GOING WHERE FEW HAVE GONE

[THE PILGRIM]

Once again I want to share a kind of special place that I discovered while roaming around in Arizona. When you go East through Bisbee you go around the big copper mine pit. Then you swing South into an area called Lowell. I had been through there before but hadn't paid that much attention to it. This time I turned back West onto a defunct street of storefronts. I am going slow and looking around. I see a sign that says Indian Dealer. Really? So I stop and look in the window. There sits an Indian Motorcycle. The certificate displayed says it ran 134 MPH at Booneville in 2007. It looks pretty old to me! Shades of 'The World's Fastest Indian.' You have seen that movie? Really great movie. If you have not seen it, quit reading this and go rent it this instant!
Back to AZ- The Indian is called the Broken Spoke Special. While I am mulling over all this I look across the street. Well now! A Hudson Pickup. You may see a lot of them where you live, but I have only seen a handful of them and I have been a lot of places. The Hudson has a sign on the door which says: BROKEN SPOKE SALOON, Sturgis, SD; Daytona, FL and Laconia, NH. So apparently the folks who own the Indian own the Hudson and the three mentioned bars. Don't think many folks will see this place. Its off the beaten track. Bisbee appears to draw good tourist traffic, but Lowell not so much. Didn't see another soul while I was there.

[sophie]

Cool shots. I don't think I have ever seen a Hudson pickup.

[Nframecollector]

Nice truck!

[Lost Lake]

Is the Broken Spoke saloon the one that travels?

I think they just set up for bike week wherever bike week is being held, and that would usually be Sturgis, Laconia and Daytona.

.

[mcoe74]

Cool pictures. It's great to spot different things while driving around.

[THE PILGRIM]

Originally Posted by Lost Lake

Is the Broken Spoke saloon the one that travels?

I think they just set up for bike week wherever bike week is being held, and that would usually be Sturgis, Laconia and Daytona.

.

Good question. I sort of misspoke in the original write up. There are not one but two Indian Motorcycles in that 'Dealership'. The one on the left of the door is the speed machine. It's factory seat is replaced with what looks like a handmade folded piece of aluminum. The one on the right which I actually put above looks to be original factory with the Indian leather saddle style seat. One of many questions about this place why not have these machines in Sturgis? Up there thousands of motorcycle fans would see them. Down in Lowell, probably dozens.

[Aticus]

Way cool post. Bro.

[feralmerril]

I enjoy seeing stuff like that. A old neighbor had one of those hudson pickups like that. As late as 20 years ago I had a close friend that still owned a indian chief he bought new when he got out of the army in 1946.
If I was to live life again I believe the best retirement plan would have been to buy old cycles, trucks and certain cars. If a guy had a good place to store them it would have been the absolute best retirement plan. You could carefully sell them off for good money and not worry about tax's like you have to on IRAs plus have the fun of owning and driving them. Meanwhile you would have something to handle and look at, not just numbers on a bank statement. I had a old bachelor uncle that started up this junkyard as a hobby right after the war. In those days I could have any one I wanted. We were close, he was more like my second dad. This picture was taken about 1955. Hate to think what that pile of cars would be worth today!

[Marshwheeling]

Although I usually avoid Sturgis proper when I am in the Hills for rally week, I have had some pretty good times in the Broken Spoke. It's like the circus, though, or the State fair, once the rally leaves town, the Broken Spoke is gone.

I wonder if somebody used that Indian to beat Burt Munro's record, set in 1967. I have a friend who did something similar; he built a Vincent for the salt and beat the record Rollie Free set in 1955.




Bert Munro was not well known until the movie about him came out in 2005. But knowing how these salt racers are, it would not surprise me if the movie inspired somebody to take up the challenge.

[ibthumper]

Thank you for sharing and the photos are super too. AZ has got to be the best state in the union. Wish I could move there.