Indian FTR1200 - if they do, would you?
Discussion
ks
I'm a big Indian fan and owner. I really like the look of this but I'm not sure it will sell
Too focused and sporty for the average Indian rider
Not sporty enough for quick riders
Its a great motor and I can't help thinking they'd be better making a mid peg upright retro along the lines of the bonnie
Too focused and sporty for the average Indian rider
Not sporty enough for quick riders
Its a great motor and I can't help thinking they'd be better making a mid peg upright retro along the lines of the bonnie
Looks great, but as above comments, a bit niche appeal. Wouldn't replace my cruiser or sports naked.
Its not like flat track racing is big over here either....
Lovely thing to look at, and I really rate Indian as a brand. Likely the other half will end up on a Scout in the near future....
Its not like flat track racing is big over here either....
Lovely thing to look at, and I really rate Indian as a brand. Likely the other half will end up on a Scout in the near future....
Not my mug of masala - I wouldn't want to pay money for it but if I won one in a competition which was free to enter and required very little effort on my part it'd sit in my garage until I was motivated enough to ride it. That said, it does look much better than some of the wing'd horse of chav tat in their existing product range....
rodericb said:
Not my mug of masala - I wouldn't want to pay money for it but if I won one in a competition which was free to enter and required very little effort on my part it'd sit in my garage until I was motivated enough to ride it. That said, it does look much better than some of the wing'd horse of chav tat in their existing product range....
lol Indian definitely need you in their focus groups By the time they make it road legal/Euro compliant, I'd imagine it would like quite different to the concept.
But then again, quite a few manufacturers (mainly European) have made good jobs of turning concepts into road bikes true to their original design, others haven't (chough: B-King).
But then again, quite a few manufacturers (mainly European) have made good jobs of turning concepts into road bikes true to their original design, others haven't (chough: B-King).
Janluke said:
Too focused and sporty for the average Indian rider
Not sporty enough for quick riders
100% agreedNot sporty enough for quick riders
HD did the same with the XR1200, there will always be a niche few like myself who would buy and ride it but it'll never be a big seller.
Works as a parts bin special but if its anything other than bolt ons they'd be better not bothering.
andburg said:
Janluke said:
Too focused and sporty for the average Indian rider. Not sporty enough for quick riders.
100% agreed. HD did the same with the XR1200, there will always be a niche few like myself who would buy and ride it but it'll never be a big seller. Over the years, Harley have had a few attempts at selling "sport" bikes - XLCR, XR1000, XR1200, and, arguably, the FXR Evo big twin - but none of them lasted very long, and they were all pretty half-arsed (although the XLCR and XR1000 are now expensive classics, and the FXR is heading in the same direction). I don't know how the current Street Rod 750 is doing, but it's very much at the Triumph Street Twin, limited performance, new rider, end of the market, and I can't see H-D moving away from their core market with a performance model, even though there is a race version.
Indian have shown that they can make a race bike, so if they do the job properly, for a reasonable price, with a lightweight frame, good suspension, and a decent amount of power (I think the Scout engines make about 78bhp and 100bhp, which would be OK), could they make inroads into the "naked sports/retro" market, or does the brand have too much cruiser baggage? Perhaps, with the backing of Polaris, they could afford to try to diversify in the direction of Ducati, Triumph, and even the Yamaha MTs.
I love it, but I've wanted a road-going flat tracker ever since I first watched On Any Sunday.
graham22 said:
By the time they make it road legal/Euro compliant, I'd imagine it would look quite different to the concept...
That's always the problem. How much would they have to dilute it, and how much weight would they have to add, in order to turn it into a production bike?Edited by gareth_r on Friday 6th April 13:55
graham22 said:
By the time they make it road legal/Euro compliant, I'd imagine it would like quite different to the concept.
Hopefully they'll make a decent fist of it. In order to get the larger Indians past euro4 they ended up increasing the power by 15bhp and the torque by 15Nm, I quite like that approach gareth_r said:
Over the years, Harley have had a few attempts at selling "sport" bikes - XLCR, XR1000, XR1200, and, arguably, the FXR Evo big twin - but none of them lasted very long, and they were all pretty half-arsed (although the XLCR and XR1000 are now expensive classics, and the FXR is heading in the same direction). I don't know how the current Street Rod 750 is doing, but it's very much at the Triumph Street Twin, limited performance, new rider, end of the market, and I can't see H-D moving away from their core market with a performance model, even though there is a race version.
Indian have shown that they can make a race bike, so if they do the job properly, for a reasonable price, with a lightweight frame, good suspension, and a decent amount of power (I think the Scout engines make about 78bhp and 100bhp, which would be OK), could they make inroads into the "naked sports/retro" market, or does the brand have too much cruiser baggage? Perhaps, with the backing of Polaris, they could afford to try to diversify in the direction of Ducati, Triumph, and even the Yamaha MTs.
