Indian FTR750 race bike
After dominating flat track racing here in the United States earlier this year and taking the championship, Indian plans to introduce an FTR1200 production model on October 1. Inspired by the FTR750 race bike (pictured above), the FTR1200 will, according to Indian, feature a “new engine”.
We wonder if this new engine will be a version of the 1,179cc 60 degree v-twin found in the discontinued Victory Octane, or whether it will in fact be all new. The Octane motor made a claimed 104 horsepower, and we loved its performance and character when we tested the Octane last year.
Indian has released another teaser video (that confirms the October 1 reveal) that you can see at the bottom of this article. Here is Indian’s description of the new model:
- Indian Motorcycle confirms production of FTR™ 1200 & gives consumers the chance to win one of the first bikes off the production line
- Plans announced for new flat track-inspired street bike, with on sale date in 2019; Global Sweepstakes provides consumers the chance to win their own.
[BIARRITZ, FRANCE] – Indian Motorcycle has put months of public speculation to rest. Today, at the Wheels & Waves festival in France, the iconic American motorcycle company confirmed that an FTR 1200, inspired by Indian’s storied history in flat track racing, will be going into production.
While a formal release date has not been set, plans point toward the bike going on sale in 2019.
In addition to announcing production intentions, Indian also announced a sweepstakes where riders can enter to win one of the first bikes to come off the assembly line. Riders intent on owning the new Indian FTR 1200 can visit www.indianmotorcycle.com/en-us/ftr1200/ for a chance to win the highly anticipated new model.
“When we unveiled the FTR1200 Custom at EICMA, we said we’d listen to feedback from riders around the world,” said Steve Menneto, President, Indian Motorcycle. “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 in 2017.
Victory Octane with 1,079cc v-twin
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 its own.
The FTR 1200’s full specification is yet to be announced, but it will embody a flat tracker style, housed in a trellis frame and powered by a new 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.”
Visit www.indianmotorcycle.com to sign up for a chance to win one of the first FTR 1200’s off the production line and to stay informed as more information about the full specification of the production bike and the official launch date becomes available.
See more of MD’s great photography:
If this is really to roll close to 450 pounds it will be a very good thing.
Wow. So much complaining and negativity. One person complaining that it won’t be a Gold Wing, another complaining that it won’t be a competition bike with a license plate, a third complaining that it will cost more than five thousand dollars and weigh more than a trials bike, a fourth complaining that it won’t outpower an H2, someone complaining about the styling before the bike has even broken cover, someone still butthurt for some reason about Victory . . .
No bike is perfect. No bike will make you happy if you have already decided not to be.
I hope the bike is awesome. I think it will probably still be pretty good regardless.
I think that anyone like me would point out that there have been promises of street trackers before that were horribly broken. The verbiage above does all but promise another let down. Starting with that 1200 bit.
Polaris does make units that strive to save weight and they do sell units that have high specific output engines in them. There are a lot of red blooded American motorcyclists that would like them to act a bit more like KTM than Harley Davidson with their motorcycle division. Mid-displacement scramblers are huge now. A mid-displacement street tracker seems like a no brainer. TT scrambles and dirt track races are traditionally raced on very similar equipment.
Meh – screw the armchair whining. Perfect…? No – of course not. An important and much-welcomed (and incessantly ALSO whined about) change of design/product direction for Polaris/an American manufacturer, that just may turn out to be a very good motorcycle (with a standard seating position, of all things!?!)? Why, what the heck yes!
And frankly, I think the bike in the leaked photo (sitting atop a lift table) looks gorgeous (aside from the funky Z1000-ish muffler) – beautiful, well-developed trellis frame and swingarm, USD forks, big-ish dual front discs with radial calipers, linkage-less side-mounted shock, real-world seat & overall ergos, sexy Duc-like curvy headers, etc… Very, very nicely proportioned, IMO. If it actually turns out to be a decent performer, I’d likely nab one if I could…
The bike in the leaked photo looks frumpy compared to the one above. The seat is to big,the exhaust is too low and the dimensions seem to be off. If the leaked photo is the final product, then there is nothing to get excited about.
