U
nderestimation is a particularly galling prospect for anyone delivering something new,
or beyond expected standards. The recipient just may not understand the sweat equity,
intellectual rigour and sheer determination that have gone into getting something new over the line.
Indian has done something good here and, I confess right here, it may have taken me a while
to overcome my preconceptions. At pick up the bike looked like an Indian, there was the familiar
scrolling logo, a masculine colour scheme of mostly black, silver and flashes of red, and there it
stopped. This bike apparently grew out of the dust, sweat and fumes of the American Flat Track
circuit, inspired by the ‘wrecking crew’ of the 1950s. It looks the business.
BUILT TO BE MOD’D
That seat and pipe layout, and trellis
framework, are every inch the modern euro
look. But there’s way too much plastic around,
and the finish is less than stellar and although
these are basically niggles, they can be fixed
with accessory choices that could be delivered
at buying time. There is a part of me that says
the pipes are too big and garish, the plastic
trims and covers flimsy and sharp edged, and
the indicators too jaunty. But, crikey! What the
hell were they thinking with the tail light and
number plate hanger? This is an abominable
look at the back of the poor bike – like some
one bolted on a bit of railway line and hooked
up a street lamp. Truly, stonkingly, shitty. BUT,
and its a big but, it is easily removable and a tail-
tidy option is the very first call you would make
on this. That, and smaller, less choked-up pipes.
Because, after all, this is a flat tracker/café racer.
And race it does. A Sunday morning excursion
up a highway had me staying ahead of a
recently experienced track rider on his
Aprilia 900 Dorsoduro, a place he remained
in, despite some effort on his behalf.
Steve Menneto, CEO of Indian Motorcycle in
the US, is reported as saying of the FTR that,
KIWI RIDER 47