1953 Indian Brave -Brockhouse - Complete Restoration w/engine upgrades - motorcycles/scooters - by owner - vehicle... (2024)

FRAME-OFF RESTORATION
Matching numbers
Frame stamped HW7487
Engine number stamped 248/M/7487
Clean title in my name.

ENGINE
New Wisceo piston and rings.
Head-work: upgraded by machining Singh grooves, greatly improving combustion. (see last photo)
Head surface has been milled for assured gasket sealing.
New connecting rod big-end bearings.
New main crankshaft bearings.
Engine cases have been machined to accept o-rings and oil seals at the kickstart shaft/shifter shaft, preventing oil leaks as was common on OEM Braves.
Cylinder deck has been milled for assured gasket sealing surfaces.
New header and muffler.

GEARBOX AND CLUTCH
Transmission has been completely and thoroughly overhauled.
Every part showing wear has been replaced.
All bearings, bushings, and springs have been replaced.
Engine covers have been machined to accept o-rings and oil seals at the kicker/shifter shafts.

CHARGING SYSTEM AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
All new wiring, wired positive ground, as is correct.
New solid-state regulator/rectifier.
New 6 volt battery.
Charging system is working satisfactorily.

OEM CARBURETOR
Overhauled, serviced, tuned.

FRAME AND CHASSIS
Powder-coated frame and all black parts.
OEM handle bars and all other chrome parts have been rechromed.
High/low/horn switch is new period-correct.
Rechromed OEM side stand with new return spring.

WHEELS and TIRES
OEM wheels were stripped and painted.
Tires are M-62 Michelin in the same size and tread pattern as were OEM.
New wheel bearings.

FINAL DRIVE
New chain and sprockets.

FRONT-END AND FRONT SUSPENSION
New steering bearings.
Overhauled front fork.

GAS TANK
Gas tank is OEM, freshly painted.
New petco*ck.

INSTRUMENT
New aftermarket speedometer, same style as OEM.
New speedometer cable.
New genuine OEM speedometer drive unit -- (Indian part numbers BES4367 (speedometer gear housing) and BES4437 (speedometer drive gear).

LIGHTING
LED headlight and taillight.
Original glass taillight lens.
Period-correct glass headlight lens.

ENGINE BREAK-IN
Fresh oil change after 25 break-in miles.

GASOLINE
Runs well on pump gas. I recommend non-ethanol (no alcohol), but ethanol is fine as long as it is fresh.

FULL DISCLOSURE
Zap Cycle restored this bike several years ago, and the bike has been on display in their motorcycle shop/retail store for several years. The cosmetics have suffered some minor scuffing, and there's a scratch in the rear fender. I didn't post a photo, because the detail didn't show up well. Any prospective Buyers may request photos, and I'll email several close-ups.

SYNOPSIS
The bike has been built with modern upgrades, while keeping the appearance of the bike very original.
OEM parts used in the restoration were acquired from Jim Pruessner of S.W. Vintage MC in Lemitar, NM.
Watch a cold engine start on youtube named "Zap Leather and Cycle 1953 Indian Brave Cold Start".
Note, there's a youtube video from eight years ago, named "Zap Cycle 1953 Indian Brave cold start" which shows their first Brave Restoration that was sold to an Australian customer. The youtube video named "Zap Leather and Cycle 1953 Indian Brave Cold Start" was posted a month ago, and shows the bike listed here. Sorry for any confusion. I wasn't aware the two videos were named so similarly.
This rare and beautiful vintage bike is ready to ride.

Manufactured by Brockhouse in England, who became partners in the USA Indian Motocycle Company in 1949.
No Expense Spared, Fully Restored. Engine Upgraded, Much Improved Vintage Classic.

This bike shifts on the LEFT SIDE and the rear brake lever is on the RIGHT SIDE.
The engine is a 248cc flathead (side valve), with three-speed transmission.
Complete Frame-off Restoration by Zap Cycle, Paynesville Minnesota using modern upgrades.

Looks very original, very vintage, but the engine upgrades will greatly lessen the oil leaks that were common with the Indian Brave.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A short history of the Indian Motocycle Company during the Brockhouse-Brave era:
Ralph B. Rogers purchased Indian Motocycle Company from DuPont Industries in 1945. Rogers' people were developing OHV singles and vertical twins, which he theorized would compete with the new British lightweights being imported into America. He produced the big V-twin Chiefs through 1948, but with new factory plans in the company's future, he was in desperate need for capital.
J. Brockhouse Engineering, who was owned by Excelsior Motorcycles in Birmingham England, had exporting rights to all AMC motorcycles (Associated Motorcycles - Matchless, AJS, James, Francis-Barnett, and in '53, Norton). Brockhouse was looking for a US dealership network in which they could sell Matchless and AJS motorcycles, along with their Corgi minibikes and their new yet-to-be-named flathead 250 single.
In early 1949, Brockhouse became a major partner with Ralph Rogers, and they immediately began exporting Matchless and AJS motorcycles and Corgi minibikes. And they began production of their newly named Indian Brave 250cc flathead.
In late 1949, Ralph Rogers sold the Indian company's manufacturing rights to a US company called Titeflex, but stayed on to run the company. According to an article in Classic Bike (June 1987), John Brockhouse was calling all the shots by late 1951.
Between 1949 and 1953, the Springfield Massachusetts plant produced the Arrow 250cc single and Scout 440cc twin for '49, the Arrow 250cc single and the Warrior 500cc twin for '50, a handfull of Chiefs for '50-'53, and the Warrior 500cc twin for '51-'53. With the addition of Matchless and AJS, and Brockhouse's 250 Brave from 1950 to 1955, Indian dealers didn't have many models to sell.
Titeflex went bankrupt in 1953, and Brockhouse Engineering, now calling themselves Indian Sales Corporation, became the sole owners of the Indian name. Indian dealers could no longer offer any American-made models, only Matchless, AJS, Corgi and Braves, all made in the UK. For 1955, Royal Enfields were rebadged as Indians, and exported to the US by Brockhouse, and Brave production was discontinued late that year.
-- Only about 5,000 Indian Braves were sold in the U.S. --
The bike was originally slated strictly for the American market, but after poor US sales, Braves became available for the British market in '53 -- About 14,000 Indian Braves were produced between 1950 and 1955 -- about 9,000 units were sold in the UK -- There were ads in American motorcycle magazines in early '56, obviously in an attempt to help the dealers sell the last of the Braves.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a rare Indian model, and OEM parts have become extremely rare. After the bankrupcy of the Springfield division in '53, all the Indian Arrow, Scout, Warrior, and Brave parts were sold to various individuals, and the majority eventually ended up in the hands of Jim Pruessner of S.W. Vintage MC in Lemitar NM. In 2017 the entire remaining inventory of S.W. Vintage MC's Indian Brave parts were purchased by Zap Leather and Cycle in Paynesville, MN.
The Indian Brave listed here has been restored with more engine upgrades than Zap Cycle has ever done on an Indian Brave. Zap Cycle has overhauled or restored several other Braves. One restoration was sold to an Australian buyer, and the other was sold to a southern MN buyer, and is currently on display in Sturgeon Bay, WI.
Another was simply overhauled, engine and transmission, and is also for sale.