The bike in the leaked photo may not be a street tracker, but it looks like it has the potential to be a very nice standard bike in the spirit of what many were hoping Project 156 would be… More Ducati Scrambler than FTR750. Probably a good business move given how popular the scramblers have been.
Agreed. It’s been done before. A raw, race bike with lights are like crazy girlfriends. They seem like a good idea until you’ve lived with them for a few weeks. The early Duke 690’s and the Aprilia 450/550rxv’s illustrated this well.
Are some of you so naive that you think Polaris will produce a “street tracker” that looks and runs just like the dirt track racer with lights? Not a chance. The motor in that FTR750 is similar to a motoGP engine, in that it’s a purpose-built racing powerplant, not a street engine. OBTW, you can purchase the FTR750 for something like $50,000 if you’d like to race one.
I ain’t expectin’ to be thrilled. Will Indian still respect us in the morning?
If Indian?Polaris would only read, here and other places of note on the interwebs, they might have a chance and selling what they bring to market. I am guessing (and hoping I am wrong) the bike will have a dinky fuel tank, a stupid single disc brake up front and hideous angular styling. I don’t understand the supposed interest in flat-track racing. I could care less but the truth is a race bike ain’t a street bike. A street bike needs to be able to go further than a few laps around a track. It needs to handle well. It needs suspension capable of handing riders of different sizes. It needs to be manageable on all accounts. I really hope I’m wrong, but…
…Get ready to be Rodney Dangerfield. Again.
You said, “the bike will have a dinky fuel tank, a stupid single disc brake up front and hideous angular styling.”
That described my KTM Duke 690. Then you wrote, ” A street bike needs to be able to go further than a few laps around a track. It needs to handle well. It needs suspension capable of handing riders of different sizes. It needs to be manageable on all accounts. ”
That is also my duke 690. My daughter, a senior in majoring in engineering, and I did a week-long motorcycle trip in Idaho (GREAT riding roads – wow) and she rode the duke 3,000 miles in 7 days, with a “dinky fuel tank, single front disk brake, and hideous angular styling,” and she LOVED it.
I told her that if she finishes her degree in 4 years, I’ll buy her a motorcycle. Her choice? KTM 790 duke. I placed my order a month ago. To her, the 790 is quite a bit faster without much weight penalty. I don’t even know if it has a single or dual front disk brake. Given my history with KTM, they’ll have that figured out.
You need to learn that just because YOU don’t like something, it doesn’t mean that others won’t like it. I don’t understand how people will complain about choice. If YOU don’t like it, YOU shouldn’t buy it. That doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t like it, or that I won’t buy it. We should be thankful that we have the opportunity to NOT like something. How great is that?
It’s all about perspective.
Agreed
I rarely see a KTM, much less a Duke, on the road. It’s not that it’s not a good bike, but it’s also not what a lot of people want. That that you and your daughter like the bike does not neutralize that fact and hope to stir up support from other like “minded” individuals. Talk is cheap but manufacturers needs sales and talking about how great a bike is but not buying it does not equal that desire result.
But I’m happy that the both of you enjoy it.
Your supposition that I “need to learn” is silly and is nothing but an attempt to negate the fact that this bike needs to be more than just butt jewelry that can go around the block, stop at a gas station and then go around the block again. All in a circle.
If it is just a dinky tanked flat track replica, then it’s for circle jerques, i.e., poseurs, bench racers, et al.
Again, glad you and your kid like your Duke. I know people that tour on DR650s (with aftermarket BIG tanks). Great. I know people that ride 125s. Great. Now I “know” a guy and his kid that ride a KTM Duke. Great.
