Indian Scout test ride

Indian Motorcycle had a test drive event today at Chesapeake Indian Motorcycle located in ANNAPOLIS, MD. Indian had all three of their bikes ready for riders to take out on a group ride; the ride was about 20 minutes long starting with back roads and then moving onto the interstate. The event was fun and low key, no pushy sales people and free lunch. I chose to ride the Indian Scout. The Scout is about the size of the H-D Sportster, the Scout is close in size and overall design. The Scout rode well and ate up most pot holes without any issues, the seat was very comfortable and supportive, the engine had good and even power throughout the RPM range and was easy to control with no surprises; overall I was very impressed with the bike considering the price of this bike is $10K. The few things I did not care for on this bike was the turn signal switch was rather small and hard to control (hit the headlamp switch a few times) with gloves on, the throttle felt “light” overall, and the engine felt “buzzy” at times but not crazy.

Overall, I liked the bikes looks, power, throttle response, shifter, and seat but I would like to spend more time on the bike before putting down any money.

Paul

Perhaps its a little buzzy due to making significantly more ponies than the 1200 sporty?

I like the looks of those, but I'd rather see myself on a motard for a thumper.

Saw those at Bikes Blues and BBQ, where Indian (AKA Polaris) had their bikes on display. I think they had test rides too, but I didn't do that. Those Scouts looked nice.

yamaha wrote: Perhaps its a little buzzy due to making significantly more ponies than the 1200 sporty? I like the looks of those, but I'd rather see myself on a motard for a thumper.

Ha ha, I HAVE a Motard (Husky TXC 449) and would rather not ride it in anything other than short spurts leading to tight back roads if possible. Plus talk about buzzy.

Anyway, I bet it feels buzzier than a sporty because you aren't completely overcome by vibes.

Also, I think this is the first mid sized cruiser that has ever appealed to me. Maybe I will check one out as a commuter in a few years.

It's surprising how little those do for me. I don't know what it is but something about the styling really turns me off. But I really don't like middle weight cruisers from any manufacturer. I may have to ride one to see if there is any spark but from what I've seen it would take a whole lot to get me to consider one.

In reply to singleslammer:

Well, I technically do and do not want a motard.....just depends what you'd classify the ktm 690 duke as. Its no secret that I have an insatiable lust for one of those.

What impresses me about the bike is this: While that may not be super impressive by sport bike standards, that is killer HP for an 1100cc cruiser. The problem is that the power is way up at rev's where most cruiser riders aren't used to going.

Or to put it this way, those numbers and HP curve are real similar to the late V4 Magna's (adjusted for the Magna's smaller displacement). But Magna's, while they do have a following, never sold all that well.

I guess what I am saying here is that cruiser guys are looking for more than just top end power, and the guys who want top end power can find more of it cheaper in sport and naked bikes. So while this chart may make the winner clear to me, I'm not your typical new cruiser buyer.

My "assdyno" would agree with the graph and this helps to explain the "buzzing" as I was approaching 7K RPM which is near the limit, but comparing the H-D and Indian torque output the "assdyno" feels they are near the same and I think most cruiser buyers may not know or care about the extra HP.

I should point out the radiator for some reason looks larger than in pic then in reality.

Paul

SEADave wrote: What impresses me about the bike is this: While that may not be super impressive by sport bike standards, that is killer HP for an 1100cc cruiser. The problem is that the power is way up at rev's where most cruiser riders aren't used to going. Or to put it this way, those numbers and HP curve are real similar to the late V4 Magna's (adjusted for the Magna's smaller displacement). But Magna's, while they do have a following, never sold all that well. I guess what I am saying here is that cruiser guys are looking for more than just top end power, and the guys who want top end power can find more of it cheaper in sport and naked bikes. So while this chart may make the winner clear to me, I'm not your typical new cruiser buyer.

That looks like an absolute ass whipping to me.

The low end of the Scout isn't much below the Sportster and imagine it would blow it into the weeds in an actual drag race.

Oh it would.....I ran a sporty + nitrous in July, he ran a 12.3 at something pathetic like 112. I matched his speed and waved at him that run, and dude lost his head when he got back to the staging lane.

The only thing that gets me is the radiator. It looks like an afterthought. No garnish or chrome moldings? It looks like they stole the shape from a Diamond t truck.