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1313
| Posted on Saturday, June 16, 2018 - 04:35 pm: |
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https://www.indianmotorcycle.com/en-us/news/press- releases/indian-motorcycle-confirms-production-of- ftrtm-1200-gives-consumers-the-chance-to-win-one-o f-the-first-bikes/ |
Hughlysses
| Posted on Saturday, June 16, 2018 - 04:58 pm: |
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THAT is very promising. I registered. If the street version comes with forward mount pegs, somebody at Indian needs to be horse-whipped. |
Jaimec
| Posted on Saturday, June 16, 2018 - 05:22 pm: |
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I don't for a moment think Hugh is "stupid" but I whole-heartedly agree with his sentiment. |
Tootal
| Posted on Saturday, June 16, 2018 - 09:04 pm: |
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Don't worry Jaime! We all use that to mean we agree. |
Rick_a
| Posted on Saturday, June 16, 2018 - 09:12 pm: |
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We'll see. For me it'll be a matter of how watered down the production version will be. Cycle World dyno'd it at 98hp/77 ft-lbs. That's not too impressive these days.. It does look like fun, though. |
Court
| Posted on Saturday, June 16, 2018 - 09:57 pm: |
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quote:ABOUT INDIAN MOTORCYCLE Indian Motorcycle is America’s first motorcycle company. Founded in 1901, Indian Motorcycle has won the hearts of motorcyclists around the world and earned distinction as one of America’s most legendary and iconic brands through unrivalled racing dominance, engineering prowess and countless innovations and industry firsts. Today that heritage and passion is reignited under new brand stewardship. To learn more, please visit www.indianmotorcycle.com.
Well . . ."kinda". Ya gotta love marketing . . . . By the way . . . the misspelling is theirs . . not mine. |
Hootowl
| Posted on Saturday, June 16, 2018 - 10:35 pm: |
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Well, they couldn't say unrivaled. That would be untruthful. |
Crusty
| Posted on Saturday, June 16, 2018 - 11:40 pm: |
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They've also gone bankrupt more times than any marque outside of Italy. |
Griffmeister
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 01:56 am: |
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Yeah, and they misspelled motocycle. |
Ducbsa
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 05:13 am: |
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Regarding the HP, I asked on another forum about why a water-cooled dohc bike had less than an aircooled, pushrod XB. No good answers were suggested. Surely it wasn't rwhp. |
Court
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 06:29 am: |
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Indian is enjoying some wonderful successes . . . at the moment and it's very cool. Were writing their ad campaign . . . . it'd start with . . . "We're going great places . . . around in circles" And go on to showcase the racing heritage of the company and how the current reincarnation has sought to be true to the legend. Then I'd have a spokesman like Crusty explaining the wonder and glory of motorcycling. I'd capture old folks . . . middle age and young folks and sell the shit out of them. But . . . hey . . . I am retired. :-) |
Crusty
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 07:11 am: |
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Regarding the HP, I asked on another forum about why a water-cooled dohc bike had less than an aircooled, pushrod XB. No good answers were suggested. Surely it wasn't rwhp. The answer is pretty simple. They don't have Erik Buell or the Elves working for them. |
Jaimec
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 07:21 am: |
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Griffmeister brings up a good point. The original name of the company was "Indian MOTOcycle," wasn't it? At least, on all the antique signs I've seen and at the old (now gone) museum in Springfield. Why didn't Polaris use that name when they resurrected it??
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Hughlysses
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 07:42 am: |
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The answer is pretty simple. They don’t have Erik Buell or the elves working for them. Apparently, they do now. Tweet from Steve Anderson last night:
quote:If they actually build something similar to their prototype, I’ll buy one. John Fox (ex-Buell and EBR), don’t blow this...
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Mtjm2
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 08:45 am: |
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I'm a sucker for a trellis frame . Watched a bit off flat track last evening. The series is sponsored by HD, but they couldn't keep up with the Indian's |
Crusty
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 09:43 am: |
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Nobody can keep up with the FTR 750 Indians. All the other bikes are based on Production engines while the FTR is specifically a race only engine designed from the start for Flat Track Racing. It's kind of like running Superbikes against MotoGP bikes. In the Main, there were 10 Indians, 3 H-Ds, 3 Kawasakis, 1 Yamaha and 1 KTM. The first 8 places were FTRs; the first non Indian was a KTM followed by an XG750R Harley. Either other manufacturers need to build Race specific Flat Trackers, or Indian needs to build a 750 street bike that they can modify, like everybody else has to do. Personally, I'm in favor of the latter. It has the same basis as the old Class C rules which kept racing more affordable for privateers and gave them a shot at winning. (Message edited by Crusty on June 17, 2018) |
1313
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 11:04 am: |
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As of my visit to the Museum of Springfield History - obviously in the winter - of 2013, 'Motocycles' was still referenced. Checking through my pics, every reference captured was to 'Motocycles'. The answer is pretty simple. They don’t have Erik Buell or the elves working for them. Apparently, they do now. FWIW, there are more Elves than just John Fox at Indian... I'm about as interested as Steve Anderson in the final outcome. |
Rick_a
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 11:12 am: |
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IIRC the winningest engine in flat track history was a race only Harley that people complained about for decades. |
Figorvonbuellingham
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 11:18 am: |
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I agree with Rick A. If they aren't pushing 135+ HP then it's just another dull run of the mill bike. I'm riding my 2014 Vstrom this summer and am just bored to tears... Put it up for sale even. It is fun in the twisties though. Maybe the FTM will haventhat going for it? (Message edited by figorvonbuellingham on June 17, 2018) |
Ratbuell
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 11:54 am: |
