Carriker & Crowl Motocycles, Orange, California, 1916 In 1916, J. Carriker and L. C. Crowl operated Carriker & Crowl Motocycles at 37 Plaza Square, in Orange, California. Like most early motorcycle dealers, Carriker & Crowl also sold bicycles. The entrance to the Plaza Flats Furnished Rooms, located at 35½ Plaza Square, is to the left of the motorcycle shop. There is a gasoline pump on large wheels in front of the doors. The three motorcycles in the photo are definitely Indians. My guess is that they are the 1916 Indian Powerplus Model F. (Note the springs hanging down under the seats.) These motorcycles would have been painted dark red. 1916 was the first year the Powerplus was made. It had a 61-cubic-inch (998 cc) flat-head, side-valve, v-twin engine. They had three-speed, hand-shifted transmissions with foot-operated clutches (suicide clutch) and were chain driven. (Most motorcycles were belt-driven then.) They had acetylene lighting. (I'm not sure when electric lighting became an option. The headlight housings don't look like other acetylene housings I've seen.) Production ran for 9 years. Trivia Two sisters, Adeline and Augusta Van Buren, bought two of the 1916 Indian Powerplus motorcycles. (Probably not from Carriker & Crowl.) They became the first sisters to complete a transcontinental ride. During their ride, they became the first people—male or female—to climb Pike's Peak (14,100 feet) on a motorized vehicle. U.S. Route 91 used to run through Orange, California. That section of the road is now known as California State Route 91. U.S. Route 101 used to run through Orange too. OrgPL_10511979_a1_1200x838