I love it, but I've wanted a road-going flat tracker ever since I first watched On Any Sunday.
I'd actually argue that the XR1200 wasn't half arsed, when you look at the list of changes it really is pretty substantial and none of the parts were found elsewhere eother than the XR1200x.Indian have shown that they can make a race bike, so if they do the job properly, for a reasonable price, with a lightweight frame, good suspension, and a decent amount of power (I think the Scout engines make about 78bhp and 100bhp, which would be OK), could they make inroads into the "naked sports/retro" market, or does the brand have too much cruiser baggage? Perhaps, with the backing of Polaris, they could afford to try to diversify in the direction of Ducati, Triumph, and even the Yamaha MTs.
I love it, but I've wanted a road-going flat tracker ever since I first watched On Any Sunday.
Oil cooled heads
Cast allow swingarm
completely new front end with 43mm upside down forks and twin disks and Nissin calipers (shared with a fireblade)
makes ~80bhp which isnt really enough for proper sporty riders and its not a fuge fan of revs.
the bespoke development of the above must have cost a fortune and probably made negligible sales difference.
If you like the idea of a flat tracker as a 3rd/4th bike take a look at the Fantic Caballero its only a single cylinder with 30bhp but its much much lighter than anything the americans would sell.
andburg said:
gareth_r said:
Over the years, Harley have had a few attempts at selling "sport" bikes - XLCR, XR1000, XR1200, and, arguably, the FXR Evo big twin - but none of them lasted very long, and they were all pretty half-arsed (although the XLCR and XR1000 are now expensive classics, and the FXR is heading in the same direction). I don't know how the current Street Rod 750 is doing, but it's very much at the Triumph Street Twin, limited performance, new rider, end of the market, and I can't see H-D moving away from their core market with a performance model, even though there is a race version.
Indian have shown that they can make a race bike, so if they do the job properly, for a reasonable price, with a lightweight frame, good suspension, and a decent amount of power (I think the Scout engines make about 78bhp and 100bhp, which would be OK), could they make inroads into the "naked sports/retro" market, or does the brand have too much cruiser baggage? Perhaps, with the backing of Polaris, they could afford to try to diversify in the direction of Ducati, Triumph, and even the Yamaha MTs.
I love it, but I've wanted a road-going flat tracker ever since I first watched On Any Sunday.
I'd actually argue that the XR1200 wasn't half arsed, when you look at the list of changes it really is pretty substantial and none of the parts were found elsewhere eother than the XR1200x.Indian have shown that they can make a race bike, so if they do the job properly, for a reasonable price, with a lightweight frame, good suspension, and a decent amount of power (I think the Scout engines make about 78bhp and 100bhp, which would be OK), could they make inroads into the "naked sports/retro" market, or does the brand have too much cruiser baggage? Perhaps, with the backing of Polaris, they could afford to try to diversify in the direction of Ducati, Triumph, and even the Yamaha MTs.
I love it, but I've wanted a road-going flat tracker ever since I first watched On Any Sunday.
Oil cooled heads
Cast alloy swingarm
completely new front end with 43mm upside down forks and twin disks and Nissin calipers (shared with a fireblade)
makes ~80bhp which isnt really enough for proper sporty riders and its not a fuge fan of revs.
the bespoke development of the above must have cost a fortune and probably made negligible sales difference.
If you like the idea of a flat tracker as a 3rd/4th bike take a look at the Fantic Caballero its only a single cylinder with 30bhp but its much much lighter than anything the americans would sell.
Indian have an advantage in that they already have a 100bhp engine and a frame design... although I'm sure the FTR750 frame is made from something rather more exotic than you'd see on a production bike.
When you say Fantic Caballero, I see this
Although I never had to ride a moped. When I was 16 you could still ride anything once you'd passed your test.
I really like the Indian, it would fit into my garage quite nicely as I have an Explorer for long trips and a couple of older bikes for when I don't definitely need to get somewhere on time or clean.
Depends on power though, anything much under 100bhp or so I tend to loose interest pretty quickly. I'd need it to be pretty big though, I find a lot of the classic looking bikes tend to be pretty small.
It would also need to be priced to compete with things like the Z900RS or the Ducati Scrambler.
Depends on power though, anything much under 100bhp or so I tend to loose interest pretty quickly. I'd need it to be pretty big though, I find a lot of the classic looking bikes tend to be pretty small.
It would also need to be priced to compete with things like the Z900RS or the Ducati Scrambler.
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