Indian Model O

The Indian Model O was a lightweight motorcycle made by the Hendee Manufacturing Company, maker of Indian motorcycles, from 1917 to 1919. Indian expected to sell it to young or thrifty riders as an entry-level machine, and it replaced the two-stroke single-cylinder Model K Featherweight, which was built in 1916 only. In a layout like that of contemporary Douglas motorcycles from Britain, its flathead flat-twin engine sat with the cylinders along the line of the frame, which added smooth running to the light weight of the Model K. It had a cradle frame, a gearbox slung under the frame below the rear cylinder, a rigidly mounted rear wheel and a pivoting front fork that was replaced during 1917 by a leaf-sprung trailing-link fork. The Model O reached the market in 1917, just as the United States entered the First World War and Indian turned to military motorcycles, and cheap mass-produced cars such as the Ford Model T eroded the appeal of small motorcycles. Enthusiasts mocked it as the Model Nothing, and it was dropped in 1919.