The Snowgoose Chronicles: Indian Motorcycles Releases New Scout!

For the second year in a row, I forgot all about Sturgis until it was already going (not that I'd actually attend), and for the second year in a row, the resurrected (for the 5th time?) Indian Motorcycles - now part of Polaris Industries - released a new bike. Last year, it was the Chief. This year, it's the Scout.

Source: Auto Blog

Check out these videos from Indian Motorcycle's YouTube channel.

Pretty cool, right? Here's my favorite look for the bike, so far.

Source: Cycle World

Cycle World, Motorcycle Daily and Motorcycle USA (among others, I presume) have all published first ride impressions online, and their reviews are mostly glowing, with only minor nits to pick. The Cycle World review seems to verge on sycophancy, but maybe the bike really is that good.

Source: Motorcycle Daily

Just looking at it, you can tell that Indian decided to ride the fence between tradition and high technology. The frame is mostly cast aluminum, as opposed to the traditional tubular steel cradle frames of traditional cruisers. The typical cruiser engine is a narrow-angle V-twin with air cooling and two push-rod-actuated valves per cylinder. The Scout's engine features a 60 degree V angle, liquid cooling, four valves per cylinder, dual overhead cams and a counter-balancer. It doesn't even pretend to be air cooled, like the Harley-Davidson V-Rod with its fake cooling fins. Actually, besides the fake cooling fins, the Scout's engine specs are pretty similar to that of the V-Rod.

Either way, an 1133 cc engine that generates 100 hp at the crank is very lightly stressed, which leaves lots of room for owners and tuners to squeeze a lot more out of it.

Source: Motorcycle Daily

In short, it's not as traditional as the Harley-Davidson Sportster (the quintessential American motorcycle), but it's nowhere near as radical as the Ducati Diavel.

The Sportster seems like the Scout's most natural competitor. As far as specs go, the Scout beats the Sportster hands down. It's lighter, more powerful (by 32 hp), generates similar torque and can lean further into a corner.

Source: Motorcycle Daily. Click to enlarge.

You can read a more comprehensive list of specs for the Scout here, and for the Sportster here. Unlike most motorcyclists, however, cruiser riders are notoriously impervious to spec sheets. They choose bikes for far more subjective reasons.

The one disappointment about this bike is that - like the Sportster - it doesn't really live up to its own heritage. But then, no bike could. The Scout and the Sportster were the badass sport bikes of their day. They competed in everything from road races, to flat tracks to off road scrambles. And that's why it's impossible for any bike to live up to that heritage. Bikes today are so specialized, that no bike could be converted into both a champion road racer and a champion enduro.

Still, it's a cool bike. At first I thought I wasn't in its target demographic because I don't ride cruisers. But, maybe I am, because this bike might just change my mind. Maybe if they made a street tracker version...