Franklin's Indians: Veloce Reprint

Story snapshot:

Fresh from Veloce Reprint Series, reprinted March 2018

The story of Indian designer & engineer Charles B Franklin

We've seen this book before. Many years back. As far as we know, it was first published by Panther (now defunct). That was round about 2011. And it was good then, and it's good now.

Jointly written by Harry V Sucher, Tim Pickering, Liam Diamond and Harry Havelin, the book claims to be the most authoritative account of the life and times of Charles B Franklin who, in many (but not all) respects was to Indian 'Motocycles' pretty much what Phil Irving was to Vincent.

TT motorcycle racing star, designer and engineer, Charles Bayly Franklin was born in 1880 in Dublin, Ireland and emigrated to the USA in 1916. Over the next 16 years he designed the Indian Scout, Chief and Prince, and played a huge role in the development of many other Indian models of that era—not least with regard to his work on gear trains, sidevalve gas-flowing, overhead cam technology, and four-valve cylinder head design.

What this book sets out to achieve is to trace the entire path from birth to grave in the relatively short life of Charles B Franklin. He died aged just fifty-two, take note, but leave a huge legacy in the shape, sound and performance of some of the world's greatest motorcycles of the age.

The design of the book isn't great. It looks more like a long academic paper rather than a book you might want to hold and admire for its layout and typography, etc. The sentences are spread way too wide across the page, thereby requiring more concentration than you might apply to, say, the average tabloid newspaper.

Additionally, the photography isn't exactly of the highest quality. That said, many of the pictures are around 100 years old and have that authentic old world charm that perfectly suits the subject matter. And we have to say that a huge amount of copy has been packed into these pages making it a fair compensation for any subjective deficits relating to style and layout.

The writing isn't excellent, but it's perfectly acceptable. Where this book excels is simply that it tells the story. The whole story. At least, it has a lot more to say on Charles B Franklin than anything we've read before. And if you've got an interest in Indian motorcycles designed and built between 1916 and the early thirties, you'll probably want to get your nose pressed into this publication at the earliest opportunity. In fact, if you've got an interest in Indian motorcycles of any era, this book will help you chart the path from the very early days to the present day.

It's rich in characters, takes us deep inside these beautiful engines, reveals many interesting insights into the company itself and gives us plenty of all-important historical context.

As with all books of this kind, however, unless you're an expert, it's impossible to say how reliable is the material. But if you're fishing for facts, you nevertheless need to cast your net as wide as possible—and there's a considerable catch here that will keep you busy for weeks if not months or years.

The book is part of the Veloce Reprint Series. But just because it's been once or twice around the block, that doesn't mean it's worn out its welcome. Books such as this stand multiple reprints, and we figure it might be a while before another contender comes along.

Veloce would like to relieve you of £30 for a copy. As a casual read for anyone not steeped in Indian lore, that might be more than they'd be prepared to pay. But then again, read a chapter or two of the Franklin/Indian story and you could find yourself hooked.

Here are the basic book details:

Title: Franklin's Indians

Publisher: Veloce

Authors: Harry Sucher, Timothy Pickering, Liam Diamond and Harry Havelin
Cover: Paperback

Dimensions: 248mm x 192mm

Pagination: 352

Pictures: 140
ISBN: 978-1-787112-23-0

Price: £30

In conclusion, Indian motorcycles of this vintage are, we think, hugely underrated. And once you study the background and follow the track to success as ridden by Charles B Franklin, you'll see that he's underrated too.

Genius? We wouldn't argue with that. Honest injun.

www.veloce.co.uk