Three Flavors of Indian Scout - 2019 Line Up
In a marketplace where the terms “slumping sales” and “changing demographics” have become more common than nearly anything else, Polaris Industries has to be rather pleased with the state of its recent acquisition, Indian Motorcycles. Despite the motorcycle market’s overall volatility, Indian actually saw its market share grow in the first half of this year as compared to 2017.
Much of that success is due to strong sales of the Indian Scout, the company’s smaller, lighter cruiser. For 2018, the Scout comes in three distinct flavors:
Scout Sixty
The smallest iteration of the Scout, the Sixty aptly features a 60 cubic-inch v-twin engine that makes 78 horsepower. That approachable power output, combined with a low 23.5-inch seat height, lightweight cast aluminum frame, and competitive $8,999 starting price makes this Indian a terrific option for beginner bike or a rider’s first new motorcycle.
Riders have a choice of four different colors, with the ‘Indian Motorcycle Red’ and ‘ThunderBlack over Titanium Metallic with Fireball Pinstripe’ (holy mouthful!) being the only two versions of Sixty to feature anti-lock brakes. All the other mechanical bits are the same between the other colors. Visually, the only differentiators between the Sixty and its big brother are blacked out engine covers, headlight surround, handlebars, and cast aluminum wheels.
Honestly, what more could you want in a first bike? The Scout Sixty has style in spades, plenty of power without being intimidating, one of the most revered marquees and badges in the business, and sweet, predictable handling in a lightweight package. Sounds like a solid recipe to me.
Scout
Starting at $11,499, the normal Scout arrives in five different colors, with three of them offering ABS. Providing the motive force is a 100 horsepower, 69 cubic-inch v-twin nestled in a cast aluminum frame. An additional upgrade over the Scout Sixty is a six-speed transmission in lieu of that bike’s five-speed box. Due in part to its light weight and powerful engine, the Scout has earned acclaim as an agile, exciting motorcycle to ride in addition to being a great all-rounder.
One other thing the Scout has over the Sixty is the ability to ride two-up as standard. Other than that, the two bikes are essentially the same. Indian offers a long list of customization accessories to choose from including several different pillion seats/back rests/luggage rack combinations, performance upgrades, nifty visual enhancements, and upgraded storage options, making the Scout a versatile and stylish tourer.
Scout Bobber
Oh man, the Scout Bobber. Motorcycles don’t get much better than this. Starting at the same price as the Scout, and featuring the same 100 horsepower mill, the Bobber takes the Scout recipe and throws in an aggressive, raked out stance, reworked suspension, tracker-style handlebars, re-positioned footpegs, and those chunky, badass tires.
But it’s in the visual department where the Scout Bobber really turns things up a notch. Built around the classic bobber style, the Bobber makes use of chopped front and rear fenders, the aforementioned meaty tires, a side-mounted license plate holder, low-slung seat, and more black paint than a Sherwin-Williams at midnight.
Make mine a Thunder Black Smoke Bobber with a black Solo Saddle Seat and the Stage 1 slip-on exhaust kit.