AMERICAN MUSCLE ON TWO WHEELS

A memoir of our time with the new Indian FTR 1200 in Australia as we bid adieu to ours in India.

- KARAN SINGH BANSATTA

WE have had the pleasure of housing some of the best motorcycles out there in the xBhp Garage. While all of those motorcycles have been special for us in one way or another, the Indian FTR 1200 will always be at the sharp end of that particular list. It was an Indian Motorcycle machine that was nothing like any other Indian Motorcycle machine. From riding it in Los Angeles at the global launch to being the first customer of the FTR in India, our time with this beast has been very special.

Now, we had to let go of it for reasons that we discussed in a separate piece in the previous issue. But that does not mean that we’ll give up any opportunity to get a taste of this unique blend of American Iron. We happened to be in Australia, adding another special machine to the repertoire when the opportunity came along to ride another motorcycle alongside this one. We chose the latest iteration of the Indian FTR 1200 for the job. As it turns out, the new FTR 1200 is even more of a hoot than before!

The major difference between the Indian FTR 1200 that we had and this new one is the application. Ours was what Indian Motorcycle would call a street-tracker- a road bike with the tyre size and tyre kind that made it suitable for some dusty endeavors as well. A 19” front wheel with bespoke Dunlop DTR-3 tyres made it possess somewhat of a dual personality. The one we rode this time around… 100% road-focused!