Indian Scout 2021- got it!

MD · 24th October 2021, 09:32

Not a busy forum this cruiser one is it?
Been a long wait but finally my Scout arrived

. Clocked up 650km yesterday around lake Wairarapa- Ngawi-Martinborough-plus lots of detours along some tasty backroads. MartinB was bustling with holiday makers enjoying level 2 freedoms while we can. Never seen so many campers, tents, campervans at Ngawi. Chatting to one he said they are all afraid it may be their last escape for some months especially with Saturday's news of Blenheim getting a covid case- Bugger. I'm touring the South Island in 5 weeks- hopefully!

I have owned cruisers before. A Yamaha 650 twin US Special in London (1981) a Harley Sportsters 1989 and 2004 I got a Triumph America. The Harley fell apart at a rate I couldn't keep up with. Consumed more parts than petrol fill ups. The America was cool but 54hp was not cool.

What can I say. The Scout is a beaut. Extremely happy with it. Sweet 100hp motor is silky smooth and gearbox/clutch light as a feather to operate. Good brakes, goes around corners well, surprisingly well except that limited ground clearance keeps you on your toes. Wouldn't want to misjudge an unknown bend. All day riding and no comfort worries. The bags look fantastic and got lots of praise. The screen that arrived was the light blue instead of matching the dark blue of the bike but Jimmy was on to that straight away before I even noticed it and a replacement is on order. On that note cheers Jimmy (Whitetrash), as always a top bloke to deal with. That goes for all the crowd at TSS.

My only real concern buying it was tank range at 12.5 litre claimed. What a relief. I rode it to completely empty twice and it died at 252km and 248km so that's Ok. Took 12.9l to refill. Not fantastic but I can tour on that, maybe keep a 1L bottle in the side bags.

Lots of favourable comments from passers by. Does U-turns on a dime, so tight I was shocked, more like a small dirt bike at low speeds.

Nice gauges that my aging eyesight can easily read on the go and nice switchgear to operate.

I'm watching rain clouds gathering as I write this wondering if I can get out again today

**F5 Dave** · 24th October 2021, 17:40

Certainly aren't afraid to swap the genres around are you?

Having bought a bike from Jimmy in last few months I'd have to agree, but I was only ever going to deal with him having known him for 20 odd years.

Going to SI in 4 weeks. We'll try not to louse it up for you.

Ohh my first post in this subcategory I think.

**Navy Boy** · 4th November 2021, 10:37

Nice machine you have there. Lovely motor from memory and the fit and finish was lovely on mine. I always thought that Indian would do well to fit that motor to a naked of some sort - Then they went and brought out the FTR1200...

I found the Indian screen to give me lots of buffeting but the batwing fairing like yours will almost certainly be better in that respect.

Enjoy

MD · 4th November 2021, 20:51

Originally Posted by Navy Boy

Nice machine you have there. Lovely motor from memory and the fit and finish was lovely on mine. I always thought that Indian would do well to fit that motor to a naked of some sort - Then they went and brought out the FTR1200...

I found the Indian screen to give me lots of buffeting but the batwing fairing like yours will almost certainly be better in that respect.

Enjoy

Thanks. yes the fairing works a treat. Considered the higher screen option but pleased I went with the 2" shorty. It's a fantastic motor. Pulls like a train from idle then go nuts from 4,000rpm to over 7,000. Soft limiter cuts in at 7,750 (I tested it). So sweet to ride through twisties was the unexpected surprise bonus. Agreed the fit and finish is excellent. Every part is solid and well made.

MD · 18th December 2021, 20:17

Well the Indian passed the big test. Five days constant riding around the South island. Totally comfortable, loves the twisties, heaps of grunt for overtaking and the panniers turned out to be completely waterproof. They got tested with bloody rain for 2 days. Getting 280km from the piddly 12.5l tank so no worries there. Done 5,000km now in about 8 weeks.
Weird feeling down south. There are no people! Roads empty for ages. Poor Haast, Fox and Franz look like ghost towns.

**F5 Dave** · 19th December 2021, 07:19

Yes we were down there for a week last month. Was more like the 90s for traffic. Most notably Milford where there were no buses which was sweet. But not so good for local economy. Go now, support locals and enjoy this fantastic country in the window. Scan like crazy.

**Blackbird** · 20th December 2021, 09:20

Congratulations Mark - lovely looking bike and the range is pretty useful. You'd probably need a pee by then anyway

. It would be interesting to plot a graph of H-D sales vs Indian over time but I guess the diehard wannabes aren't interested in quality and reliability, not to mention handling.

**sugilite:Me** · 23rd December 2021, 11:08

Congrats on the new ride, good to see you made it down south too

**Navy Boy** · 2nd January 2022, 16:04

Nice job getting down South on it - It's a neat looking bike too.

A work/biking colleague of mine has an Indian Challenger and I've been out for a few rides with him now. It's a seriously impressive machine with really impressive ground clearance for a foot-forward cruiser. Plenty of grunt too and it appears to be nicely made and finished off. if I were in the market for a bagger-type ride that'd be near the top of the list for sure.

MD · 9th January 2022, 17:51

Well this may be a record for me. Had the Indian 10 weeks and done 7,000km! Holy shit I need to park it up and give it a well earned rest. The build quality is really starting to show. The 15k service intervals now make sense. So here's an updated picture with the replacement screen in the correct shade of blue. I was visiting a cuzzie's farm near Apiti and had to ride across 4 paddocks to where they were camping by a creek on their farm. Were some nervous moments in the rough soil and a ditch I had to cross. I have also added the Indian performance slip on mufflers and replacement airbox/filter for 10%+ more grunt and a pleasant noise, without being too loud to annoy.

So many favourable comments from strangers 'great looking bike mate'