Swinging a leg over a Scout. A lucky test ride.

Last weekend, instead of my normal ride through the North San Diego County canyons, I made my ride about going to a few Motorbike shops I haven't been to yet. The first shop was a low budget, mom & pop style shop that I will be going back to soon. I also visited a big multi-brand dealer that actually sold some used gear. The last stop on my trip was to the Indian dealer. I had been wanting to check it out for a while, but time was never available. Upon my arrival I was greeted with a big banner proclaiming "Demo Day". How could I pass that up? Follow along as I talk about my first ride on an Indian Scout.

I have been following the return of the Indian brand for a while now. Another manufacturer in the game just makes things that much more exciting. While I am not much of a cruiser fan, I have admired the Scout. I kept my eye on American Flat Track this past season and watched Indian wipe the floor with all of the other brands. I was eager to see if any of that race dominance translated to their street products. The dealer had the 2018 Scout models in stock so I asked to take one out. They more than happily obliged and soon enough I was on my way.

The specific model I rode was the 2018 Scout Bobber. This one had some mini-apes added to it as a dealer accessory. The front and rear fenders had been shortened (bobbed) and it only came with a solo saddle type seat in very nice looking brown leather. When I first climbed aboard I was struck by the very low seat height. At 6'1" I don't usually have too much trouble reaching the deck with both feet flat on the ground. With this bike I had a very deep bend in my knees while perched on the saddle. The bike's weight didn't seem to be an issue. It comes in around 560 lbs. wet. That is only about 30 lbs. more than my Yamaha FZ1. Most of that weight is placed down low and makes for a smooth easy ride and a bike that is easy to get off the kick stand.

A very nice looking headlight treatment and a chunky looking front tire tread in the spirit of hipster scramblers. The hand controls mounted to the mini-apes were pretty standard. The dealer did say it had self canceling turn signals. A feature I wish the Japanese OEMs would adopt. The foot controls were very far forward. They felt fine underfoot, but their position had me off kilter the entire ride except for a quick freeway stretch where I wasn't maneuvering much. I just can't stand forward controls and super low seats. I lose a great deal of feel in the tighter turns and have no awareness of how deep I can lean. If this was my bike I wouldn't mind scraping the pegs. Since this was an $12,000 bike that belonged to someone else, I couldn't get comfortable with the thought of pole vaulting myself on those low pegs.

A shotgun exhaust system did a good job of keeping the engine sound from being obnoxious while still letting out a bit of roar. This rear shocks did a pretty good job of soaking up the bumps despite their laid over orientation. Over all I had no complaints about the suspension. Unlike the Harleys I rode in this post, the Scout suspension was very compliant and comfortable without being harsh or wallowing about like an 80's Cadillac. The brakes also left me with no complaints. With only a single disc front and rear stopping a pretty light feeling bike I didn't feel like scrubbing velocity from the ride was an issue. Brake lever and pedal pressure was firm and had decent feedback. The clutch lever had me off my game. I usually use only two fingers on my clutch. I had to go full fist on the Scout's clutch and it was disconcerting. Maybe I would be able to adjust the position to get full disengagement with only two fingers on the lever.

A view from the saddle and the saddle itself. I would have to say that while both the mini-ape hangars and the brown leather solo saddle look good, I didn't appreciate them too much. For the handlebars, I just don't go for the "pits-in-the-wind" ergonomic. These weren't too bad, but they don't contribute to an overall sense of security when I'm trying to tip into the corners. This is my feeling and your results may vary. The seat on the other hand just sucked. It was hard and unforgiving. The little upturn at the leading edge of the rear fender hit my rear end in such a way to make my tailbone ache. If the bars were lower (confirmed by trying out other Scouts in the showroom) and the seat higher and flatter, this thing would rock. The width of the bike and the low center of gravity makes the bike feel smaller from the saddle than it is.

After doing a nice little 20 minute loop around the dealer's neighborhood including a freeway hop, I pulled back into the parking lot. The engine in the Scout is every bit as smooth and wonderful as the magazines had made it out to be. Throttle response, sound, vibration were all very present and aggressive, but none were overly so. The spec sheet says 100 hp and 72 ft-lbs of torque. Less than my FZ1 on the power side though torque is slightly more by around 5 ft-lbs. Being on a cruiser didn't make me feel the need for the top end power rush that being on my Yamaha does. A bike like this wants you to ride it differently. If the ergonomics were more standard instead of extreme cruiser, I could see myself wanting one.

When I turned the keys back to the sales guy, he asked if I wanted to ride anything else. Indian has adopted the same sales model as Harley and even a Ducati dealer I went to once. Walk in looking somewhat presentable. Have a motorcycle endorsed drivers license and get a test ride. No waiting for a demo truck or special day. I have been able to get a ride on an MT-10, but I was escorted by the dealer. I was able to do a test ride on my FZ1, but that was a used bike. Most multi-brand dealers don't do test rides. With bike prices usually north of the $10,000 range, I don't think wanting to try it before you buy it is unreasonable. What would be unreasonable would be to ask the Indian dealer to ride this baby. It is a 1942 Indian 442 that was relaxing center stage in the showroom. A beautifully restored example of a WWII model Indian. It has a longitudinal inline four cylinder engine to along with the signature Indian valenced fenders with chief's head front fender light and the leaf spring springer fork.

Being surrounded by all of the cruisers off in the corner all alone was this 2007 Yamaha FZ1. It looked to be a fine example of the Gen 2 FZ1s and at a very nice price. It is a shame that it will probably sit in the showroom unsold for a while. The audience looking at the Indians was not the audience of the FZ. There were many other brands of pre-owned bikes that were probably trade ins. Most were Harley's which says something about the draw of the recently revitalized Indian Motorcycle brand. If they ever come out with a street based, sporty bike based off the engine used in their American Flat Track race bikes, I know that I will be intrigued.

Well that is all for now. More things are in the works for the Motorbike Obsessions Garage. I am busy clearing out some un-used things from both the shop and the family storage area to make room for an upcoming change to the stable. More on that as it develops. I have a track day at Chuckwalla coming up on January 19th so I'm going over the little Ninja to get ready for that. I also am going to be taking some very interesting training over the same weekend of my track day. Something you might not expect. Ride on back by the blog soon for more of My Motorbike Obsessions!

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