Though expensive for its 24-hour interval , at a price of more than $ 1,000 when a newChevroletcar price $ 700 , the 1940 Indian 440motorcycleoffered a streamlined look , a smooth drive , and an unusual inline - four - cylinder locomotive engine .
Indian began offering inline - quaternion after gain the Ace Company in 1927 , and the first examples were little more than Aces with ruddy blusher and Amerind logotype on their tank car .
The locomotive engine had overhead intake valves and side ( flathead ) exhaust system valve , a configuration known as an F - head . This four - piston chamber model remained nearly unaltered until 1936 , when the valve layout was reversed in an effort to extort more business leader from the 77 cubic inches .
Often denote to as the " upside - down Native American , " the new locomotive was a gloomy failure . Maintenance was more hard than before , and overheating became a problem , so Indian reverted to the original design two age later .
The 1940 variant , called the 440 , dramatize skirted buffer that supply a more streamlined smell . They also total about 36 pounds to an already imposing mass that totaled 568 pounds .
But the 1940 Indian 440 motorcycle boasted not only the typical Indian leaf - spring front suspension but also an untypical coil - spring rear reprieve , and , if anything , the add weightiness made it ride more smoothly than ever .
With a lean monetary value in 1940 of more $ 1000 , Indian Fours were not eminent - volume sellers . In fact , a amount of only about 10,000 were build during the model ’s entire 15 - year product run .
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1940 Indian 440 pictures
The the 1940 Indian 440 bike used an inline - four - cylinder engine of a innovation that harken back to the late 1920s , but had artwork - art deco streamlined styling .
