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A recent video produced by Indian Motorcycle in collaboration with Dice magazine kicks off a series featuring “industry first movers who have made their mark in motorcycling.” The introductory episode features Randy “Detroit” Hayward and his “Endian 4,” a 1929 Indian Four with a custom electric drivetrain.
“I’ve been a strange kid all my life,” Hayward says. “I’ve always had this attachment to antiques.”
The bike was transformed into an EV by Hariimao, an electric conversion specialist in Detroit. The electric motor sits behind the Indian’s decommissioned engine, just ahead of the rear wheel, while battery packs ride along in leather saddlebags. Indian and Dice have a nice premise for their series, but I know I’m not the only one who came away disappointed by the lack of information about the electrification process. Randy offers a few more details about the build on his Instagram account, @detroit_antique_motorcycles, where he also shows some of his unconverted antique motorcycles.
“Three years ago, when I first conceptualized what a vintage motorcycle would look like with an electric driveline installed, folks thought I was crazy! I even thought I might be off my rockers to take a bike that is potentially valued at over $100,000 and convert it to an EV,” Hayward wrote in a post reflecting on the build. “Then I got a call from Jason Momoa to do some riding on an electric motorcycle [and] I was blown away. I haven’t given up internal combustion vehicles, but EVs are the future. So why not embrace the future while highlighting its possibilities in a vehicle almost 100 years old?”
This isn’t the first time Hayward has blazed his own trail in the world of antique motorcycles. He previously converted his clean 1929 Harley-Davidson DL into a period-style racer to run at The Race of Gentlemen. Purists were distraught when he refused to remove the bike’s rare original exhaust, and they were probably even more upset when the pipes fell off near the sandy finish line, but Hayward would rather ride his motorcycles than polish them.
That’s not to say Hayward doesn’t display them. He took the Endian 4 to a variety of shows after completing the build, including the invite-only Mama Tried event in Milwaukee. He enjoys riding his Endian when he isn’t busy customizing antique motorcycles or attending shows.
Nobody bats an eye at EV-swapping a VW Beetle or a Honda Super Cub, but Hayward’s electric custom is sure to draw attention wherever it goes. Of course, the Detroit native has no intention of slowing down. “We are going to shock the vintage motorcycle community,” he hints about his next project with Hariimao. See more of Hayward’s Endian 4 and other motorcycles on Instagram.
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