Re: Steve McQueen Pilot
The bike in the first picture is a 1940 Indian Chief leaf spring front suspension ,1946 had a springer front end similar to a Vincent ,and went to plunger on the 80ci roadmaster 1950 .No Indians chiefs were produced in 1949 .heres a clip from the New York times re the auction of the bike
Bonhams & Brooks is selling a 1940 Indian Chief (Lot 213) that Steve McQueen owned until his death. McQueen's first bike, purchased in the 1950's, was a 1946 Indian Chief. Like James Dean, Elvis Presley and Dennis Hopper, he went on to collect motorcycles. His riding skill was evident in his stunt work in ''The Great Escape'' and ''On Any Sunday.''
McQueen tested dirt bikes for Popular Science magazine and raced bikes, often using the pseudonym Harvey Mushman, with his friends Bud Elkins and Robert Riddell. ''He was the last great juvenile delinquent movie star,'' Michael Sragow wrote in Esquire Gentlemen magazine in 1993. ''When cool had meaning, he had cool.''
Mr. Osborne, noting that McQueen ''was a fanatic about motorcycles, cars and planes,'' said that the Indian Chief in the sale ''was a cruising bike for Hollywood, not one he used for trail riding in the desert, though it could go about 100 miles per hour.''
The bike is a creamy white with a bright chartreuse leather seat and fenders that have deep skirts. It has no windshield. ''You probably wouldn't find a windshield on a Steve McQueen bike,'' Mr. Osborne said, adding that its engine is the size of one in a small European car. ''The Indian Chief is a style icon,'' he said. ''These bikes were seen as classics. They were made at a time when most of the manufacturers in the U.S. and U.K. were at their height.'' The estimate is $45,000 to $55,000. Sorry to correct but Indian are my thing,
rgds Jeff