Bike of the Month
November 2018
1946 Indian Chief Bobber
by Rodd Lighthouse for Victor Hounsell
With so much emphasis put on who owned, or who rode what these days, Victor Hounsell must have the most valuable motorcycle in northern Nevada. Victor’s 1946 Indian Chief bobber was made for the movie “Hell Ride”, and the Indian was ridden by the character Comanche played by Eric Balfour. “Hell Ride”, presented by Quentin Tarantino, written and directed by Larry Bishop, and produced by Harvey Weinstein, starred several famous actors including David Carradine and Dennis Hopper. Although, according to Victor, “Hell Ride”was the second worst movie ever made, a lot of famous people have ridden, sat on, touched, and seen Trigger, the movie name given to the Indian bobber.
Victor purchased the Indian off of eBay from a movie prop house in El Segundo, California in 2008. Apparently two identical bobbers were made for the movie, the actual bike and a back up. When the movie filming was complete, both bikes were sold. With the purchase of the bobber, Vic received a certificate of authenticity verifying the bike was the actual bike from the movie.
Although the Indian was custom built for the movie, it is a matching numbers machine and it runs great. When Vic acquired the bike, he swapped out the battery and gassed it up, and the Indian started on the second kick. Victor occasionally rides Trigger to Saturday Coffee. When you get a chance, check it out, it’s pretty cool.
When asked what the worst movie was, Victor replied, “There is always a worse movie”.