Racing legend Erwin Cannonball Baker

It wasn't many years after the first American motorcycle manufacturers had established themselves that they invested heavily in racing. The expression "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" says it all about the advertising value of winning motorcycle races. One of the keys to success was the riders, and among the foremost daredevils we find "Kanonkula" Erwin Baker, who was a factory rider for, among others, Indian .

• Baker rode several motorcycle brands in his career, including Excelsior

To win, it was not enough to just have a reliable machine, it required riders who were both skilled and fearless. One of the most legendary riders from this era is undoubtedly Erwin Cannonball Baker. He was born in 1883, and is considered one of the pioneers of motorcycle endurance racing. He earned the nickname "Cannonball" after riding fast and non-stop over enormous distances. Baker rode for Harley-Davidson and Excelsior , among others, but it was as an official factory rider for Indian that he experienced his greatest triumphs.

• Indians Powerplus received a lot of valuable publicity, thanks to Baker's triumphs

In 1915, the year before Indian launched the new 1000cc Powerplus, Baker raced a Hedstrøm chassis with the new engine from Vancouver to Tijuana. The distance of 1655 miles was covered in just over 3 days. After the trip, Baker was full of praise for the new engine's power and reliability, and Indian got all the publicity they had hoped for.

• Baker also rode Harley-Davidson's boardtrackers for a short period of time

In 1914, Baker drove an Indian across the American continent, from San Diego to New York. The trip was completed in 11 days, which was considered extremely fast for its time. Baker set more than 140 national and international speed and distance records during his career. After retiring from active racing, he worked in advertising for the automobile industry and was an official starter at the Indianapolis 500. Baker's nickname inspired and named the transcontinental race "Cannonball Run". He died in 1980.

• Indian's 8-Valve racer with Baker in the saddle was almost unbeatable