About 30 years ago, Neil Hultman pulled a 1930 Indian out of
a junk pile in a hay field in South Dakota. At the time, he wasn’t sure what would become of this bike,
but he knew someday it would be a project worth doing. Neil is a long-time Jackpine Gypsy –
having joined the club in 1947.
Throughout the years, Neil has played a variety of rolls in the Sturgis
Motorcycle Rally. He’s been a road
captain and led many rides through the Black Hills. He’s been a racer.
He worked at the race track for many years, and helped plan and execute
many events for the Jackpine Gypsies throughout the years.
A few years ago, Neil had retired, was living in Boulder
Canyon near Sturgis, and he welcomed his nephew from Colorado for a visit
during the Sturgis Rally. That was
when Neil told Ron Kriz about the 75 cubic inch side-valve bike just waiting to
be saved. And save it they did. Neil and Ron worked together to get the
bike put together, find parts to replace any missing pieces and get it cleaned
up and restored. While Ron was in
charge of the complete restoration, he had help from some greats in the
motorcycle world, too. Woody
Carson (since deceased) built the front cylinder and transmission. Bill Tuman, a retired professional
racer assisted in rebuilding the engine, painting and assembly. It took five years to complete the
restoration, but both Ron and Neil think it was well worth the time and effort.
Shortly after it was completed, the bike won the
Rat’s Hole Custom Antique Classic-Restored class in 2007 and the People’s
Choice Award for the pre-1960 class in 2008. Now, it makes its home in the Sturgis Motorcycle
Museum where thousands of visitors get to see the excellent restoration work
every year.
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