t’s now been sixty years since my father Floyd Emde led from start to finish on the old 4.1-mile beach course in Daytona Beach FL to win the 1948 Daytona 200. To help celebrate the anniversary this year, I embarked on a project to build a replica of the ultra-rare Indian 648 Big Base Scout that he rode to victory.


     For those not familiar with motorcycling in the 1940s, the Indian Motocycle Company was in financial trouble following World War II and needed a shot in the arm to get itself back on track. The management decided to make an all-out assault for a 1948 Daytona 200 win with a limited production run of special 750cc “Big Base” Scouts designated “Model 648” that had every performance and reliability feature available to them at the time. Quantities of the production were reported at the time to be 50, but knowledgeable Indian historians have generally agreed through the years that while 50 engines may have been built, the number of complete bikes was more likely in the 20 to 25 range.


     My father was one of America’s top motorcycle racers of the post-war period. In 1946 he won the California State TT championship among many race victories and track records, followed by a victory of the 10-Mile National Championship race at Milwaukee, WI in 1947, all aboard Harley-Davidsons.
     Going into the 1948 season, he had the experience and skills to win the sport’s most important race of the year at Daytona, but did not initially have a dealer to back his efforts. His local Harley-Davidson dealer in San Diego who had been sponsoring him died of a heart attack late in 1947.
     It was not long however until Floyd was contacted by the local Indian dealer who told him abut the new 648 model coming from Indian and if Floyd would agree to race it for him he would get one on order. The deal was made and preparations went into motion for the 1948 race.


     Floyd had a good mechanical background, having been trained as a flight engineer at Consolidated Aircraft in San Diego (formerly Ryan Aviation where Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis” was built). During World War II he did in-flight final inspection runs on B24 bombers built in San Diego.
     When the war ended and he got back to racing, Floyd found reliability testing methods needed for the B24s worked in racing too. It was all about asking the right “what if” questions and trying to anticipate what could go wrong before problems presented themselves. Answers to those many questions led to numerous modifications for the race.


     They had to draw for their starting positions at Daytona in those days and with a record 153 riders starting the 1948 race, a good draw was important. Good fortune pointed to my father early as he drew a front row starting position. He led off the starting line and never relinquished the lead. At one point he led the 2nd place rider by almost two minutes until going into cruise mode and rode the bike smoothly to the finish. His victory was achieved at a record speed of 84.01 miles per hour and was also the last-ever victory for an Indian motorcycle.




     One of the keys to my project to make a replica of his 1948 race-winning machine was to detail the many additional modifications he made to his race bike to ensure that the bike would run the full 200-mile distance. But I needed a bike.
     The original Indian motorcycle that my father raced in 1948 does exist. It is owned by John Parham and is currently on display at the J&P store in Daytona Beach FL. It’s the real thing, for sure, when it had been restored about twenty years ago, it was put back into its original form as it left the factory and all of Floyd’s modifications had been lost to the ages.
     I began looking for a machine to have restored around mid-2006. Then, as luck would have it, a Big Base Scout went on the auction blocks at Jerry Wood’s 2007 Daytona Vintage Motorcycle Auction. And shortly following that event, a 2nd “Big Base” came up for sale at another auction in Kansas City. Being more motivated to acquire both machines, I was able to prevail at these auctions and now had two of these rare machines to work with to make one truly correct 648 Big Base Scout.


     Our family archives contain numerous photos, magazines and other materials that showed Floyd’s 1948 Indian from virtually every angle. So I knew exactly what the end result was that I needed, but mechanically this project was over my head. I needed a real professional who I could work with to do the actual restoration work.
My first call was to Steve Huntzinger, a fellow Californian who I have known for many years. His work is second to none. He knows the old bikes, even much older than my 1948 Indian. His work includes projects on bicycles and motorcycles dating back more than a hundred year old. When Steve takes on a project, he does it right and I am so happy that he agreed to work with me on it.
     One other key resource on the project was Tom Seymour of Saddlemen. I had photos, but no real dimensions of a tank bag that appears in the photos of the bike. The bag would have provided two purposes: one would be to carry some tools in the event of repairs needed out of the course. Equally important was that the bag provided a way for Floyd to rest him arms as he was tucked in going down the straightaways. Few, if any, other riders used them and it gave him an advantage for the grueling 200-mile race that included deep and rutted sandy turns at both ends of the 4-1 mile track.
     Tom worked with photos I was able to provide and came up a great re-creation of the original bag.
     Having two machines to draw from, most of the Indian-made parts were there for Steve to work from, but one item that couldn’t be bought was the old original tires. We had a rear Firestone tire like Floyd used, but no front. Thankfully, Dale Walksler of Wheels Thru Time Museum in Maggie Valley TN had a ribbed front we needed and donated it to the cause. The final piece of the puzzle was in place!


     My family is obviously very proud of Floyd’s Daytona 200 victory and are very excited to now have a machine to take to events in the future. Thanks to Steve Huntzinger, Dale Walksler, Tom Seymour and everyone else who pitched in with information, parts and pieces for this project.

It was rare to see a rider use a tank bag in those days, but Floyd used a bag that looked very much like this one in the race. It served two purposes. It could hold some tools in case he need to work on the bike out on the track; it also allowed him to rest on it down the two mile long straightaways. Riders without a bag had to hold on tight all the way around the track.

Before the days of modern pit boards and radios, Floyd and his crew used a set of code numbers marked on a chalkboard, followed by a number that pertained to the message. An example would be 2-40, which meant lap 40. A number 6 by itself meant to come in for gas the next lap. Floyd painted the code numbers on his tank.

One thing that could go wrong back in those days was the commercial kill switch that would often short out. A trustworthy substitute that was used for many years was a homemade switch made from a hacksaw blade taped to the handlebars.

While the standard Indian floorboard was used on the right, Floyd’s 1948 machine used a narrow footpeg on the left to keep the bike from getting “hydroplaning” in the deep sand ruts. Also seen here is a special air filter made to keep sand and water from entering the engine as the machine sped along the beach.