The Indian Motorcycle That’s Worth Every Penny
The modern cruiser landscape has struggled to keep pace with other types of motorcycles and their innovations. The trouble is, modern riders also expect motorcycles to evolve with their wants and needs. Traditional American cruisers often have high curb weights, braking setups that would have been acceptable two decades ago, and suspension that shies away from a corner.
If you wanted a premium cruiser, you would get an equally premium price tag—but it wouldn’t offer the kind of modern tech or performance that you would get for the same money from other styles of motorcycles. Indian recognized that today’s buyer wants the best of both worlds and started working towards a solution.
How Liquid-Cooled Engineering Redefines American V-Twin Expectations
Indian’s solution was to offer the consumer a cruiser that was sophisticated and put performance first. At the heart of it was a new liquid-cooled V-twin engine that was high-revving and powerful, while still offering the kind of torque that one expects from an American cruiser.
With this new engine, Indian dismantled the myth that American cruisers do not have high specific outputs or engines that like to rev. Indian even gave it a modern gearbox and clutch, which makes it easy to ride in the city as well.
Track-Bred Chassis Components Complement The High-Revving V-Twin
Indian understood that performance does not mean good acceleration figures alone, so it developed a modern chassis that is rigid, helps cut weight, and fitted it with modern suspension, brakes, tires, and electronics. Coupled with an aggressive riding posture, this is a motorcycle that shows off what American engineering is capable of. For good measure, Indian threw in everything it had in its features bin as standard. But does it actually deliver on its promise to redefine modern cruising — or does the stacked features list hide compromises? The answer starts with what’s under the tank.
The Indian 101 Scout’s Muscle And Features Make It Excellent Value
This high-spec, uncompromising example of engineering is the Indian 101 Scout. This is one of the most revered names in American motorcycle history, which means that it has a lot to live up to. And it does it impressively, quietly beating Harley at its own game. It occupies the space of the performance halo product in Indian’s current portfolio, and it uses lessons from Indian’s participation in racing. The result is a mid-spec cruiser with the performance to keep up with full-size sport cruisers, while still being nimble and manageable enough for everyday riding.
A $16,999 Base Price Packages Flagship Equipment As Standard
The 101 Scout has a lot of legacy behind it. It used to be the fastest Indian before, so it has a lot of expectations to meet this time around. To that end, Indian has given it some extremely high-quality components and the most powerful state of tune for a Scout, not just today, but ever. That results in a base price of $16,999, which puts it firmly at the premium end of the segment. Whether that price is justified comes down to what’s actually inside it — starting with an engine Indian has never built before.
111 Horsepower Makes It The Most Powerful Scout Ever
The 101 Scout is the performance flagship of the Scout range, and it is therefore powered by the SpeedPlus 1250 engine. This is a 60-degree V-twin engine with liquid cooling, a DOHC head, and four valves per cylinder. Like the name suggests, it displaces 1,250 cc, has a compression ratio of 12.5:1, and generates 111 horsepower at 7,250 RPM and 80.4 pound-feet at 6,300 RPM.
Despite its relative youth, this is secretly an extremely reliable engine. This is then fed through a six-speed gearbox with an assist and slipper clutch and final belt drive to the wheel. This is quite a high-revving engine with a short-stroke design, something that the new American cruisers seem to be switching to.
A Tubular Steel Backbone Chassis Uses The Engine As A Stressed Member
The 101 Scout uses what looks at first glance to be a tubular steel cradle frame, but look closely, and you will notice that it does not actually go under the engine, instead bolting onto the front and rear of the crankcase at the bottom. It uses the engine as a stressed member, thus reducing overall weight. The frame is paired with 43 mm inverted cartridge forks and dual piggyback shocks from Fox.
