1940 indian sport scout.....Iowacity CL

[arveno]

https://iowacity.craigslist.org/mcy/d/1940-indian-sport-scout/6512350501.html


...hey someone gotta call the pickers............ .

[fotoguzzi]

All holes are tight and have good threads.

what does that mean?

[dxhall]

That perhaps the ad is written by someone whose first language is not English, and whose intentions in this matter are not honorable?  That's an awful low price for a nice Scout.

[Sheepdog]

Love those old Indians...

[JJ]

Love those old Indians...

How cool would that be to show up at ANY bike event or bike night on that American classic?!?

[acogoff]

All holes are tight and have good threads.

what does that mean?

Having had a wartime built Harley, I know exactly what they mean by poor threads and loose holes. It seems they kept using the same tooling well after it should have been binned or sharpened to get the production out in the field as cheaply and quickly as possible. Looks like Indian didn't cut those corners at least in the case of this batch of bikes.

[brider]

I ain't afraid, I sent an e-mail to see how real the deal is.

[kirb]

That bike will not last long if legit. That is a bargain for this bike in that condition.

My '48 chief is only looking for time for me to finish.

[JJ]

That bike will not last long if legit. That is a bargain for this bike in that condition.

My '48 chief is only looking for time for me to finish.

Agreed...and for CMV (Current Market Value) pricing perspective, here are a few 1940-ish Indians that sold at MECUM's in January in Vegas!

[jas67]

As I suspected from the price, it’s a scam.    I found many craigslist matches across the country, all slightly different listings with the same photos.

[Lannis]

As I suspected from the price, it�s a scam.    I found many craigslist matches across the country, all slightly different listings with the same photos.

Not only that, but one of the most common Indian scams (like making Tempests into GTOs) is tweaking an Army 500cc Indian into a 750cc Sport Scout by hook or by crook.

A genuine Sport Scout in that condition is going for $15,000.   

Lannis

[JJ]

As I suspected from the price, it�s a scam.    I found many craigslist matches across the country, all slightly different listings with the same photos.

That's really a sad reality about craigslist...on all fronts!!  Terrible!! 

Like they say: CAVEAT EMPTOR  "Let The Buyer Beware!!" 

[rodekyll]

If you compare the CL pic to the auction pic for the same year and model there are a LOT of differences.  One of the two is not correct.  Accordingly, the CL listing makes no claims about originality or authenticity.

Also, this is another listing with a goofy transmission stat.  The owner should know what kind of transmission it has and what kind of fuel it uses.  Any time the description and the stats don't match it's suspicious.

[arveno]

If it was legit , Mike and Frank will show up and buy it right away............. it is one hour driving from their shop...........

[twowings]

I always wonder how much of craigslist is 'real'...I really don't lend it any more credence than those ads for 'enlargement' or emails from Nigerian princes...

[giusto]

"Oh come come now Algebra...this is no place for a mule"......Sorry...it's my favorite Little Rascals quote

No way...something's a miss


that said...this is my favorite non Italian motorcycle and I searched for years...I'd put the value at more like 22-25 K

[Denis]

It has '39 and earlier fenders and the military fenders don't look anything like those. The '40 civilian bikes had skirted fenders. So, someone, somewhere put together a bike out of parts or completely civilianized a military bike.

Also, the military did not get Sport Scouts, ever, and the US Army didn't use many Indians of any model during WWII. Most Indians went to our Allies.

Here's my '40 ex-Canadian Army 640-B for comparison (mostly identical to the US model 640-B).

[arveno]

http://www.caimag.com/wordpress/2015/08/30/sweet-1940-indian-sport-scout-motorcycle-in-vermont/

http://www.britcycle.com/Bikes/forsale/BColes_39_Indian_Sport_Scout.htm

fenders look legit.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFFEOtmHTqQ

[Denis]

Not only that, but one of the most common Indian scams (like making Tempests into GTOs) is tweaking an Army 500cc Indian into a 750cc Sport Scout by hook or by crook.

A genuine Sport Scout in that condition is going for $15,000.   

Lannis

Faking a 500cc Army Indian (741) to look like a real Sport Scout is a lot more difficult than you think but easy to spot. The front and rear frame sections are different and they have different front ends. The tanks and dashes are different and the 741 engine case as a timing hole on the left side while the Sport Scout does not. The heads on a 741 are six bolt while the Sport Scouts are 7 bolt. The 741s kept the jockey shift (straight off the transmission), while the Sport Scouts changed to the forward "tank shift" (though it really wasn't connected to the tank).

[Denis]

http://www.caimag.com/wordpress/2015/08/30/sweet-1940-indian-sport-scout-motorcycle-in-vermont/

http://www.britcycle.com/Bikes/forsale/BColes_39_Indian_Sport_Scout.htm

fenders look legit.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFFEOtmHTqQ

Nice bikes but the '40 has incorrect fenders and the '39 has '40 and later heads.

[Lannis]

Faking a 500cc Army Indian (741) to look like a real Sport Scout is a lot more difficult than you think but easy to spot. The front and rear frame sections are different and they have different front ends. The tanks and dashes are different and the 741 engine case as a timing hole on the left side while the Sport Scout does not. The heads on a 741 are six bolt while the Sport Scouts are 7 bolt. The 741s kept the jockey shift (straight off the transmission), while the Sport Scouts changed to the forward "tank shift" (though it really wasn't connected to the tank).

Yup!   Doesn't keep people from "trying it on", though ... !

[brider]

Got a response to my e-mail:

"Available for sale, send me your e-mail address and I will contact you later with more details. Thx"

Didn't I already send them my e-mail address via the CL response?

Scam-o-rama.

I wonder if these scammers are sophisticated enough to have figured out the inflection point for the ratio of listed price/completed scams to maximize $$$. Seems to me if they listed a lot closer to a real market price, they'd get more pigeons actually forking over cash.

[kirb]

Even if that bike is a mish-mash of other years, parts, only 500cc, etc... it's still worth the money.

You can get just about anything for Indians of this era... the original parts that don't fit can help pay for the ones you replace.

[Lannis]

Even if that bike is a mish-mash of other years, parts, only 500cc, etc... it's still worth the money.

Well, yes, it's "worth" the $7000 asking price in the same way that a 2016 Stelvio NTX would be worth a $5000 asking price .... because they'd both be scams, as this one is.

If it were a real bike, being offered for what it was "worth" (ie a realistic selling price) it would be north of $15K .....

Lannis

[dxhall]

I think this ad is bogus, but I'd like to know just what the scam is.  To those who emailed the seller - what happened?

[Lannis]

I think this ad is bogus, but I'd like to know just what the scam is.  To those who emailed the seller - what happened?

There's two ways they play it.

Both depend on a worked-up, superheated buyer who thinks he's going to get the "Deal of the Century" that he can brag about for years.

1) Play the deal along until the buyer has given up some personal information (names, addresses, telephone numbers, Emails, where they bank) ... it's surprising how much chatting people will do when being "led on".   Sometimes the info is worth the game.

2) Play the deal along until the buyer actually comes up with "earnest money" or a "refundable deposit" that he'll never see again.   Wouldn't take but a couple of percent of the "selling price" to make it worth the scammer's time ....

Lannis