THIS is a work of art. You need time to take it all in, then you need to ride it, and then to look again. You need to do both to appreciate all the details as the visual and the kinetic interlink.
The motor – you can see this visually too – is very modern. It reminds me of when Harley-Davidson launched their V-Rod. That was a cruiser with what felt like a superbike motor. The Scout Bobber is a bit like that, only not so muscular (it doesn’t have the cubic capacity) but certainly it’s a modern engine and 100hp is actually pretty fair for an 1100cc vee-twin, but expect linear power and torque curves. So you don’t ride it off the bottom so much as let it rip. It still makes a deep basso rumble, but with a higher pitch mixed in. It is smooth, though, and slick. The standard pipes obviously answer to the authorities – with something less restrictive it would be interesting to see how it would perform and sound.
Warren loved the Scout Bobber and chose to ride it over the Speedmaster. That’s based on looks as much as anything. The Indian guys have put so much effort into bringing together a design that works on a 360º basis; everything links, every part has interconnectivity with the next, it is one cohesive design. The detailing is exquisite for a mass production machine.
The Scout Bobber lives for an urban life. It’s a bit of a pose, for sure, but there’s enough genuine design and engineering to pull it off, it’s not embarrassing and the looks it attracts are admiring and inquisitive. And you need to keep it in town, because for real road trips that riding position and that short travel suspension make for a compromised ride. I wouldn’t call it outright uncomfortable but I certainly wouldn’t consider it for touring. Maybe for smaller, lighter people it works better. But in town it certainly works, you sit relaxed yet in command so you can give it a quick spurt to clear the traffic when you need, or you can just gently thrum along, and it has a modern set of controls and engine and chassis responses to keep you safe if others aren’t so alert.
In downtown San Diego it was fully within its environment. It has that same intoxicating mix of modernity and historical background. It has its own identity for sure…
INDIAN BOBBER SCOUT
SPECIFICATIONS
| Engine | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | Liquid Cooled V-Twin |
| Displacement | 1133 cc |
| Bore x Stroke | 99mm x 73.6mm |
| Compression Ratio | 10.7:1 |
| Electronic Fuel Injection System | Closed loop fuel injection / 60 mm bore |
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Peak Torque RPM | 5600 rpm |
| Peak Torque | 97 Nm |
| Suspension | |
|---|---|
| Suspension: Front – Type/Travel | Telescopic Fork/120 mm |
| Suspension: Rear – Type/Travel | Dual Shocks / 51 mm |
| Chassis | |
|---|---|
| Brakes/Front | Single / 298 mm Rotor / 2 Piston Caliper |
| Brakes/Rear | Single /298 mm Rotor / 1 Piston Caliper |
| Tires/Front | Pirelli MT60RS 130/90B16 67H |
| Tires/Rear | Pirelli MT60RS 150/80B16 77H |
| Wheels | |
| Exhaust | Split dual exhaust with crossover |
| Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Wheelbase | 1576 mm |
| Seat Height | 649 mm / 662 mm |
| Ground Clearance | 129 mm |
| Overall Length | 2274 mm |
| Overall Height | 1053 mm |
| Overall Width | 926 mm |
| Rake | 29° |
| Trail | 120 mm |
| Fuel Capacity | 12.5 L |
| GVWR | 449 kg |
| Weight (Empty tank / full of fuel) | 252 kg / 261 kg |