The suspension is fully adjustable at both ends, with 4.7 inches of travel at the front and three inches at the rear. Alloy wheels with a 19-inch front and a 16-inch rear are present. They are wrapped in tubeless bias-ply tires and fitted with impressive brakes. At the front, there are 320 mm Brembo semi-floating discs with radial four-piston fixed calipers, and at the rear, there is a single 298 mm disc with a single-piston caliper. The quality hardware ensures it offers maximum performance once tuned to the rider’s preference, and it is a power cruiser that blends comfort, muscle, and miles well.
At 549 Pounds, The 101 Scout Sits Between The Sportster S And Low Rider S — And That’s By Design
The 101 Scout is a mid-size cruiser, and that is reflected in its dimensions. It is 86.9 inches long and 37.6 inches wide, with a 61.5-inch wheelbase. The seat height is a really low 26.8 inches, but the ground clearance is decent at 4.4 inches. The fuel tank holds 3.4 gallons maximum, and it weighs 549 pounds.
The long wheelbase means it will be very stable at speed, although it is still a performance cruiser, which means handling remains a benchmark as well. The curb weight puts it in the middle of the road, depending on what you are comparing it to. Two sporty cruisers fall on either side of the 101 Scout’s curb weight: the Sportster S weighs 502 pounds, whereas the Low Rider S weighs 670 pounds.
Standard Keyless Ignition And Bluetooth Nav Come With An Important Omission
The 101 Scout is equipped with Indian’s well-known four-inch circular touchscreen TFT display. It is equipped with the Ride Command system, providing access to features such as Bluetooth navigation with weather and traffic alerts, towing or bump alerts, vehicle location, and bike health monitoring. The Ride Command’s extensive features are one of the things that make this the best Sportster S alternative on the market today. Keyless ignition and a USB charging port are standard.
The options list is relatively short and has items like smoked indicators, a Pathfinder LED headlamp, soft luggage, and a 10-inch handlebar riser. It is also worth noting that the 101 Scout is a single-seater motorcycle, and the pillion perch must be added via the options list. A by-wire throttle enables three ride modes and cruise control. Dual-channel ABS and switchable traction control are also present, but there is no six-axis IMU, so there are no cornering functions.
Modest Cornering Clearance And Limited Suspension Travel Limit Its Capabilities
Despite its combination of price and impressive torque, it is not all roses for the 101 Scout. It needs to improve a few things to truly challenge the competition for the crown of sportiest cruiser: the choice of twin rear shocks gives it limited rear suspension travel, there is no six-axis IMU, the maximum lean angle is just 33 degrees, and the fuel tank is too small for spirited riding.
It also has a very aggressive seating position. This, combined with almost no wind protection, can make it very tiring on long highway runs. If you intend to take a pillion along for the ride, you are going to have to add the cost of a pillion seat, footpegs, and mounting points.
Established American And Japanese Rivals Offer Competing Sport Cruiser Approaches
If you are on a budget and want a sporty cruiser, there is no real alternative to the Suzuki Boulevard M109R, a muscle cruiser that feels effortless to own. It still has the most power in a cruiser for under $20,000; however, it is extremely heavy, has a five-speed gearbox, a driveshaft, and no safety features whatsoever — not even ABS — so it should be considered only if you are on a budget.
The most obvious choices will be products from Harley-Davidson. There are two that bookend the 101 Scout both in specs and price. The first one is the Sportster S: it is a completely modern interpretation of a sporty cruiser.
It is surprisingly sporty thanks to a perimeter frame that uses the engine as a stressed member to keep the weight down. The liquid-cooled Revolution Max engine also uses variable valve timing on all its valves to great effect, giving the Sportster S plenty of power to play with. In addition, it has a six-axis IMU, so there are cornering-enabled safety features and performance-enhancing features.
If you prefer it old-school, there is the Low Rider S, which might be American but has Japanese reliability. It utilizes the most powerful version of the Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine, has inverted front forks, and dual front brake discs like the Sportster S. It also sports a six-axis IMU but prefers analog instrumentation. It weighs a considerable amount more than the 101 Scout, but it will make for a much better highway machine thanks to its torquey, large-displacement V-twin.
Source: Indian Motorcycle
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