A few years ago, Bryan Vander Laan found a 1910 Indian single motor and started thinking about what he might be able to do with it. Bryan builds and restores all kinds of old motorcycles, and he wanted to make sure this great original motor went into something unique.
He scrounged around for additional original parts to complete this build, and managed to find original handlebars, seat, rear wheel, luggage rack, red pedals, and various linkages. What he created is this 1910 Tri-Car. The front end and frame are reproduction parts.
Indian did make tri-cars in those very early days – some were delivery vehicles, while others had a seat on the front end so a passenger could ride there. Imagine riding in a seat in front of the rider of this old Indian rumbling down a pitted dirt road.
Bryan has been considering all of his options for finishing off the front of this tri-car and has recently decided that a classic box is the way to go. We’ll all be interested to see what he comes up with, but we know it will be very special and in keeping with the era.
Originally, Bryan planned to ride this tri-car in the first Motorcycle Cannonball in 2010. It fit the criteria for the ride, and Bryan thought it would be great fun to ride it across the country, while the other riders were all on two wheels.