Like I said, I don’t see many KTMs on the roads I ride but then I ride all over the western USA. And not on a flat track circle. Have fun riding with your kid!
It’s hard to take someone seriously that borrows clever dialogue from the Ass Monkey.
Why does it have to be 1200cc? 750 or 850cc should suffice to keep weight & bulk down. No need for 100 HP either. A retro street looking bike with occasional forays on highways might be okay if vibration is under control, tank allows for over 150 non stop for fuel miles. Under 450 lbs? Well under $10,000? Good luck!
No need for 100hp??? Can’t believe you had the nerve to say that on this forum!
My modified ’14 CB1100 so far has dynoed 100hp and 72lb/ft at the rear wheel and people still say it is not powerful enough. Go figure.
Why does it have to be 1200cc? 750 or 850cc should suffice to keep weight & bulk down. No need for 100 HP either. A retro street looking bike with occasional forays on highways might be okay if vibration is under control, tank allows for over 150 non stop for fuel miles. Under 450 lbs? Well under $10,000? Good luck!
My guess = it was either this engine or the Scout’s. I think they went with the 1200 because of the need to compete in the “bigger is better” marketplace and there might not have been anything to save by going with the slightly smaller engine.
If “this engine” means the one in the FTR750 race bike, you can forget that. It is a purpose-built racing engine never intended for street use, rather like the Harley XR750
.
Have any of you taken up on-line dating? Meeting someone after seeing their photo is often a bit of bait and switch. This I predict will be one of the worst offenders. Here we are looking at the sexy as hell super model of a concept. So lithe, scantily dressed and purposeful… Show up on October 1st and find out that photo was prior to living in a board room with a group of people that forced it to have many child discussions on carrying a passenger and other forced reg’s to get it to the public.
WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER
I really hope Indian isn’t about to catfish me.
If the leaked image (easily found with google) is the final product, it’s an awesome looking open-class naked bike, but much heavier & bulkier than the dirt tracker it’s designed to look like. Similar proportions to the new Honda CB1000r.
One man’s awesome, is another man’s sad ugly POS. I hope those photos are of a garage project gone wrong.
+1to Dave.
Geez, race bikes are always faster, lighter and better looking than their street counterparts. Unless you’re willing to spend big bucks, that’s the tradeoff to make it affordable.
No front brake? Ill take one.
I’ll wait and see if they do more than warm something over. Love the look of the flat tracker but they better relaly work at it. Dont do an HD and keep swapping fenders and paint around on the same bike and giving it a new name.
I think this thing is going to be cool. An American roadster. My guess is performance will be on par with an MT-09, or I hope it is.
It won’t even be in the same universe, performance-wise, as the MT-09. It’s going to weigh a million pounds more, with a much longer wheelbase. Also, the Victory Octane’s 104 claimed hp actually produced only about 80 hp at the wheel.
In other words, don’t get your hopes up. This is still Indian we’re talking about here.
I think your correct about it being out powered. My guess is 90 at the wheel, or again, I hope. Torque can make up the difference.
As far as the rest of it, I measure middle class by the MT-09. Without racing classes deciding what is built, everyone is skinning the cat their own way. I hope the Indian will hang, not on a race track but on the street. Tall order, maybe, but after Project 156 I think they’ll produce.
Indian has listen to riders a change in a industry always has criticizum the lead dog is always challenged get use to it
Indian scout 69ci engine is trash. Will not go more than 80mph without shaking rider apart. WILL NOT purchase another Indian. Indian equals Harley, all show and noise.
Have you ridden the same Scout I have ridden? The bike rockets to 100mph like a raped ape. Pretty damn smooth for a twin. Makes my old Harley look like what you described.
“Makes my old Harley look like what you described” Have you tried the V-Rod? it makes the Indian engine pale in comparison…
I suspect the V-Rod motor is about 75# heavier than the new FTR-1200 motor.
