POPPA WHEELIE: Floyd Clymer's Indian Boy Racer 1969

This little jewel is one of Floyd Clymer's many motorcycle masterpieces. Clymer was one of America's foremost entrepreneurs who loved motorcycles. He became famous at the age of thirteen when he was the youngest Ford dealer in the country. He soon became a Harley and Indian dealer and discovered motorcycle racing at which he excelled. In 1916 the Dodge City 300 Miler was the biggest race on the calender and he gaped the field only to blow up on the last lap. This got him a lot of notoriety and he went on to a long and exciting racing career. Floyd was a hustler but not in a bad way,although he did spend a year in the State Penn rather than cop to a plea bargain and admit guilt for mail fraud. Obviously a man of conviction. After WWII he became the Indian Distributor and tried gallantly with all kinds of variations to save the company but failed and Indian sank into history. He wasn't through however and did build and sell a variety of motorbikes that were concoctions of all kinds of Italian frames, English , Czech and German motors, most of which he sold under the Indian name which he retained. He kept Royal Enfield and Velocette barely alive during their sad demise and in 1970 when Floyd died both companies finally closed their doors.Clymer had a knack for making money and had a publishing division that for many, many years printed Motor Sport related books and his most famous Repair Manuals for everything on two wheels and four. The great CYCLE magazine was Floyds also and flourished under his leadership with special emphasis on racing and new and old machines. Floyd was a bigger than life character who left a memorable mark in our sport.