Lil Indian ID Help

C

Combat Chuck

New Member
#1
#1
LIL_INDIAN1.jpg LIL_INDIAN2.jpg

Hi, guys. I am wondering if anybody can help me identify the year and model of my lil Indian mini bike. I just purchased it and would like to replace the seat with the correct style. (flat or kick-up) Also this motor has to go. The clone motor power band comes on too abruptly making it hard to control on such a small bike. It's not fun. I feel like I'm going to flip or fall off it at any speed. My 12 year old already flipped the bike backwards and fell off it trying to take off. I am going to replace the clone motor with a my 1958 2 1/4 Briggs.
This is going to be a rider, not a show bike, though I would like it some what original.

What I know:
- It's a 1960's Lil Indian
- Its was obviously recently restored
- Serial 129, 129# or 129## (paint is thick in that area hard to tell if there is a 4th or 5th digit) [serial # is located on right rear dropout]
- Non hole Briggs style motor plate (non-notched corners)
- Small 7/8 steering head tube
- Spring front end (appears to be original)
- Foot rests are the same length LH & RH
- 13" motor height
- 4" aluminum wheels (appear to be aftermarket)
- Welded fender mounts (appear to be original) [non twist bracket]
- Fenders appear to be aftermarket
- No witness of disc brake brackets on either side of the frame. If they were cut off and ground down, then the person did a superb job.

What I would like to know:
- The year?
- The model?
- The correct seat style? (flat or kick-up)
- The correct Briggs engine size?
- Did lil Indian ever offer a non spot disc brake option?

I'm not too crazy about the look of the fenders. Will I ruin the looks of the bike and originality if I ditch them, and obviously keep the brackets attached?

Any info on this bike would be greatly appreciated

Thanks,
Combat Chuck
 
markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#3
#3
Combat Chuck said:
What I would like to know:
- The year?
- The model?
- The correct seat style? (flat or kick-up)
- The correct Briggs engine size?
- Did lil Indian ever offer a non spot disc brake option?

I'm not too crazy about the look of the fenders. Will I ruin the looks of the bike and originality if I ditch them, and obviously keep the brackets attached?

Any info on this bike would be greatly appreciated

Thanks,
Combat Chuck
Click to expand...
Frame size shape, fender mounts, and fork style point it to 1968 timeframe. They recorded 12,400+ bikes being built by 1967 year end so a 129xx frame number would put it right in that area.

spot disc was standard on all bikes of your frame style, the disc was introduced in 1965, It is highly doubtful that it came factory without one even on the kit version bikes. Not impossible, but there is no indication that I have ever seen of them using/offering clutch band brakes on the bikes until around 1972, and those few bikes still had the disc brake brackets welded on them.

Cant really make a positive ID since the frames were all the same during that timeframe, and your missing features that would help in model ID

but what what was offered in both 1967 and 1968 brochures was this:
#400 2 1/4 hp briggs, flat rectangle seat, no fenders
#450 3 hp briggs, flat rectangle seat, no fenders
#500 3 hp briggs, kick up short seat, fenders

in that timeframe, all used 4" steel 2 piece wheels with the "mousehole" style valve stem hole, with your frame numbers it should have had the more commonly seen style brake caliper with the smaller 1" bolt spread, one 1967 did just pop up here with the earlier 200me caliper assembly in the 10k frame number range though.
 
markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#5
#5
Combat Chuck said:
Markus, did the 67-68 400 and 450 models have fender brackets welded on the frames from the factory even though they had no fenders?
Click to expand...
Yes, by that time all the bikes had fender straps F/R reguardless the model.

That picture that OND posted is a good example of a 67-68 bike, it is from the 1968 model lineup catalog. Don't let that "1964" in the top right corner fool you, that's someones photoshop/editing so they could claim the POS bike they have/had for sale was older than it really is :laugh:
 
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