1917 POWERPLUS

When a road tester arrived back at the Indian experimental department after a hard, fast ride Charlie Gustafson, who designed the new V-twin, and Frank Weschler, in charge after founders Hendee and Hedstrom had retired, stubbed out their cigarettes and walked out to meet him. “What does she go like?” asked Gustafson. “Man, this motor has power – plus!” replied the tester. The 998cc side-valve used the same 42° V-twin angle as the Hedstrom engine. Two years of rigorous testing were carried out before it would go into production in 1916, but to prove just how good the Powerplus was, Erwin ‘Cannonball’ Baker fitted a Powerplus engine to his 1914 Hedstrom chassis to attack the Three Flag record by setting the shortest time to ride from Canada to Mexico. He left Vancouver on August 24, 1916, reaching Tijuana on August 27 – 1655 miles of treacherous roads in three days, nine hours, 15 minutes. “It’s a bear, a big, husky lick-all-comers machine!” Baker enthused. That rugged useability led to Indian supplying the US Army with nearly 50,000 Powerplus motorcycles after America entered World War I.