If you thought Indian Motorcycle were resting on their development laurels, think again, as the company has finally put months of public speculation to rest with the announcement that a road going FTR 1200 – inspired by Indian’s long history in flat track racing – will be going into production.
While a formal release date of the FTR 1200 has not been set, Indian says it expects the bike to be going on sale some time in 2019.
In addition to announcing production intentions, Indian also announced a prize draw where riders can enter to win one of the first bikes to come off the assembly line. Riders who want to own the new Indian FTR 1200 can visit www.win-ftr1200.com for a chance to win their own bike.
“When we unveiled the FTR1200 Custom at EICMA, we said we’d listen to feedback from riders around the world,” said Indian Motorcycle President, Steve Menneto. “Riders definitely have spoken and the response has been overwhelming. We’re proud and excited to announce that we will be putting the FTR 1200 into production.”
The announcement comes in response to months of speculation and demand for a street version of the company’s wildly successful FTR750 – a purpose-built flat track racer that has dominated the American Flat Track professional racing series since its introduction last year.
That speculation was intensified by the company’s development of the FTR1200 Custom, a one-off build that toured global motorcycle shows this past year. The new FTR 1200 will take inspiration, design and performance cues from these two predecessors, but will maintain a look and style all of its own.
The FTR 1200’s full specification is yet to be announced, but it will have a flat tracker style, a trellis frame and be powered by a V-twin engine.
Also present at the announcement was Indian Motorcycle Senior Designer Rich Christoph, who was instrumental to the design of the FTR 1200, FTR1200 Custom, and FTR750.
“We wanted to make sure that the FTR 1200 wasn’t merely a regurgitation of the FTR1200 Custom, but something uniquely ‘street,’ albeit flat track inspired,” said Christoph. “We’re thrilled about the character this bike possesses and its ability to take American V-twin motorcycles into new territory.”
A small group of industry VIPs viewed an early production version of the FTR 1200 behind closed doors at Wheels & Waves, showing that Indian is indeed serious about bringing the new model to market.
“From the very beginning, our intention was to develop Indian Motorcycle into a global brand,” said Michael Dougherty, President, International. “Armed with a strong foundation, it’s now time to break new ground for an American motorcycle manufacturer and the FTR 1200 is where that begins.”
This is good news for fans of the oldest American motorcycle company, as of late updates to their model range have been limited to minor tweaks and new paint schemes. Even the Scout Bobber, which transformed the look of the Indian Scout, still uses the same tech the bike debuted with in 2015.
Add to that an ageing full size cruiser fleet in the form of the Chief line, which haven’t seen any substantial updates apart from the recent introduction of the Ride Command infotainment system, and you could almost accuse Indian of falling well behind the competition.
Here’s hoping the FTR 1200 is just the first bike in a totally reinvigorated Indian Motorcycle range!
