No one can deny good old Leno the passion he professes for everything that has wheels and smells of gasoline. Especially those vehicles that are already considered classics and part of the living history of the motor. This is the case of the 1940 Indian Chief with which he was involved in a spectacular accident at the beginning of 2023. Although he suffered several injuries spread across his body, luckily for him and all of us, his life was never in danger.
At the time, Leno himself explained in detail the reasons why he ended up with his bones on the ground and the Chief “seriously injured.” Apparently he was testing the aforementioned motorcycle near his private facilities, when he suddenly smelled a strong smell of gasoline: “I turned down a side street and went through a parking lot and unbeknownst to me, a guy had a wire hanging in the parking lot, but no flag hanging.”he argued then.
He concluded by detailing the chaotic accident scene: “So, you know, I didn’t see it until it was too late. The bike kept going, and you know how that works. You know, after you get burned, you get that one for free. After that, you’re Harrison Ford crashing planes. You just want to keep your head down (laughs).”
The return of the Indian Chief and Leno
Three months after that Leno and his Indian Chief reappeared on the famous comedian’s YouTube channel. At that time he made us participate in his new projects and among them was undoubtedly the complete restoration of his beloved Indian Chief from the 1940s. In the images we could see how both the front and parts of the sidecar installed were heavily damaged.
In the video he explained that, although his task was to preserve the philosophy of the model, he was still not clear if he would return it to its original state or, on the contrary, make some changes on an aesthetic level. Now he returns to share with us the long and arduous work to which he has subjected his beloved Chief, which not only shines again as it deserves, but also, after being rebuilt from scratch, exhibits a truly unrepeatable image.
Like taken from an official dealer
This is the feeling that fills us when we see the final result of the comprehensive reconstruction that Jay Leno’s 1940 Chief has benefited from. It is he himself who, throughout the video’s duration of just over 20 minutes, clarifies the most important parts of the process, as well as the most relevant details of this adventure.
“What happens when a rare 1940 Indian Chief motorcycle, once owned by NFL legend Joe Montana, is completely totaled in a freak U-turn accident?”they comment in the initial description of the video; “You completely rebuilt it from scratch, better than ever!”they conclude.
After the fatal accident “Jay handed the remains over to Indian specialists at Kiwi Indian, along with expert fabricator Jimmy Hudson and mechanic George Swift. Together, they uncovered the bike’s hidden history: poorly applied putty, poor chrome plating and structural metal fatigue.”they explain. Without a doubt one of the most important parts of the process has been the manufacturing from scratch and by hand of a completely new sidecar.
It was also used to completely rebuild the huge 1,300 cc engine as well as the three-speed transmission. The idea was to leave it as if it were taken from an official dealer of the brand eight decades after its official launch and boy did they achieve it. The result is a “beautiful blue and white cruiser that shows that classic American iron never completely dies”they conclude.
