Originally launched in 1920 and responsible for rejuvenating the post-Hedstrom/Hendee Indian Motocycle Company, the Scout will be a hundred years old next year and a further rejuvenated Indian Motorcycle has just announced how they intend to honour such an iconic part of the marque’s history.
And if you thought that the liquid-cooled, DOHC model that bears the Scout name is incapable of paying tribute to something that old, you might be surprised by how good a job they’ve done, without straying too far from the Scout’s parts bin.
There are actually two models involved here, but as the Limited Edition 100th Anniversary will number just 750 worldwide, we will be focusing on the new Scout Bobber Twenty … after remarking on just how the classic pin-striping changes those mudguards, working with the black-rimmed laced wheels beneath, a chrome rear rack and Hollywood-style handlebars. Top it off with a large Indian script decal on a close-enough match to the original vermillion and a desert tan solo seat suspended above the frame, and then hide the mechanical bits and pieces beneath a layer of black paint and you’ve got a worthy tribute to the work of CB Franklin.
What you are more likely to see on the street is no less impressive: a restyled Bobber with mini-apehanger handlebars, laced wheels, another solo seat in a darker hue and the biggest Indian headdress that will fit on the flat side of the fuel tank, painted in a contrasting colour to its main body. It is as the Forty-Eight Special is to Harley’s Forty-Eight, but don’t knock it: it works. I want the Scout Bobber Twenty in its black and silver livery more than I want an FTR!
Sadly, we won’t be getting the nice underslung mirrors here, or the side-mount – they don’t conform with EU regs – but they can be added later and there are plenty of other options available. And while we won’t get the sportier two-into-one shown on a couple of bikes as standard, it’s good to see Indian offering an alternative to the homologated system that has always worked against the models’ simplicity: let’s hope they get that certified and start using it more often.
We’re still waiting on the all-important price details to come out and will update this when they do: let’s hope its closer to the Forty-Eight than the Street Bob.
I’m looking forward to seeing what they do for the Scout’s 101st anniversary!