles of previous owners including some correspondence by letter between fewof the previous owners.   The ‘Duesenberg of motorcycles’ lives on!  


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