After a hiatus of almost 70 years, Indian Motorcycles has revived the iconic ‘Scout’ moniker with the 2015 Indian Scout. A spiritual successor of the original motorcycles of the 1920, 1930s, and 1940s, the Indian Scout is a polar opposite of the rest of the American manufacturer’s line-up. Built on a light and rigid cast aluminium chassis, the Scout is the lightest motorcycle in the Indian’s portfolio.
The Indian Scout is middleweight cruiser which has been built from ground up to be a fast motorcycle. Unlike the rest of Indian Motorcycles’ line-up, which use a 111 cubic inch or 1811cc ‘Thunder-Stroke’ V-twin engine, the Scout will employ a new liquid-cooled 69 cubic inch or 1133cc V-twin powerplant. The Scout’s heritage necessitated the use of a high performance engine, which needs liquid-cooling. The engine gets modern touches like a closed-loop fuel injection system and a ride-by-wire throttle and churns out 100bhp and 97Nm of torque through a six-speed gearbox.
Speaking about the revival of the Indian Scout, Steve Menneto, VP of motorcycles, Polaris said, “Over the course of 30 years of countless innovations, racing wins, world records and industry firsts, the Scout has earned its reputation as a versatile, multifaceted bike that appeals to just about every rider and every riding style, with superior handling, balance, performance and craftsmanship. Our designers and engineers have taken that heritage and those characteristics and fused it into the 2015 Indian Scout, and we think just about everyone who rides this incredible bike is going to feel like it was built just for them.”
The Indian Motorcycles’ current range in the Indian market starts at Rs 26.5 lakh which makes it a very premium brand, accessible only to extremely wealthy customers. The Scout however, owing to its lucrative price tag, might increase the company’s reach in the Indian market by widening the customer base. The Indian Scout will be offered in four paint schemes- thunder black, Indian Motorcycle red, silver smoke (matte) and thunder black smoke (matte). Prices start at USD 10,999 (Rs 6.7 lakh) and deliveries in the US markets are expected to commence by the end of this year.
