Motorcycles

Indian gets it so, so right with the badass Scout FTR1200 Custom flat tracker

Indian gets it so, so right with the badass Scout FTR1200 Custom flat tracker
Lift your wheels to the sky in praise of the glorious design of the Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom
Lift your wheels to the sky in praise of the glorious design of the Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom
View 32 Images
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: carbon-covered tank
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: carbon-covered tank
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: closeup on carbon-covered tank
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: closeup on carbon-covered tank
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: appears to be as fangable as it is gorgeous
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: appears to be as fangable as it is gorgeous
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: I'm not sure how long this retro thing is going to last, Indian, so you'd best build this thing immediately
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: I'm not sure how long this retro thing is going to last, Indian, so you'd best build this thing immediately
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: inspired by the FTR750 flat track racer (top)
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: inspired by the FTR750 flat track racer (top)
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: every biker should get the chance to drift a gorgeous bike up this famous LA aqueduct
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: every biker should get the chance to drift a gorgeous bike up this famous LA aqueduct
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: now you're just showing off. Carry on.
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: now you're just showing off. Carry on.
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: a black road crayon for the advanced rider
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: a black road crayon for the advanced rider
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: some off-road capability is a given
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: some off-road capability is a given
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: has logos on it.
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: has logos on it.
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: can wheelstand
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: can wheelstand
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: even looks good on the side without those extravagant shotgun exhausts
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: even looks good on the side without those extravagant shotgun exhausts
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: minimal dash
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: minimal dash
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: your tire budget may need to go up
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: your tire budget may need to go up
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: you'd better dress right to ride this thing
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: you'd better dress right to ride this thing
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: best learn to put your foot out, flat-track style, when you go around city corners – It's a fashion thing, baby
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: best learn to put your foot out, flat-track style, when you go around city corners – It's a fashion thing, baby
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: should ship with appropriate retro riding gear
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: should ship with appropriate retro riding gear
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: I'd put one in my lounge room, if my three-year-old wouldn't deface it in unimaginable ways
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: I'd put one in my lounge room, if my three-year-old wouldn't deface it in unimaginable ways
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: chunky Brembo brake caliper and Ohlins forks
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: chunky Brembo brake caliper and Ohlins forks
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: I'd put one in my lounge room, if my three-year-old wouldn't deface it in unimaginable ways
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: I'd put one in my lounge room, if my three-year-old wouldn't deface it in unimaginable ways
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: mudguards are for the weak
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: mudguards are for the weak
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: cog-shaped discs are a cool touch
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: cog-shaped discs are a cool touch
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: 1133cc V-Twin motor from the Scout
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: 1133cc V-Twin motor from the Scout
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: one of the least offensive headlights I've seen
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: one of the least offensive headlights I've seen
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: carbon lovers will find much to stroke and clean
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: carbon lovers will find much to stroke and clean
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: a flat track hooligan for the street? Yes, please.
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: a flat track hooligan for the street? Yes, please.
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: inspired by the FTR750 race bike
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: inspired by the FTR750 race bike
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: looks better than the 750 race bike, by a decent margin
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: looks better than the 750 race bike, by a decent margin
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: that Scout motor looks great, no matter what you put it in
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: that Scout motor looks great, no matter what you put it in
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: yeah, the plate's not going to stay there if you get this thing to production
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: yeah, the plate's not going to stay there if you get this thing to production
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: 100-odd horses should make this a spirited ride
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Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: 100-odd horses should make this a spirited ride
Lift your wheels to the sky in praise of the glorious design of the Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom
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Lift your wheels to the sky in praise of the glorious design of the Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom
View gallery - 32 images

Indian has had a fair bit of racing success with its flat track-only FTR750, but the company can't have been surprised by how many people desperately wanted this thing to get a street-legal production treatment. The timing couldn't be more ripe, with a wave of nostalgia sweeping through the motorcycle industry, destroying anything in its path that doesn't show up with skinny jeans, short, unprotective gloves and a weird fishbowl helmet. And here it is.

Fresh from its EICMA 2017 debut, the FTR1200 Custom takes the 1133cc V-twin engine from the excellent Indian Scout, and places it in a painfully gorgeous, trellis-framed flat tracker body, complete with mirrors, a minimal dash, a license plate and a barely-there headlight hidden between the forks instead of a race plate.

The signature detail by far is a pair of funky S&S high-rise double-barrel exhausts, which is the best execution of this kind of look I think I've ever seen.

Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: I'd put one in my lounge room, if my three-year-old wouldn't deface it in unimaginable ways
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: I'd put one in my lounge room, if my three-year-old wouldn't deface it in unimaginable ways

Carbon shields hide high-spec Ohlins suspension, and there's a fat Brembo caliper on a decent-sized front disc, so the bike is clearly built to party rather than sitting around being really, really ridiculously good looking all day.

I firmly believe that if it went on sale today, the FTR1200 Custom would be a huge hit. The market's keen for retro bikes, and the execution here is absolutely stunning. It's long, low, lean and mean. I've never been within a hundred meters of a flat track, and I think it might be the best looking motorcycle I've ever laid eyes on, even if its 100-plus horsepower performance might scare off the odd barista whose riding skills don't stretch as far as his earlobes.

Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: cog-shaped discs are a cool touch
Indian Scout FTR1200 Custom: cog-shaped discs are a cool touch

But – and there always seems to be a but – it's not a production model. It's "an exploration of what a street-legal tracker could look like." Hence the comedically small mudguards, complete absence of indicators, and the overall clean look that's very hard to achieve when your bike needs to get homologated by hordes of pencil-pushing, joyless, paper-skinned bureaucrats in three dozen countries.

Pull yer finger out, Polaris, and make this thing happen. Make it as close to exactly this concept as humanly possible, and make the bits you're forced to add on as easy as possible to remove. It looks awesome, sounds great and appears from the launch video to be extremely fangable. I'm smitten. Smite me further.

For even more, dive into our substantial photo gallery, and check out the video below.

Scout FTR1200 Custom - Indian Motorcycle

Source: Indian Motorcycles

View gallery - 32 images
6 comments
6 comments
Josh!
so awesome.
McDesign
So beautiful!
DavidRogerBrown
Wow! As you wrote,Loz,keep this beautiful machine as close to the concept as possible in a street legal model. H.D.'s flat tracker was well done but as all their bikes,100lbs./45 kg. too porky. Mile dirt track racing has always been,by far, the most exciting of all to watch live. Makes Nascar a snooze fest. Do yourself a favor & go see one. Why not make a 750 c.c. too?
jd_dunerider
That is a sick bike! I'd buy one in a heartbeat. Thank you for pushing your agenda to have this bad boy put into production Loz!
Martin Hone
Timing is everything. There is nothing new with this concept and is a direct copy of Harley's XR. With more performance, much less weight and a retro boom, then it should do well. Just look at Ducati's Scrambler!
captaincombat
I’ve been waiting 40 years for HD to offer one of these... sadly they screwed it both times they tried... 😩
Indian, Please don’t HD this up and I’ll be at the showroom first thing with my cash.. .👌🏻