Tell me about an Indian FTR R

I haven’t had a street bike in a few years but the itch to have one has been getting stronger lately. I can’t embrace the full on old man and go cruiser and the modern sport bikes are so beyond what a sane person should use on the street, not to mention the looks are pretty meh at best to me.

Today I saw an FTR R Carbon that had cleaned up the hideous mirrors and and awful license plate mount. The red frame and tasteful “carbon” bits with Brembo’s and Ohlins was the first time something besides an MV stopped me in my tracks based on looks alone.

What’s the beeb’s thoughts? This would just be an occasional commuter and short spirited hill country ride. I don’t have delusions of getting back into racing and I hope I’m old and wise enough to not ride the street like used to. I’m sure it would see a trackday or two…would I hate it?

 

Monster

 

Neat looking bike, for sure. I just have a hard time getting past that it’s really a Polaris.

 

Never really payed much attention to them, I’ll give them a look. I don’t go to Starbucks but if I did ride it there I feel like there be 17 guys on Ducatis pontificating on how great they are, same vibe with an Indian? I can’t say I’ve seen one in the wild until today.

 

Is that an issue and if so is it a reliability or outright performance thing? If it’s a Lamborghini is just a dressed up Audi these days type thing I could deal with that.

 

I have a 2022 that I got for all the same reasons you laid out. I like it so far. Good power handles good. The suspension is a tad harsh and the leg room is a bit cramped for me, but I'm 63 years old and 6'4".

 

Ground clearance is an issue at anything above 6/10's on the street so forget about track pace.

I'd second the 1200 Monster S or R - it has the 1198 from the Superbike from 2010-2013 in it, top spec brakes and suspension, has all the electronics, and has 18,000 mile service intervals and a decent reliabilty rating, plus for my money, such a cool looking/sounding machine.

 

for sure the naked bikes are the ticket for most street riding IMHO unless you are touring and need longer legs or want to ride at 9/10 pace often.

The FTR looks great IMHO. Love the color and the carbon stuff and it's a great looking bike. Performance at a track day level will probably be off a bit, more than likely because of ground clearance. I have a 1290 Super Duke and it's a fantastic bike. Looks are love it or leave it (I like it, but I have a Gen 1 version). Very comfortable and plenty of power but the v-twin is what gets me. the sound and the torque. I looked at the Aprilia Tuono and if I rode it harder or did more track days, I might have gone that route, but the riding position is more sport bike (high pegs) but that's also what gives you more ground clearance. The electronics (at the time) were better than the KTM but that may have changed. same for suspension. Monsters are nice and I"m sure they work well, but for whatever reason I narrowed my choice down to the 1290 SD and the tuono. For a run around town and mountain ride, I think the FTR would be a good third option as well.

 

All I can say is the FTR is my favorite naked style bike ever. Love the flat track look. I will own one some day.

 

I have a 2013 Victory CCT (Polaris) and the reliability has been excellent. I've only had to replace a relay in 22k miles. The FTRs look Bad Ass!

 

The Tuono is not my cup of tea for some reason. The KTM looks pretty damn good and I know I said I’m older and wiser but the jury is out on the wiser part. It might be a good thing to be limited by the ground clearance until I prove I can be trusted.

 

There is a ‘23 FTR R about 15 miles from me. If the red and black combo was an option for this year I’m almost certain I’d bring it home today. I wonder if I can find a leftover ‘22?

 

I done a few track days with my two FTRs, fun but not a sport bike... matter of fact, I am building one into a potential heavy weight twins race bike.

 

It’s not often but occasionally being 5’8” does come in handy!

 

I have an early (for that model) Monster 1200S, which I love. My first Italian bike, and only my 2nd European bike. Also, my first "standard/naked" bike, and first V-Twin.

I didn't go looking for a Ducati, but ended up there because of one main thing, passenger accommodations. I had to pass on many of my initial selections because of ludicrous modern-sportbike passenger seat and pegs. The Ducati managed to provide this, along with good performance/"sportiness" and quality components. I was looking for a cheaper model, but got the S "Stripe" for a great price.

Other stuff I checked out at the time were the then-new Yamaha 900, and KTM Superduke. Passenger thing was the deal-breaker on those. Triumph Bonneville variants and (at the time) Honda CB retro bike. In those cases, the components v/s price model wasn't there, or much horsepower.

The Indian was available later, and I've definitely been eyeing it. As more accessories become available for it, I think it could be made into a fun "sporty standard" bike. Also, the Triumph line-up has come along a bit since I was looking at them as well.

I'd consider either. I'm actually shopping again, because I now have a place up in the riding wonderland of NC. I'm still hauling the bike up there on a trailer, but would like to have something (and extra sets of gear) up there, so I can fly in or have a short visit and be able to ride one day without much hassle.

Looking at the Triumph and Indian this go around (maybe the Ducati goes up to NC? Still thinking), but I'm looking for suggestions as well.

 

I'm still bummed that the final FTR that the produced was so far from the show bike they initially presented. Totally different proportions. I'm not saying it's ugly, but if it looked closer to the prototype, I'd have one now.

 

I'm in my mid 50's and still wanted something to rip around the mountains, but at 8/10's pace it's ideal. Comfortable for all day rides (as long as the routes is twisty) but a total hooligan bike in the right conditions (twisty roads). I have bags on mine (stealth mode), full akra system, rottweiler stuff, and just fun to ride. Puts a huge grin on my face every time I fire it up. Even just a short trip in town, lofting the front wheel across an intersection (float it a few inches off the ground, not a 12:00 stand up to attract the wrong attention) makes the big fun to ride. Most of the 4 cylinder bikes you have to rev it to get to the fun stuff and by that time you are in 'go to jail' speeds.

I typically run sport touring tires (Pirelli Angel GT or whatever the latest version is) and I can run any pace I am comfortable with on the street and I get 6k+ out of a rear tire even running it pretty hard. If I were riding it harder or more track I'l get something stickier but for me I can ride with anyone I normally ride with and have no issues with the grip and enjoy not replacing tires every 2-3k miles.

 

Man fk all these geezer bikes buy a sportbike like a real man.

 

Can’t. They don’t make gixxxers no more. Remember.

 

My street rig is a ‘21 Super Duke, it’s just about the perfect all rounder. Obviously it’s stupid fast with tons of low/mid range torque, but I was surprised at how well it tolerates slow, local city riding. It’s a real pussy cat.

Here in MD we have lots of fast sweepers, and also some nice twisty roads, but nothing like WNC/TN. If I lived there, I would probably own an 890 Duke for that work.