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I've spent some time on the Scouts and they're impressively torquey. Well-balanced, low center of gravity, nice handling. And the motor is rock-solid so far - we haven't had any mechanical issues come back. Some electrical gremlins here and there (mostly heavyweight saddlebag lock actuators), but the mechanicals are pretty stout. They obviously built the engine for reliability, but it certainly has room to grow. Polaris is taking this seriously, and are doing the right things for the right reasons. And, as an ex-HD salesman, I'm impressed by Indian's paint, fit, finish, and overall quality of builds. No chrome-plated plastic here...real metal, nice thick plating, quality paintwork... |
Torquehd
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 01:28 pm: |
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So are they just selling for flat-trackers? That's a pretty limited market base. Otherwise, it's an overweight, underpowered American Motorcycle.... just what we need. Which might do just fine. Apparently overpowered, underweight American Motorcycles don't sell. |
86129squids
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 01:39 pm: |
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What Joe said. The few Scouts I've seen all looked pretty dang nice... good ATD throughout. Plus, they have a distinctively different aesthetic than any HD I've seen. Random bonus for me- last night, my last 2 top table were a couple, both into motorcycles- dude had a "Team Green" Kawasaki Tshirt on, and several tattoos- he showed me a perfectly executed "Rat Fink" style tat, with the monster running over a "Hog" MC, with pork chops flying out of the tailpipes... I about fell over laughing! Wish I'd taken a picture... LOVE that stuff! |
Jaimec
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 06:09 pm: |
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I demoed a Scout and though the engine was nice, the ergonomics were flat out ATROCIOUS. If the new FTR comes out with that engine in something that places the footpegs midway below my thighs instead of way out in front of me I might be interested. |
Crusty
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 06:37 pm: |
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I have to agree with Jaime. Back in 2014, I took a Scout out for a test ride. The engine made decent power for a cruiser, but I was locked into a seating position that I could tell would suck in less than 100 miles. The nice thing about a Sportster is that there are endless bars, seats and footpegs that will let a person set the bike up however they want it set up. The other thing was that a couple of weeks after I rode the Scout, the EBR demo fleet was in Springfield, MA, so I took an 1190 SX out. Despite having almost the same displacement, the SX made almost (but not quite) double the Horsepower, and handled, well, like a Buell. Whenever Harley tries to market a performance bike, (XLCR, XR1000, XR1200) sales fall flat. It will be interesting to see how the FTR1200 sells. |
Zac4mac
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 08:49 pm: |
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Me and my 48 Chief
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Zac4mac
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 08:51 pm: |
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And a couple more....
<edit> These were shot on FILM, ya know, that had to be developed..... (Message edited by zac4mac on June 17, 2018) |
Jaimec
| Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 11:27 pm: |
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Crusty, I wouldn't worry about Indian. Unlike Harley Davidson, Polaris doesn't have an executive board that only knows "life-style" and "heritage." I'm sure they'll be just fine. |
Mnscrounger
| Posted on Monday, June 18, 2018 - 10:43 am: |
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Zac I LOVE the look of those plunger frame bikes. I kind of want to build one for putting around the lakes. I always thought an Ariel plunger frame 1930s style girder fork with a blast motor would be cute as heck, and easy to keep running. |
Adrenaline_junkie
| Posted on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 - 10:42 am: |
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I'll be honest. It is going to take great wheelbarrow loads of willpower to keep me from buying an FTR 1200 when it comes to market. I keep my willpower in a thimble in my wife's sewing room, so my financial future looks dismal. I think this is one of the best looking street legal motorcycles ever. Now we just have to see how much of the prototype makes it to production. And that '48 Chief is freaking awesome. |
Screamer
| Posted on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 - 12:01 pm: |
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MNscrounger, There were a couple of aftermarket frame companies in the 70's that made custom plunger-style frames. One was Amen that made the "Savior" (as in "save your back") plunger frame. I think three or four guys in our club at the time, had bikes with Amen or similar, frames. They rode better than a rigid but not as well as a swingarm bike. I still occasionally see those types of frames. |
Rkc00
| Posted on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 - 12:05 pm: |
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I am loving my new Chief Vintage. https://www.mjrphoto.net/Photography/Mikes-Quiver/ 2017-Indian-Chief-Vintage/i-t8T54hs/A |
Mnscrounger
| Posted on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 - 04:30 pm: |
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Screamer, I was aware of Amen and All Souls frames. Both were to by knowledge double down tube because they usually supported a big twin or a Honda 4. I like the single tubes of the Ariel, BSA, and the early Triumphs. I thought a no down tube plunger using a Blast motor would show off the mechanicals even better. I wouldn't expect it to ride as nice as anything with a swingarm. With an axle floating vertically, (and angularly to the frame), between two springs on each end side, it probably would corner even worse than a hardtail. But I view plunger frames and girder front ends as the motorcycle equivalent of garter belts. Impractical,more expensive, and rendered obsolete by more current tech, but whenever I see them I smile. |
Daddio
| Posted on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 - 06:41 pm: |
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Polaris did have a 1200 cc bike, the Victory Octane, but they marketed the Indian version, the Scout, first, then attempted to market the anemic Octane as a "power cruiser." Meh. I did enter to win the FTR, though. |
Ratbuell
| Posted on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 - 06:58 pm: |
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I think the FTR will have mid controls. The reason Scouts don't is the low seat height. Think VRSCA. The V-rod couldn't physically handle mids, till they came out with the taller VRSCR Street Rod. We put RSD mids on a Scout for a customer. Un-rideable. Heels up your sphyincter, knees up your nose. But, the FTR looks to be MUCH taller. And...according to the Indian site (I have yet to confirm this internally), the FTR will have a "new V-twin engine". Hmmmmm...... |
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