# Indian Model O

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{{Infobox Motorcycle
|name             = Indian Model O
|image            = Indian Model O picture from April 1917 issue of Popular Mechanics.PNG
|caption          = 1917 Indian Model O Light Twin
|aka              = Indian Light Twin,<ref name="AMAHoF" /><br />"Model Nothing"<ref name="AMAHoF" /><ref name="Girdler" />
|manufacturer     = [Indian](/source/Indian_(motorcycle))
|parent_company   = Hendee Manufacturing Company
|production       = 1917&ndash;1919<ref name="AMAHoF" /><ref name="Girdler" />
|assembly         = [Springfield, Massachusetts](/source/Springfield%2C_Massachusetts), USA
|predecessor      = Indian Model K Featherweight<ref name="Girdler" />
|successor        = 
|class            = Lightweight standard
|engine           = {{convert|15.7|cuin|cc|abbr=on}}<ref name="Girdler" /> [flathead](/source/Flathead_engine) [flat-twin](/source/flat-twin_engine)
|bore_stroke      = {{convert|2.0|x|2.5|in|mm|1|abbr=on}}<ref name="AMAHoF" />
|compression      = 
|top_speed        = {{convert|36|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}<ref name="Bonham1793_203" />
|power            = {{convert|4|hp|kW|abbr=on}}<ref name="Bonham1793_203" />
|torque           = 
|ignition         = 
|transmission     = 3-speed manual, hand shift<ref name="AMAHoF" />
|frame            = 
|suspension       = Front: pivoting fork,<ref name="Girdler" /><ref name="Bonham1793_203" /> replaced in 1917 by trailing-link fork<ref name="Bonham1793_203" /><br />Rear: none, rigid
|brakes           = Front: none<br />Rear: [contracting band](/source/Band_brake)<ref name="AMAHoF" />
|tires            = 
|rake_trail       = 
|wheelbase        = 
|length           = 
|width            = 
|height           = 
|seat_height      = 
|dry_weight       = 
|wet_weight       = 
|fuel_capacity    = 
|oil_capacity     = 
|fuel_consumption = 
|turning_radius   = 
|related          = 
|sp               =  
}}

The '''Indian Model O''' was a lightweight [motorcycle](/source/motorcycle) made by the [Hendee Manufacturing Company](/source/Indian_(motorcycle)) from 1917 to 1919.<ref name="AMAHoF" /><ref name="Girdler" /> Indian expected to sell the Model O to young or thrifty riders. The United States' entry into [World War I](/source/World_War_I) caused Indian to shift manufacture to military motorcycles, and the low cost of the [Ford Model T](/source/Ford_Model_T) caused the market for lightweight motorcycles to collapse.

==Concept and design==
[[File:Advertisement for Indian bicycles and motorcycles in December 1916 issue of Boys Life magazine.PNG|thumb|left|Advertisement in the December 1916 issue of [Boys' Life](/source/Boys'_Life) pitching Indian bicycles and Indian Model O motorcycles as Christmas presents for sons]]
The Model O was designed as an entry-level motorcycle to attract young riders.<ref name="AMAHoF" /><ref name="Girdler" /> It replaced the two-stroke single-cylinder Model K Featherweight, which was made in 1916 only.<ref name="Girdler" /> In a layout similar to contemporary [Douglas motorcycles](/source/Douglas_(motorcycles)) from Great Britain, the Model O's [flathead](/source/Flathead_engine) [flat-twin engine](/source/flat-twin_engine) was mounted with its cylinders along the line of the frame.<ref name="AMAHoF" /><ref name="Girdler" /> This added smooth operation to the Model K's existing light weight and practicality.<ref name="AMAHoF" /><ref name="Girdler" />

The Model O had a cradle frame supporting the engine at the bottom of the crankcase, while the gearbox was mounted under the frame, below the rear cylinder.<ref name="Girdler" /><ref name="Bonham1793_203" /> The rear wheel was rigidly mounted to a subframe bolted to the frame.<ref name="AMAHoF" /><ref name="Girdler" /> The front suspension was initially a pivoting fork used on the [Indian Single](/source/Indian_Single) from 1906 to 1910 and on the Model K Featherweight.<ref name="Girdler" /><ref name="Bonham1793_203" /> This was replaced during 1917 by a leaf-sprung trailing link fork.<ref name="Bonham1793_203" />

==Reception==
The Model O was released in 1917, the year in which the United States entered [World War I](/source/World_War_I).<ref name="Girdler" /> Indian diverted its efforts to selling motorcycles to the US military.<ref name="Girdler53" /> The appeal of lightweight motorcycles as transport was also eroded by the availability of mass-produced cars,<ref name="Girdler" /> especially the [Ford Model T](/source/Ford_Model_T), for which mass production began in 1913.<ref name="FordCorporateHistory" /> The Model O was not designed to appeal to enthusiasts, to which enthusiasts replied by calling the motorcycle the "Model Nothing". The Model O continued to sell poorly until 1919, when it was discontinued.<ref name="AMAHoF" /><ref name="Girdler" />

