Like the 4-wheelers from yester years, the 2-wheelers have also witnessed a similar fascination over the years, amongst vintage auto lovers across the world. Whether it was the 115-year old Hildebrand & Wolfmuller or the Happy Days Triumph bike, both had a considerable amount of fanfare following the vehicles. This time, it’s a 1906 Indian Comeback bike that is stated to go on auction through Bonham’s, with an estimate of $75,000 as the winning bid. Stated to be one of the earliest 2-wheelers with an engine on board, collectors seem to have a huge interest in the bike, which was last used more than 40 years ago, and hasn’t been restored by any means.
1906 Indian Camelback Motorcycle Up For Grabs
Way back in 1906, less 1,700 of these Indian camelbacks were actually made, which became a rage of that time, considering the utility it had. Though the engine packed in only 2.25 HP with a single cylinder design , and a top speed of 48.2 km/ph (30 m/ph), during its hay days had considerable fanfare including the likes of the DuPont family, who actually owned the company and managed to keep one of the units. The famous name, ‘Camelback’ was eventually given to the bike due to the unusual camel like hutch gas tank at the back end. Also, little is known about the fact that this bike has no real brakes of itself, and would need the support of a knob placed below to reduce the pace and stop the bike! Must mention that the riders were lucky, that the bike wasn’t a high speed one.
1906 Indian Camelback motorcycle
After all these years, when much of its heyday glory has vanished, the unrestored bike will be back on the auction market again. Since it was last used in more than 40 years, only a skeleton and relic form of the bike exists, and that itself seems to have garnered a lot of attention. Officials from the auction house state if there is any repairing to be done, it would be done to just mechanically for visual purposes, unlike making it operational. Looks like the rich buy junk too!
