What Could a Right-Handed Cop Do on an Old Indian That He Couldn’t Do on a Harley?

There’s always a guy at bike night who says he can ride anything. Forty years in the saddle. Started on a dirt bike. Rode a Shovelhead halfway across the country with a clutch cable held together by a pair of Vise-Grips.

Fine. Put him on a 1940s Indian Chief Police Special and tell him to pull away while everybody watches.

He’ll look down for the shifter. It’s up by the tank. He’ll reach for the clutch. It’s down by his left boot. None of this will bother him much. He’s already told everybody he can ride anything, so now he’s committed.

Then he’ll do the one thing he hasn’t had to think about since his first motorcycle.

He’ll twist his right wrist.

And the bastard still won’t go.

Wrong hand, hotshot

On many old Indians, the throttle was on the left. That right grip he just twisted? It changed the ignition timing. Harley had those two controls the other way around. A period Army manual lays it out, presumably for anybody who thought knowing one American motorcycle meant they knew the other.

Here’s where it gets good. Put a right-handed cop on that Indian and he could stay on the gas with his left hand and draw his sidearm with his right.

Read that again. You’re still looking for the clutch, and this guy’s already got a revolver out.

The layout goes back to early Indians with the carburetor on the left. The throttle stayed put even after the carb moved. And in a period ad for the Chief Police Special quoted by Rider magazine, what did Indian brag about? A smoother ride and less fatigue. Fair enough. You try spending eight hours on one.

So the next time you wanna win a free beer with a bar bet at bike night, ask, “What could a right-handed cop do on an old Indian that he couldn’t do on a Harley?”

Let ’em argue for a minute. Then give ’em the answer.

“Draw his sidearm with his right hand while keeping his left on the gas. The Indian’s throttle was on the left.”

“I’ll take a cold one.”