Snazzy new tech and Euro componentry aside, there’s the engine and the style, both of which are unquestionably American. Note the flat spot on the exhaust breadbox to maintain cornering clearance. I never dragged the footpeg feelers, even on actual twisty roads. If the air temp is above 59 degrees, the coolant is above 176 degrees, and the bike is stopped, your FTR might start to sound like a KLR. The niftiest trick the FTR pulls, in my opinion, is a new cylinder deactivation function, where the rear cylinder shuts down at idle to mitigate engine heat.
#IMPOSSIBLE TWISTY DOTS LEVEL 15000 BLUETOOTH#
What’s not especially visible is the smattering of technology that this FTR S employs, namely three ride modes, traction control, cornering ABS, and Bluetooth connectivity, all controllable through a touch-screen display. Shrouds mounted on the sides of the radiator direct fresh air at the rider’s legs, pushing warm air away, with a small cost of making the front of the bike look a little wider. Though Indian doesn’t appear to be intentionally pulling wool over anyone’s eyes, you just can’t help but get a Euro vibe from a steel-tube trellis chassis with Italian brakes, German suspension, and a muffler made in Slovenia. The FTR reminds me a bit of some of the marketing campaigns that American car companies have employed over the years, with talk of “European handling” or testing at the Nurburgring. The only real remnants are the “FTR 1200” badging on the tank and the checkered-flag motif splashed across the color dash when the display first comes to life. Lance made the valid point in his first look article that Indian didn’t include any mention of flat-track roots in the 2022 bike’s initial press release. The dash being a touch screen makes the joystick at far right fairly redundant, except for adjustments made on the fly. Indian used the handlebar real estate well to place the three different joysticks far enough apart that they won’t get confused for each other. From a brand optics point of view, the last big change is the name, which no longer includes the number “1200” - it’s just FTR now. The smaller wheels and shorter suspension mean the seat is 1.4 inches lower. It certainly takes the look away from flat-track replica and toward open-class naked, as does the handlebar being 1.5 inches narrower and the suspension losing 1.2 inches of travel.
#IMPOSSIBLE TWISTY DOTS LEVEL 15000 UPDATE#
The update on this 2022 model of FTR that’s sparked the most virtual water-cooler conversations is the adoption of 17-inch wheels, replacing the 19-inch front and 18-inch rear hoops of the outgoing model (not including the recently introduced “Rally” edition). Now, the company has delivered version 2.0 of the FTR street bike, still in a dirt-track shape but with a few key functional changes. The race bike was a bright signal to me that the “new” Indian wasn’t pissing around.įive hundred and fifteen pounds of American muscle. Up to that point, the only Indians I had ridden were touring boats or cruisers, all of which worked fine without being particularly impressive. Once you used the separate, hand-held starter that plugged into the end of the crank, the FTR750 idled politely and never missed a beat.
Aside from having no front brake and the footpegs arranged differently on each side for racing, it was an absolute peach - perfectly smooth fueling, a power curve that would make any bike jealous, and a precision in the controls that mostly reminded me of Honda's ultra-exclusive RC213V-S. The factory 750 racer was the real surprise. It was an unapologetic proof of concept and a damned good one. The prototype was stiff and ornery, loud as hell, with a terrible seat and completely impractical features like air intakes pointed at the sky. Years ago, I had the opportunity to ride Indian’s FTR750 flat-track race bike, as well as the FTR1200 prototype, on a short-track dirt oval.
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