Charles B. Franklin

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Charles Bayly Franklin
Born (1880-10-13)October 13, 1880
18 Whitworth Road, Drumcondra, Dublin, Ireland
Died October 19, 1932(1932-10-19) (aged 52)
71 School Street, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
Nationality Irish, American
Occupation Engineer
Known for Racing Indian motorcycles at the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, designing the Indian Scout and Indian Chief motorcycles

Charles Bayly Franklin (October 13, 1880 - October 19, 1932) was an engineer and a motorcycle racer. He is most notable for designing motorcycles for the Indian Motocycle Company, including the original Indian Scout of 1920, the original Indian Chief of 1922, and the Indian 101 Scout of 1928. Prior to this, he had been part of the Indian motorcycle team that won first, second, and third place in the 1911 Isle of Man TT, finishing in second place.

Early life

Motorcycling career

Ireland (1903 - 1916)

In 1903 Franklin began competing in reliability trials, hill climbs and beach racing, first using Belgian FN single-cylinder machines, then with "specials" powered by J.A.P. single-cylinder and V-twin engines. Along with the famous Collier brothers Harry and Charlie, Franklin was selected to represent Britain in the continental Coupe International races of 1905 and 1906, thereby becoming the first ever Irishman to participate in international motorcycle competition.[1] He entered every Isle of Man T.T. race from 1908 to 1914. When he finished, he finished in the top ten, but he did not finish in 1910 and 1912.[2] His best finish in the Isle of Man T.T. was second place,[2] where he was part of the Indian team that finished first, second, and third.[3] He started riding Indian motorcycles in 1910, and he rode and tuned Indians exclusively from then on. In 1912 he rode an Indian eight-valve model at Brooklands to become the first man to cover 300 miles in 300 minutes. He was recruited into the Indian company in late 1914 and tasked with establishment of an Indian depot in Dublin.[1]

United States (1916 - 1932)

Dublin's Indian depot was closed down in 1916 owing to wartime economic conditions. Franklin was transferred to the Indian factory in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he entered the design department.[1]

Although Franklin has been credited with the design of the 1917 Model O as one of his earliest assignments, it is not known for certain who designed this model and Franklin himself had only been at the factory for three months when it first went on sale at Indian dealerships in February 1917.[1] A lightweight motorcycle with a 15.7 cubic inches (257 cc) flat-twin engine, this model was not successful and went out of production in 1919.[4] Franklin also developed high performance version of Charles Gustafson's Powerplus engine, to the extent that the side-valve engine became the main design used in American high performance motorcycles, supplanting more expensive overhead valve, multiple valve, and overhead camshaft designs used earlier on racing motorcycles,[5] and persisting well beyond World War II in Class C racing in the United States.[1]

Franklin then designed the 1920 Scout, a mid-sized motorcycle with a 37 cubic inches (610 cc) engine. Design improvements over Indian's larger motorcycles included a gearbox bolted to the engine and driven by helical-cut gears instead of a primary chain. Franklin's 1922 Indian Chief used a larger version of the Scout's drivetrain design.[5][6] Compared to the Powerplus-powered motorcycle it replaced, the Chief had dual camshafts, gear drive similar to that of the Scout, and a wet clutch.[7]

After designing the 1924 Indian Prince, a single-cylinder 21 cubic inches (340 cc) lightweight motorcycle which preceded Harley Davidson's equivalent single-cylinder models by one year [1] Franklin assisted Arthur Lemon to develop the Ace four-cylinder motorcycle design, which Indian acquired in 1927, and he redesigned the Scout for 1928. The resulting Indian 401 four-cylinder motorcycle and Indian 101 Scout had the same frame geometry,[1] which, in the lighter 101 Scout, resulted in exceptional handling and stability.[6][8] Franklin later designed a three-wheeled utility vehicle, the 1931 Dispatch Tow, based on the Model 101 frame.[9]

Franklin also designed highly successful racing motors in a range of valve configurations from side-valve to overhead-valve (both 2-valve and 4-valve) and overhead-cam.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Sucher, Harry V; Pickering, Tim; Diamond, Liam; Havelin, Harry (2011). Franklin's Indians: Irish motorcycle racer Charles B Franklin, designer of the Indian Scout & Chief. Panther Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9564975-5-0. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "TT Database Race Results: C B Franklin". iomtt.com - The official Isle of Man TT website. UK: Duke Marketing Ltd. Retrieved 2011-07-30. 
  3. ↑ "TT Database TT 1911 Senior TT Results". iomtt.com - The official Isle of Man TT website. UK: Duke Marketing Ltd. Retrieved 2011-07-30. 
  4. ↑ Wood, Bill, ed. (October 2001). "Classics - 1917 Model O". American Motorcyclist - Journal of the American Motorcyclist Association (Pickerington OH USA: American Motorcyclist Association) 55 (10): 71. ISSN 0277-9358. Retrieved 2011-07-30. "As it turned out, the Model O was exactly what motorcyclists didn’t want. Its small motor didn’t excite enthusiasts, and the dropping prices of mass-produced cars effectively destroyed the market for motorcycles as cheap transportation." 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Youngblood, Ed (June 2001). "The Rise and Fall - A Century Later, Looking Back at the Indian Brand". In Wood, Bill. American Motorcyclist - Journal of the American Motorcyclist Association (Pickerington OH USA: American Motorcyclist Association) 55 (6): 28–33. ISSN 0277-9358. Retrieved 2011-07-30. "His side-valve racers became the fastest things on the track, utterly defying accepted engineering principles. Indian's side-valve Powerplus-based racers were so good they drove the exotic eight-valve works machines into obsolescence, even forcing arch-rival Harley-Davidson to channel its racing budget toward side-valve engine development." 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wilson, Hugo (1995). "The A-Z of Motorcycles". The Encyclopedia of the Motorcycle (in UK English). London: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 104–105. ISBN 0-7513-0206-6. 
  7. ↑ "1923 Indian Big Chief Bigger is better". Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum. American Motorcyclist Association. Retrieved 2011-07-30. 
  8. ↑ "1929 Indian 101 Scout Possibly the best bike Indian ever built". Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum. American Motorcyclist Association. Retrieved 2011-07-30. 
  9. ↑ Williams, Greg (March–April 2011). "1936 Indian Dispatch-Tow - Sometimes, three wheels are better than two". Motorcycle Classics. Topeka, Kansas, USA: Ogden Publications. pp. 1–3. Retrieved 2011-07-30. "Apparently, Indian took the need seriously, because top designer Charles Franklin drew plans for a three-wheeled vehicle based on the popular Indian 101 Scout chassis, fitted with either a 37-cubic-inch or an optional 45-cubic-inch V-twin engine." 
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