Indian FTR1200S

A flat-tracker for the road

Indian really are a company on the move. Their cruisers and bobbers are at the pinnacle of their class, and this all-new FTR1200S sees them explode into a whole new category with a bike that will deliver some serious aggro to its competition.

We grabbed an exclusive ride on a prototype in August during a visit to their R&D facility in Wyoming, and it blew us away. While you shouldn’t allow yourself to be fooled by the flat-track styling and the rampant success of its FTR750 brother’s dirt-oval dominance, you should take a very close look if you’re tempted by a big-capacity, characterful and beautifully built naked retro. In a landscape of compromised platform-sharing retro lash-ups, this is a beacon of light. Packing a claimed 120bhp from its 1203cc V-twin, the S model gets a top-spec fully-adjustable 43mm inverted fork, fully adjustable monoshock, 19/18in cast aluminium wheels with flat-track inspired Dunlop DT3-R tyres, Brembo M4.32 radial calipers, a steel trellis frame and millimetreperfect fit and finish. There’s plenty of useful tech, too. The 4.3in full TFT dash allows you to personalise the screen style, toggle between the three rider modes (Sport, Standard, Rain), traction control and anti-wheelie settings, and disable the ABS. It’s also Bluetooth ready, so you can connect and control your phone, music and other devices

If you’ve not looked at Indian yet; now is the time.