More Sammy Pierce goodness.........

Here's another of Sam Pierce's projects to bring back the Indian Motorcycle. This prototype was built by Sam in '67, and he dubbed it the Warrior. It was based on the Indian Scout engine, and Pierce was going to offer them in 500, 750, 825, and 900 cc displacements. You can see that the frame for the Warrior is the same 841 frame he used as the foundation of the American Rocket, but with a Scout bolt-on rigid rear section fitted. Pierce must have gotten a shitload of these 841 frames at surplus auction!

The parts were to be all NOS Indian, and Pierce definitely had the parts stash to build with. The only parts that weren't to be original Indian were the fiberglass combination gas tank/oil tank/seat unit, and the Pierce designed and Flanders-bent handlebars. This fiberglass unit was made by Don Jones of American Competition Frames, in a red metalflake (WOW!) gelcoat, with a diamond pattern leather seat. Note this combo predates the offerings in this style of both the Tracy and the Vetter units people are more familiar with.

Check out the slash cut straight pipes! In this shot, you can see the combination fuel tank/oil tank filler cap configuration. Sam Pierce was quoted as saying " 296 lbs, $25.00 per cu. in. (for the 45 cu. in.) with lights, and a guaranteed 100 mph". Also in the future plans was the option of the 841's original plunger rear suspension, and further off was the adaptation of the Indian vertical twin's full swingarm rear as well. Pierce also claimed he was ramped up to build 300 of these bikes in '68, but in reality, only a handfull of the Warriors were ever actually completed.

After my American Rocket post further below, I recieved an Email from a fella who knows Bob Stark (another big name in the Indian restoration), and he tells me that Stark is restoring a couple of these Pierce Warriors at his home workshop. I asked if he'd mind snapping a couple photos for the blog, and hopefully he'll be able to. If he does, I'll share them with everybody.

Along the same line as below......

Take a look at this photo, and tell me who's style and work it is. Is it Von Dutch? Looks like his style. Dean Jeffries? His style carries a BIG Von Dutch influence, because Jeffries was a Von Dutch protege'.

Well, the work is from Damon Richie. The flame layout shows a Von Dutch style to it, and the flames were done as described in the post below. Five colors were sprayed on, then selectively wet sanded out to blend the colors. Now do you want to try this technique? Sorry, this is the only photo I have on this bike.

Von Dutch Monday IV

Here's some Von Dutch art that you may not have seen, because I've never seen them in any of the recent Von Dutch books that I have. The photo was taken at one of the Rod and Custom shows that used to be held in the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in L.A.

Too bad we can't see the rest of the painting on the right, but it all looks like Dutch's painting style in the '50's. I especially like the "Over Head Cam" wall piece, and the dashboard/package tray-sized flamed and striped bongos are pretty cool. The real surprise in this group of Dutch's art, is the desert scene on the left. It's a pretty straight forward desert landscape, but there's no mistaking Dutch's style of art in it.

It might have been one of the pieces that he did for an art dealer in L.A. This art dealer saw some of Dutch's work, and talked him into bringing his paintings down to his gallery to display and sell. He promoted Dutch as "the next Dali....", and talked him into doing some more works for the gallery. Well, in typical Von Dutch fashion, he somehow soured on the whole deal, and went down to the gallery one day, and took all his art back again, and hung it all in his house.

Here's my (getting raggedy) copy of Car Craft, Oct. '56. The top '40 Ford coupe was painted by Von Dutch, and owned by Manuel Gonzales, and the '40 sedan was owned by Bob McCoy, and painted by Ray Cook. What do these two '40 Fords have in common, then?

Well, both cars were "flamed" using a technique that was developed by Von Dutch. Instead of blending the flame colors using a spray gun, the flame color blending was done by spraying multiple coats of different colors over the top of each other, then wet sanding thru the paint with 600grit paper in different areas, to different depths, to create the fades and blends on the flame's "licks". Von Dutch was still doing this type of flame color blending way up into the '70's.

I've done this type of flame painting, just to see if I could do it. It's pretty labor intensive, and your arms sure get tired between the painting and the sanding by the end! But, I've never seen the effect duplicated any other way. You should try it some time.......

The American Rocket - The "P-61"

Another one of my heros -Sammy Pierce. This is a reprint of a CYCLE magazine article on one of Sammy's projects, The American Rocket, or "P-61", after it's engine displacement, of 61 ci. Built by Pierce in '51, it utilized an 841 Indian shaft drive frame, and Ariel Square 4 front end, and a "homebrewed" hot rodded Chief engine/tranny that was rubber mounted!

The fella I bought my Indian Scout from, Joe Matt, claimed to have worked along side both Sammy Pierce, and Floyd Clymer at Indian. He claimed that Pierce tried to get Indian to replicate what he had built, but it was too late for that. I tend to believe Joe Matt's story, because he was a big an Indian fanatic at that time ('68) as Pierce was, and never quit selling and servicing Indians when the factory shut down, just like Pierce.

Read the article I saved out of an OLD Walnecks Trader. This bike is so straight forward to build, I'm surprised nobody has done it yet. As far as I know, it's still running, and last I knew, it was owned by Louis Fisher, of Monrovia, CA. - I bet the Good Dr. knows for sure.

Von Dutch Monday III

Here's one of my favorite photos of Von Dutch, supposedly taken in ' 46, when he was 17, and just after high school. This is the bike that Dutch mainly rode and raced from the mid-'40's until about 1950. It would make a cool bike today! Notice the eyeball on the front forks, down towards the axle.

Like all motorcycle owners do, this bike was changed around by Dutch a bazillion times in the short time he had it. You'll see the final version a little further down the post, but first......

I thought you'd like this photo. It's of a guy who you hear about, but hardy anybody has seen. This is George Beerup, standing in front of his Harley dealership, with his young son. It looks like the admiration between the two is mutual, huh? Harley dealerships look a little different now, wouldn't you say?

George Beerup is the man that Von Dutch went to work for at 16, striping motorcycles. The story goes that some striping had to be repaired on one of the repainted shop bikes, and Dutch was in the shop, and said he could do it. He took it home, striped it, and when he returned with a perfect job, nobody would believe a kid (Dutch) had done it. So, Von Dutch told them to go get him another tank, and he duplicated the striping in front of the whole crew, with a regular painter's bristle brush, not a striping dagger.

This is what Dutch's Scout eventually wound up as in the very late '40's - the Tricrindian, a combination of Triumph, Indian, and a Crocker OHV conversion. Of course, the obligatory flying eyeball was painted on the tank. These pictures come from Von Dutch's scrapbook, and it looks like the bike isn't 100% finished off yet. Notice Beerup's motorcycle dealership in the background of photo #2 ?

Pretty cool shot of the Crocker OHV conversion, and the Amal carb. L/H side pipes ain't anything new.