Seriously? The V-Rod was designed what 15-20 years ago. And if I remember correctly, they needed help from Porsche.
Are you serious. The v rod engine is nice, but it’s a tank. Way too heavy. It makes more power on the top end but gives up all the torque that a scout has at the bottom. Combine that with a hundred lb weight penalty and the performance is similar. Indian has it eye on Harley’s new twin pretty close. And the v rod went away with 125 hp. There new mill has to make more power. I think Indian has this in mind. I wouldn’t be surprised to see 125hp.
Until I see pictures of the real production bike I’m not getting one bit excited.
Indian marketing folks are a goofy bunch. First, the bait and switch P156 leading up to the Octane and subsequently a well deserved helping of distrust from the non-cruiser crowd. NOW they go and announce an American motorcycle in FRANCE, WTF!!! I picture a bunch of middle aged guys pushing walkers around the Indian office because of the bullet holes in their feet.
That being said, I’ve seen the leaked pictures. It looks damn good.
American motorcycles have their own panache overseas, so nothing wrong with introducing it in France. If it truly is a street tracker and not a cruiser, there is also more enthusiasm for such bikes in Western Europe than here despite the clamoring that we few enthusiests we make.
Is this gonna be another “Lucy pulls the football from Charlie Brown” trick or are they really going to build a flat tracker this time? Who knows? Who cares?
“Really going to build a flat tracker?” I thought it was clear that Indian will be building a production street bike, not a flat track race bike.
Too many disclaimers. Can almost guarantee that it’s going to be a cruiser.
I’ll take that bet.
Roland Sands has already been contracted to introduce the FTR1200. Ambulance has also been contracted.
+1
😀
LOL
Wow, looks competitive. Need more specs….
Rice burner
How the hell do you get “rice burner” from the American bike builder fool
junk
“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,”
I have not spoken marketing in years, but did I hear someone say that the FTR would be a Scout cruiser with a number plate and 18″ wheels? I have to admit my feelings would be a little hurt if that is the case.
“The new FTR 1200 will take inspiration, design and performance cues from these two predecessors, but will maintain a look and style all its own”
“Inspiration” and “cues” are the words that give me pause. I would be impressed if they simply produce a bike sans the lazy boy riding position.
No forward controls on this one. Patent application here:
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20180257726.pdf
I don’t know what is novel about whatever they are trying to patent, but the bike in question could look pretty nice if the drawings are accurate.
I don’t see footrests on the drawing. It’s interesting…..when you look at the right side on an Indian motorcycle, it looks like a standard foot peg and rear brake pedal will be a challenge given the engine and front header pipe location.
I don’t see a clutch lever on the left handlebar in the patent diagram?
Yup, and the statement that they didn’t want the bike to be a “regurgitation” of the concept, though I am pretty sure that most people were asking for just that. Makes me think that they really didn’t put much effort into making a street tracker.
The use of the word “regurgitation” seems to me to indicate that they have contempt for the concept.
I am quite certain that I am going to be disappointed in their uniquely ‘street’ bike.
Why is it that the street bike industry never seems to deliver on a concept bike that people really like?
You always get something that is overblown and drowned in a vat of vanilla.
“Why is it that the street bike industry never seems to deliver on a concept bike that people really like?”
Concept models are usually designed outside of the constraints that imposed by the various global regulatory bodies. The designer’s choice is to design without limits, or design to realistic parameters and “under cook” it. I thought the new Honda CB1000r came closer than most in delivering on the promise of the concept, but then that concept may have been designed to the latter standard.
Sooooooo much better of a teaser than the 2 from Suzuki, who probably is simply protecting the Katana name with the trademark office but no bike in the works.
“VICTORY has released another teaser video… Here is VICTORY’s description of the new model” ~ Dirk Edge
Victory lives! Yay!
Oops.
Dirk must be out playing a round of golf.
Polaris=Victory=Indian. Buy one for the collectable value. It won’t be around long.