Indian Motorcycle used the annual Wheels & Waves festival at Biarritz, France (June 2018) to confirm what had, to that point, been somewhat of an open secret - namely that the company will put a 1200 cc race inspired street legal version of its all-conquering FTR Scout into production for the 2019 MY season.
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| The Scout FTR1200 Custom, unveiled at EICMA in 2017 |
“When we unveiled the FTR 1200 Custom at EICMA, we said we’d listen to feedback from riders around the world,” said Steve Menneto, President, Indian Motorcycle. “Riders definitely have spoken and we will be putting the FTR 1200 into production.” The development of a one-off FTR1200 Custom fuelled the speculation and expectation.
The flat tracker style 1200 will be a new V-twin engine housed in a trellis frame and powered by a new V-twin engine.
Indian Motorcycle Senior Designer Rich Christoph, who was instrumental to the design of the FTR 1200, FTR1200 Custom, and FTR750 said that “We wanted to make sure that the FTR 1200 wasn’t merely a regurgitation of the FTR1200 Custom, but something uniquely ‘street,’ albeit flat track inspired,” said Christoph. “We’re thrilled about the character this bike possesses, and its ability to take American V-twin motorcycles into new territory.”
“From the very beginning, our intention was to develop Indian Motorcycle into a global brand,” said Michael Dougherty, President, International. “Armed with a strong foundation, it’s now time to break new ground for an American motorcycle manufacturer and the FTR 1200 is where that begins.”
The company is to run a sweepstakes where riders can enter to win one of the first bikes to come off the assembly line.