Restored 1914 Tourist Trophy Indian Racer Motorcycle
The motorcycle you see here, the first Australian TT winner, is widely believed to be the actual machine ridden to victory by Harry Jenkins on Easter Monday, 1914.
THE inception of an Australian Tourist Trophy (TT) was immediately met with controversy. Despite lacking an official national governing body, the proposed Australian TT was intended to be the nation’s premier motorcycle championship. This ignited a fierce dispute between New South Wales and Victoria over hosting rights and location. Echoing concerns in Britain, Victorian authorities were hesitant about closing public roads for racing, foreshadowing potential legal challenges. The situation urgently required decisive action and a committed organisation to establish the event. The Sydney Bicycle and Motorcycle Club stepped forward, proposing to host a race on Easter weekend in 1914. The chosen venue was a public road circuit near Goulburn, featuring a roughly triangular, 33-mile (53 km) course linking Yarra, Breadalbane, and Collector.
News of the Australian TT generated significant buzz, catching the attention of Rhodes Motors in Melbourne, the Victorian distributors for the Indian Motorcycle Company. Indian was a formidable force in international racing, having achieved a remarkable 1-2-3 finish at the 1911 Isle of Man Senior TT. Rhodes Motors prepared a fleet of their standard Model D machines, piloted by Victoria’s elite riders, for the event. The Model D boasted a seven-horsepower, 61-cubic-inch (1000 cc) F-head V-twin engine. It was a minimalist machine: a single-gear, hand-clutched, chain-driven motorcycle with a rudimentary rear brake, a rigid frame, and Indian’s signature leaf-sprung front suspension. A unique handlebar control managed throttle via a rotating barrel in the inlet manifold, a feature that persisted on some Indian models for years.
The Rhodes Motors Indian team, comprising four Model Ds and a support crew, were the clear favourites for the main event, the three-lap (approximately 100 miles) Australian TT Race, held on Easter Monday. The prize for the winner was £10 and a Gold Medallion valued at £5. Forty-six motorcycles were entered, though only about 30 started. The Indian contingent included Victorians Jack Booth, K. George, Keith Walker, Harry Jenkins, and Eric Tyler. Following the Isle of Man TT format, riders competed against the clock, with the first rider, Jack Booth, setting off.
In a preliminary one-lap race on Saturday, K. George collided with sheep. The situation worsened for him on Monday when a stone lodged in his rear wheel caused him to crash into a tree.
After the first lap, Eric Tyler, who started 38th, held a commanding lead on corrected time, completing the 33-mile circuit in 38 minutes and 6 seconds, averaging 52 mph. Spectators witnessed the Indians reaching speeds exceeding 70 mph on straighter sections, despite the challenging course of rutted sand, loose gravel, and several water crossings.
On the second lap, Jack Booth retired due to tire failures. Harry Jenkins recorded the fastest lap of the day, propelling him to second place on the road after starting 36th. Tyler, facing a significant time penalty of over 20 minutes due to a rock jamming his mudguard on lap two, was one of only 12 riders to finish.
Harry Jenkins ultimately claimed victory with a time of 2 hours and 0 minutes, an average speed of 50 mph. Keith Walker secured third place on his Indian, while K. George finished tenth.
Following the race, it was decided that the Australian TT would become an annual event, rotating between states, with the 1915 race slated for Victoria. The race distance was deemed too short and was to be more than doubled for the following year. However, World War I intervened, delaying the reinstatement of the Australian TT until 1919. Held again on the Yarra circuit, the starting point shifted from Yarra at the intersection of the Hume and Federal Highways to Breadalbane, allowing spectators easier access by train.
Although an event took place in 1915 over the same Yarra course, it was not the Australian TT, which was considered Victoria’s ‘property’ for that year, despite the absence of a designated circuit. This 1915 event was officially named the Easter Championship. Rhodes Motors entered the new 1915 Speedway Special D1 models, purpose-built for racing and factory-tested to produce 20 horsepower, promising speeds of 70 mph. Once again, the Indian team dominated the main event, the 100 Miles State Championship of NSW.
Given the tumultuous history of the Australian TT in the years that followed, it might be assumed that the victorious Indians would have simply disappeared. However, at least two of these machines reportedly survived a testament to their enduring build quality and the passion of collectors who often show little sentimentality towards obsolete racing machinery. The motorcycle you see here, the first Australian TT winner, is widely believed to be the actual machine ridden to victory by Harry Jenkins on Easter Monday, 1914.
Its existence after the initial glory of 1914 has been remarkable. Approximately 30 years ago, it resurfaced at an auction of items belonging to the Parker Brothers, Arthur and Percy, who had run a motorcycle and car dealership in Colac, Victoria. Steve Hazelton, a well-known collector, acquired the Jenkins Indian. Don McGilvray, a noted collector of veteran and vintage motorcycles, was disappointed to miss-out on acquiring the Jenkins machine, despite purchasing two other Indians at the auction.
“Don was really upset at missing out on that bike, and he hassled Steve Hazelton constantly to the point that Steve eventually gave up and agreed to sell Don the bike,” recalls Indian specialist Peter Birthisel. “He wasn’t going to get any peace until he did that.”
By this time, the Jenkins Indian was largely a collection of parts. McGilvray commissioned Lindsay Urquhart, a highly skilled former sidecar racer and engineer with extensive experience in Indian motorcycles, to undertake its restoration. Urquhart, who had previously built and marketed his own overhead-valve conversions and constructed six 8-valve Indians from scratch, faced significant challenges. The engine was in a bad way. It had been stored with no spark plugs, and water had got inside, so the pistons were rusted solid in the bores. However, he managed to free them up, and they actually cleaned up okay.
There was no fuel tank so he had to make one from scratch. Don McGilvray’s nephew, a talented painter, finished it in the correct Indian red, and other parts were re-plated as originally finished. Don sourced the correct white tires from Antique Tyres in Melbourne.
The result of Urquhart’s meticulous work is the motorcycle now owned by Peter Birthisel, who purchased it about 15 years ago. When plans for the centenary celebrations of the 1924 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in Goulburn were announced, Peter and his son Mason decided to participate. The Indian received a thorough service and was presented at the family property in Bundalong-Victoria, where Peter and Mason had the opportunity to see the historic machine started; Mason even rode it.
The veteran racer, now 110 years old, was a standout exhibit at the 2024 GP celebrations in Goulburn. It appears in pristine condition, perhaps better than ever.
Words and pics by Knackers
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