***************************************************************************************
- More on the Indian Brave - Sorry, but I don't remember the source - I found the article about ten years ago -
The side-valve 248cc unit-construction engine was designed by Ernest Knibbs. It featured a modified Albion three-speed gearbox and put out 8.25 b.h.p. At 4,800 rpm. Norman Parkinson designed the rigid frame, and later a sprung frame. Norman worked in the Brockhouse Works design department under Bert Gatiss who was head of the department and is credited as having invented a “change-speed control device which produced improvements in variable speed power transmission apparatus for vehicles”. Brockhouse supplied the power unit to both OEC (Osborn Engineering Company) in Portsmouth who used it in their 1952 and 1953 Apollo motorcycle, and DOT (Devoid Of Trouble) in Manchester. The piston displaced 248.326 cc (76mm x 64.5mm bore). The crankshaft was supported by three bearings. The engine oil supplies gearbox and primary chaincase via oilways and there is a crankcase pressure relief valve which vents into the chaincase. Oil capacity is one quart, which seems dangerously frugal, but the lubrication system featured a filter. The motorcycle was capable of 80 m.p.g. fuel consumption and 50 mph cruising speed, with a top speed of more than 60 mph. At the Earls Court Motorcycle Exhibition in 1954, Brockhouse Engineering displayed both the Indian Brave Model S (swinging arm) and the Model R (rigid) for the home market. They also showed each model with a Watsonian sidecar, Windsor for the R and Eton Coupe for the S. Comerfords, Claude Rye and Godfreys were listed as London retailers of the Indian Brave. By this point the Indian Brave motorcycle might almost be described as a Neo-Indian where Neo is a prefix indicating a “new” form as distinct from a revival of an old one; which is to say that although the Southport firm owned the Springfield firm, the products of the two manufactories were more closely related on the paperwork rather than in the metalwork. Even while the Brave was still in production, Brockhouse’s Norman Parkinson and Bert Gatiss put in a good deal of work on a 17 bhp SOHC 250 power-unit based on the side valve unit, but was a completely different unit with a one piece crankshaft. A duplex frame was designed for it and most interestingly the chain drive SOHC engine’s production costs compared favourably with those for a pushrod engine. It was scheduled to go into production in 1956 but Brockhouse pulled out of motorcycles in 1955 to concentrate on other parts of their business.
***************************************************************************************
You might be interested in reading this road test, gleaned from a British motorcycle publication of the era.
-- I don't remember the source, as it's been in my files for more than a decade. --
A contemporary road test of a 1953 spring frame model showed it had a maximum speed of 60 mph and fuel consumption of 102 mpg at 40 mph. The kickstarter proved awkward to use, being on the left, and the test machine jumped out of second gear whenever the revs were increased. Furthermore, top gear was not easy to select. There was a vibration period from the engine at 54 mph, but the machine would cruise comfortably at 50 mph. The lighting switch caused frequent panics though, by making intermittent contact, whilst the thief-proof steering lock was easily picked with a bent wire! Braking performance was average, until the rivets securing the rear brake torque arm sheared after 600 miles. On a bumpy road, insufficient clearance caused the exhaust system to shed its silencer! As for oil leaks, these occurred from the timing chest and the tappet cover.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I found the road test very interesting. The bike is a fascinating example of the motorcycles available seventy years ago. With only 5,000 sold in America, it's a very rare and valuable model... another chapter in the history of the Indian Motocycle Company.

The Brave parts that Zap Cycle still has in their inventory are not available for sale. Note that S.W. Vintage MC still has Indian Arrow, Scout, and Warrior parts for sale. He can be found online.

I am a retail leather apparel store, so I can take payment by a credit card (for a 3% processing fee).
I like fun motorcycles, so I'd consider a motorcycle trade-in.
I'm not interested in trading for any other vehicle besides a motorcycle.
Please don't ask if I'm interested in trading for guns, or snowmobiles, or four-wheelers, or boats, or cars...
... No golf clubs... no tennis rackets... no collectible paintings of Elvis on velvet.... no girlfriends... no wives... especially no wives...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May be seen at Zap Leather and Cycle/Zap Cycle in Paynesville MN.
920 W. Main St.
Our retail store is now open Winter Hours -- Mon-Sat 10am-5pm.