Luther had a cool service cycle, but the side tire has rubbed on the box, and the support brace under the front of the box seems to have lost it's hardware securing it to the chassis
I'd say Luther needs some service. The bar attaches the right angle piece sticking out from under the box. Fell off, broken, whatever. Note the wheel rubs the box from time to time. Delete this if I'm wrong.
Good catch on the tire rub marks, I'd missed those... I figured it was a brace to the box, or a side car. I did not notice the angle piece under the box either... dang, you have powers of observation!
The first line of the text on the sidecar box explains it - 'dispatch tow'. If your car needed servicing Luther would ride out to your place on the Servicar, then hook it up to the back bumper of your car and drive it back to the shop, towing the Servicar behind him.
right you are... a dispatch tow... and I looked through my previously posted Indian motorcycles, and the Servicars, and no of them were a sidecar modified for a mechanics use. I've posted Indian and Harley 3 wheelers though, yet not a single one of them was a sidecar style, the were all 2 wheels in back and with the expected trunk behind the driver
Except of course it is not a Servicar, which was a Harley. This one is an Indian which will need an Indian expert to date but as it has no front brake I guess not later than 1927. A closer look might reveal the dates on the licence plates. I am guessing that the disc wheel sedan on the right might be a Studebaker from about 1924.
Right, a Servicar had two back wheels, not a side mounted box in place of a sidecar, but, what the heck is the right terminology for a service motorcycle used by mechanics? I don't recall posting one before that had a name or common vernacular associated with it
Both Harley and Indian produced 3 wheelers (not bikes with sidecars) starting in the early 30s. Harley called theirs a Servicar, and Indian called theirs a Dispatch-Tow. I'm guessing that the Luther's machine is just an ordinary Indian with a home-built sidecar/box attached. Luther, no doubt, painted "dispatch tow" on the box himself, wishing he had the real deal.
The English would, I think, refer to this as a combination but here in NZ it is generally called an 'outfit', short for sidecar outfit. Of course in this part of the world the sidecar is mounted on the other side.
Back in that era Harleys and Indians were workhorses and Harley in particular promoted their line of sidecars. It is only in the last 50 or so years that they have become lifestyle machines.
I'd say Luther needs some service. The bar attaches the right angle piece sticking out from under the box. Fell off, broken, whatever. Note the wheel rubs the box from time to time. Delete this if I'm wrong.
ReplyDeleteGood catch on the tire rub marks, I'd missed those... I figured it was a brace to the box, or a side car. I did not notice the angle piece under the box either... dang, you have powers of observation!
DeleteThe first line of the text on the sidecar box explains it - 'dispatch tow'. If your car needed servicing Luther would ride out to your place on the Servicar, then hook it up to the back bumper of your car and drive it back to the shop, towing the Servicar behind him.
ReplyDeleteright you are... a dispatch tow... and I looked through my previously posted Indian motorcycles, and the Servicars, and no of them were a sidecar modified for a mechanics use. I've posted Indian and Harley 3 wheelers though, yet not a single one of them was a sidecar style, the were all 2 wheels in back and with the expected trunk behind the driver
DeleteExcept of course it is not a Servicar, which was a Harley. This one is an Indian which will need an Indian expert to date but as it has no front brake I guess not later than 1927. A closer look might reveal the dates on the licence plates. I am guessing that the disc wheel sedan on the right might be a Studebaker from about 1924.
ReplyDeleteRight, a Servicar had two back wheels, not a side mounted box in place of a sidecar, but, what the heck is the right terminology for a service motorcycle used by mechanics? I don't recall posting one before that had a name or common vernacular associated with it
DeleteBoth Harley and Indian produced 3 wheelers (not bikes with sidecars) starting in the early 30s. Harley called theirs a Servicar, and Indian called theirs a Dispatch-Tow.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing that the Luther's machine is just an ordinary Indian with a home-built sidecar/box attached. Luther, no doubt, painted "dispatch tow" on the box himself, wishing he had the real deal.
http://www.motorcycleclassics.com/classic-american-motorcycles/1936-indian-dispatch-tow.aspx?PageId=1
The English would, I think, refer to this as a combination but here in NZ it is generally called an 'outfit', short for sidecar outfit. Of course in this part of the world the sidecar is mounted on the other side.
ReplyDeleteBack in that era Harleys and Indians were workhorses and Harley in particular promoted their line of sidecars. It is only in the last 50 or so years that they have become lifestyle machines.