INDIAN’S FTR 1200 LIKES IT FLAT OUT
It was all so simple: the Scout was my favourite Indian bike in the entire universe, including Planet Zog.
And now the American company’s gone and brought out the FTR 1200, and made everything so much more complicated.
Mind you, I should have been expecting it.
FTR stands for Flat Tracker, and in the 1940s and 50s, Indian dominated flat track racing, or what we’d call speedway.
So when Polaris bought the Indian name in 2011, a flat tracker was always on the horizon.
Climb on board, and the riding position pitches you forward to the wide bars more aggressively than the laid back and feet forward seating of the Scout.
The standard model has a simple analogue speedo with a small digital information panel, but the S model we were riding comes with a snazzy TFT touchscreen.
Ride off, even in standard riding mode, and it’s immediately obvious that this is a much more aggressive beast than the Scout, with 123bhp compared to the Scout’s 100, and a dry weight of 222kg compared to the Scout’s 246kg.
At first, handling was slightly light at the front for a bike with the fuel tank under the seat both for mass centralisation and a low centre of gravity. But I suspected it was because at 103kg, I was weighing down the back and making the front end light.
At the first coffee stop, one of the Indian tech guys firmed up the rear preload several clicks, and the difference was huge, with the bike now carving through bends with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel. Minus the blood.
There. That sorted, it was time to switch from standard riding mode to sport, and now the bike’s aggression took on a harder edge, not scarily so, but just supremely satisfying as I powered out of bends or bombed past unsuspecting cars given even half a chance between bends.
Only two small complaints: slightly snatchy fuelling on a closed throttle between 4,000 and 5,000rpm, and a slight vibeyness at the same revs which gave my nether regions a disturbing tingling sensation.
Did I prefer it to the Scout? Not quite. It’s got more grunt, but I prefer the Scout’s more classical looks, especially the exquisite cream and burgundy speedo.
But then, it’s pretty good news for Indian if the FTR 1200’s main rival for my affections is another Indian.