Lil Indian 450

OND

OND

#1
#1
I've been wanting one for years and never could find one in this area . Thanks Nate (nds1968) for all the help !
ID number 54076.



With the help of markus plus the hole in the engine plate seems like it should be 1970 71 model 450/500 bike that would have had a Tecumseh engine .




After some scratching around I found this red color paint under the pink paint, on the under side of the engine plate .




Brochures show the 500 as Gastric Green and the 450 as Radical Red . Is this radical red …..:shrug:... I have no idea . But I'm going with it ! :laugh:

Neck tube seems to be in good shape . Come with the 4'' mag wheels and General 4.10/3.50-4 in. tires









Lil bike needs a lot of work ...but I like it !:thumbsup:
 
Last edited:
markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#4
#4
That frame number would have put it 71 into 1972 actually so the color is probably what they called "cinnamon stick" :thumbsup:
 
nds1968

nds1968

#6
#6
Well that makes it easy then, no fenders, painted clutch cover and a cheap square seat. Lol. Side note, the axle bolts and neck bolt looked nice enough to reuse. They don't have any makings on the heads. I did buy new ones before and belt sanded the marking off. That rear axle bolt didn't get painted pepto, lol. Doug is gonna sends pics of his kick stand later in the week. I'll forward the info to you.
 
Addicted 2 Minis

Addicted 2 Minis

Well-Known Member
#10
#10
I guess that answers my question on the bike I just picked up, mines a Tecumseh model too with 4" mags and I got the brake caliper too. I scratched off the metallic blue paint to find this sea-foam color, that must be the Gastric Green and I guess it's a 500 then, the serial number is 34585 and it had a nice 5hp briggs I/C painted to match the blue but I think I'm going to try to get it back to being as right as possible. I haven't been able to view any pics since my MAC updated and the forum changed.
 
Addicted 2 Minis

Addicted 2 Minis

Well-Known Member
#11
#11
I like the drum brake setup they did, cheaper solution to the spot disc and probably works better too. I never cared for the clutch brake setup on the Ruttman, they work well but if the chain breaks you're SOL!. I thought about making an "L" bracket that would fit between the axle nut and truss and to keep it from turning using a bolt in the other hole, this way you can use all factory parts and not mess up the truss nor have to shorten a spacer.
 
H

Havasu Dave

Moderator
#18
#18
Looks good. If you would have paid someone to sand blast your frame, you never would have seen that color. Or those colors. :) Are you going to restore it Eric, or go with resto-mod?

First mini bike I ever rode on was a Lil Indian, blue, white Tecumseh, on gas I bought from turning in pop bottles I found along the highway. I helped him pull the recoil off when the rope broke, and stealing the wind-up recoil from his Dad's lawn mower. Great project!
 
OND

OND

#19
#19
Thanks Dave and I'm going with a restore . Still might get it blasted when I'm done doing the metal work ...not sure yet if I'll go powder or paint though .
Weren't times much simpler back then ! A kid could make good money picking up pop bottles . My first mini was give to me when my neighbors son and grandsons came to Ky. on summer break . They bought a little mini with them from NJ , we rode it all summer long until they went home. When leaving to go home they give me that little mini bike , I was stoked . Rode it the rest of that year with a big smile on my face ! Don't remember what brand it was though , but I know it had a Briggs on it .
 
OND

OND

#20
#20
Pics of the original blue paint on this Lil Indian . Only thing I can find it on in brochures is the 400 and the Cobra .






 
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