New Indian Scout Bobber
Now, a couple of weeks back, Indian announced a massive update to their Scout lineup with five new model variants that have been redesigned from the ground up.
And no doubt, there are some significant improvements, but how do they stack up against the competition? we’ll go through the Scout bobber, spec by spec, to see how it compares on paper, and ultimately, find out, could it be the best mid cruiser on the market in 2024?
PRICE :
Now, first up, let’s deal with the thorny issue of the price, and the Indian comes in at £13,195, which is £100 less than the Harley Davidson Nightster.
It’s also the exact same as the Triumph Bobber, which is another bike we’ll compare it, but all of them are well over a grand more than the BMW R12, which looks to be the bargain of the group.
So what do you get for your money?
Engine :
Well, the Scout Bobber gets a V-twin, which is, of course, the most typical engine configuration of this cruiser genre, although it is a fairly modern 60-degree liquid-cooled setup that can actually make some decent top-end power.
So it’s 105 horses at 7,250 RPM.
Torque is also pretty healthy with 108 Newton meters made at 6,300 RPM And so it’s just a bit of an all-around bruiser, just like the previous generation.
Least powerful of the bunch would be the Triumph Bobber at 77 horsepower, which might sound a little bit meager for a 1,200 cc parallel twin, but you’ve got to remember that it’s massively tuned for torque, with a handy peak of 106 newton meters made right down at 4000 RPM.
So this thing really pulls down low. And so if you love a torque engine, then this is the one to go for.
Now, the R12 has the potential to be the most impressive of the bunch with a big peak torque figure of 110 newton meters at 6000 RPM, and that’s despite being the only air and oil cool bike of the group.
But the thing is, peak power is electronically limited to 95 to keep it restrictable down to A2 license compatibility.
It’s a big shame because the R1290 retro equivalent gets the same engine, but it’s totally uncapped, and it makes 109 horsepower peak, which sounds like a lot more fun.
But still, the mid-range is super impressive on this bike, and all I would say against it is that it’s just possibly the least cruiser-y sound and feel being a boxer twin, and so potentially a bit of an acquired taste.
Now, the Harley has the smallest capacity engine of the bunch at 975 cc, which means it’s down on torque and power.
And I do remember having ridden it out on the press launch a couple of years back, that it did lack a little bit in terms of soul and sound and vibes.
CHASSIS :
On the plus side, though, it is the lightest of the bunch by quite some stretch at 221 kilograms wet, and also with brakes from Brembo and show a suspension, plus a slim 19-inch wheel at the front.
It was actually quite a lot of fun on the Spanish mountain in roads.
The only thing that perhaps detracted from that entertainment a bit was the throttle response, which is really choppy on and off, regardless of what riding mode you’re in.
And so if you crack the throttle mid-corner just to get on the gas early, it unsettles the bike and it feels like you’re tense just before you open the throttle.
And so, yeah, it did become a bit weary over the course of the day, unless you smoothed it out a little bit with the clutch. But still, it’s pretty light and quite a nimble bike.
Now, the Triumph and the New Scout Bobber are both quite a bit more hefty up around 250 kilogram mark.
And also, they get the big boborish tires front and rear on 16-inch rims. So they’re both not realistically going to be setting any lap records at the TT.
And in fact, there can only be one winner in this category, realistically, especially considering the price, and it has to be the BMW.
It’s almost as light as the Harley.
It gets twin, four-piston, radially mounted, monoblock brembo brakes on fairly big 310 milliliter up front, Masaki suspension front and rear, and a decent amount of to travel on the rear shock, which can be a rare thing in this category of bike.
Ergonomics :
Now look, if you’re genuinely trying to choose between these four bikes, then there are four key things that you need to know about the ergonomics.
Firstly, the seat height. The Scout Bobber is really quite low at 665 millimeters, feel really badass, but it also makes for a very chilled out riding experience.
The Triumph and the Harley are somewhere in the middle, whereas the BMW is actually quite tall for a cruiser at 754 mill, and so you feel like you can get on top of it a bit and muscle it around and take advantage of that well-spect chassis.
Secondly, all of them come with a choice of different bar heights and either mid or forward foot control, so you can get the ride in position dialed into your exact taste, except the R12, which only gets mid-bars and mid-controls.
Now, I’m not sure why they’ve limited it on the handlebar choices.
You’d think they’d want to make a few more quid out of the Accessories catalog, but you can see why you can’t get the forward foot controls. It’s just the fundamental laws of physics.
Now, thirdly, you’ve got to consider what you want out of the riding position and how much it’s going to cost you to get what you want.
The Indian comes with forward foot controls, for example, but it will cost £400 to get the mid control conversion.
The Triumph and the Harley, on the other hand, well, they come with mids as standard, and they’ll cost £320 and £640 to convert to forward controls, respectively.
So with that said, if you’re absolutely set on forward controls, the Indian gets you those as standard, whereas you’ll have a 640 quid price jump up to the Harley for the same setup.
And of course, it works the other way as well if you’ve got your heart set on mids. Then, fourthly, if that is a word, there’s the passenger seat situation.
All of them come with a solo as standard for that super cool loner, don’t need nobody esthetic.
And with the Indian, the Harley and the BMW, you can spec up a passenger seat and pegs from the Accessories catalog.
The odd one out here is the Triumph Bobber. And although that floating saddle is worthy of being mounted on the wall at the Tate Modern, it does mean that you can’t get a passenger seat.
Your only option is to go with a third-party company like Thornton 100, who make this fantastic-looking passenger seat conversion, but you’ll be paying over £4,000 for the pleasure.
Or the other option, I guess, is to go with the Speedmaster. It’s built upon the same platform as the Bobber. It’s exactly the same price as well.
But on the downside, it really does have quite a different look to it with much more of a classic vibe.
And the riding position is much more upright with those sweatback beach-style bars. Honestly, with the ergonomics, all of these have got their strengths and weaknesses here.
The Indian is really low, but it is quite customizable. The Harley has options as well, but it is super expensive to convert to the forward controls.
The Triumph is the most reasonably priced to convert, but it can’t take a passenger. And the BMW is easy to get on with with that high seat, but it has zero adjustability, so they’re all going to have to get a B.
TECH :
Now, with regards to techy features, personally, I don’t think it’s particularly important for this genre of bike. I think they should a bit stripped back and old-school.
But look, it’s 2024, and so, of course, there are plenty of options. What I like about the Indian, though, is that you can choose.
The most simple, affordable version just gets ABS and an analog dash. Then £800 more gets you the limited version with traction control and some riding modes as well as cruise control.
And then for £1,600, you can get the limited plus tech pack, which adds around 4-inch color TFT display that opens up navigation, riding stats, and phone integration, as well as keyless ignition.
I really like that it lets you choose specifically how much tech you want, and you also feel like you’re not paying for the stuff you don’t need.
And some of those components, like the cruise control, you can choose individually in the Accessories catalog.
Now, the standard Harley Nightster gets three riding modes, although, as I’ve said, they’re all a bit abrupt on the throttle apart from the Rain Mode, but that feels super dull for quicker riding.
But there is still traction control, ABS, and engine braking management as standard.
And while the dash is analog, you can pay another 1,200 quid for the Nightster Special, and that one comes with a round TFT dash that gets you some connectivity features, along with cruise control, a passenger seat and pegs, a fairing, and some fancier-looking wheels.