==Legacy==
{{See also|Harley-Davidson Model W}}
In 1919, the year in which the Model O was discontinued, [Harley-Davidson](/source/Harley-Davidson) introduced its [Model W](/source/Harley-Davidson_Model_W) Sport Twin.<ref name="Girdler" /><ref name="AMAHoF1922SportTwin" />  The Model W had a Douglas-like layout similar to that of the Model O, using a flat-twin engine with a transverse crankshaft and cylinders parallel to the frame.<ref name="Girdler" /><ref name="AMAHoF1922SportTwin" />  Larger and more powerful than the Model O, the Model W had several innovations, including [unit construction](/source/unit_construction) of engine and transmission, an enclosed drivetrain, and a coil-sprung trailing link fork.<ref name="Girdler" />  The Model W sold well in its first year, but sales fell after that,<ref name="Girdler" /> and it was discontinued in 1923.<ref name="Girdler" /><ref name="AMAHoF1922SportTwin" />

==References==
;Citations
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="AMAHoF">''Indian Model O'' &mdash; Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum</ref>
<ref name="AMAHoF1922SportTwin">''1922 Harley-Davidson Sport Twin'' &mdash; Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum</ref>

<ref name="Bonham1793_203">One of the rarest pre-WWII Indians &ndash; 1917 Indian Light Twin Model O Project &ndash; Engine no. 32J281</ref>

<ref name="Girdler">Girdler, Allan, ''The Harley-Davidson and Indian Wars'', pp. 56&ndash;59</ref>
<ref name="Girdler53">Girdler, Allan, ''The Harley-Davidson and Indian Wars'', p. 53</ref>

<ref name="FordCorporateHistory">Ford Heritage: The Model T Put the World on Wheels</ref>

}}

;Sources
*{{cite book |last1=Girdler |first1=Allan |title= The Harley-Davidson and Indian Wars|year= 2002|orig-year= 1997|publisher= Motorbooks International Publishing|location= St. Paul, MN US|isbn= 0-7603-1353-9|pages= 56&ndash;59|chapter= Chapter Six &ndash; The Model O and The Model WJ Sport Twin: The Little Engines That Couldn't|ref= Girdler}}
*{{cite web | url = http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/asp/classics/bike.asp?id=10 | title = 1917 Indian Model O | year = 2010 | work = Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum | publisher = [American Motorcyclist Association](/source/American_Motorcyclist_Association) | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120922172738/http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/asp/classics/bike.asp?id=10 | archive-date = 2012-09-22 | url-status     = live | access-date  = 2013-05-06 |ref=AMAweb}}
*{{cite web
 |url         = http://motorcyclemuseum.org/asp/classics/bike.asp?id=13
 |title       = 1922 Harley-Davidson Sport Twin
 |year        = 2010
 |publisher   = American Motorcyclist Association
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121114092937/http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/asp/classics/bike.asp?id=13
 |archive-date = 2012-11-14
 |url-status  = dead
 |access-date  = 2012-07-15
 |quote       = But in the U.S., it was a different story. The machine languished in the Harley line through 1923, then was dropped.
 |ref         = AMASportTwin
}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/19679/lot/203/ |title=One of the rarest pre-WWII Indians &ndash; 1917 Indian Light Twin Model O Project &ndash; Engine no. 32J281 |date=2012-01-12 |website=[Bonhams](/source/Bonhams) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514235435/http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/19679/lot/203/ |archive-date=2013-05-14 |url-status=live |access-date=2013-05-06 |ref=Bonham1793_203 }}
*{{cite web
 |url          =http://corporate.ford.com/our-company/heritage/heritage-news-detail/672-model-t
 |title        =The Model T Put the World on Wheels
 |website      =Manufacturer's corporate history website
 |publisher    =Ford Motor Company
 |location     =Dearborn, MI USA
 |archive-url   =https://web.archive.org/web/20121116084318/http://corporate.ford.com/our-company/heritage/heritage-news-detail/672-model-t
 |archive-date  =2012-11-16
 |url-status      =live
 |access-date   =2013-05-17
 |quote        =In October 1913, mass production of the Model T began at Ford's Highland Park, Michigan, Assembly Plant. Henry Ford had previously organized men and components to enhance Model T production, but the moving assembly line quickly improved chassis assembly speed from 12 hours and eight minutes to one hour and 33 minutes.
 |ref          =FordHeritage
}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130503104247/http://cmrc.org.au/photos/big_photos/1917_model_o_indian.jpg Photograph of disassembled components of an Indian Model O]

O
Category:Motorcycles powered by flat engines
Category:Motorcycles introduced in the 1910s

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Indian Model O](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Model_O) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Model_O?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.