Indian 841

The Indian 841 was an experimental military motorcycle designed by the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company for desert warfare in the Second World War. The US Army asked for 1,000 shaft-drive, side-valve, twin-cylinder test motorcycles and offered Indian 350,000 dollars for them. Indian answered with the 841, named for its new engine design and the year 1941. It had a longitudinally mounted, air-cooled, 90-degree V-twin engine with shaft drive to the rear wheel, a tubular frame, plunger rear suspension, a four-speed gearbox and a girder fork, and the engine shared internal parts with the Sport Scout, giving the same bore and stroke of 73 by 89 millimetres. Although it was heavily inspired by the BMW R71, it was not a copy of it. The Army tested it against the Harley-Davidson XA and adopted neither, judging the Jeep better suited to the role, and surplus machines were later sold from Springfield. The drivetrain layout it pioneered was later made famous by Moto Guzzi.