American manufacturer Indian has confirmed that it will produce a new flat track inspired model, called the FTR 1200, from 2019.
The company has announced few other details of the new model, other than the fact that it will be inspired by Indian’s FTR750 flat track racer, with a trellis frame and 1200cc V-Twin engine, but the concept bike that was shown at Milan’s EICMA show last year should give a hint of what the new model should bring.
Speaking at this weekend’s Wheels and Waves Festival in the South of France, Indian Motorcycles’ President Steve Menneto spoke bullishly about Indian’s plans to develop its model range and ‘break new ground for an American motorcycle manufacturer.
Designer Rich Christoph was also in attendance, telling the press: “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. “We’re thrilled about the character this bike possesses and its ability to take American V-twin motorcycles into new territory.”
Also at Wheels and Waves, a festival which curiously combines custom motorcycles and surfing, Indian showcased a new project in collaboration with Italian builders Anvil Motociclette, called the Shrimp (pictured).
Built in homage to Albert ‘Shrimp’ Burns, the diminutive young boardtrack racer who represented Indian in the early 1920s. Burns held numerous speed records and race wins prior to his death while racing in Toledo, Ohio, in 1921. He was 23 years old.
The tribute bike is a flat tracker based on a modern day Indian Scout Sixty and is the result of six months and 300 man hours of hard work. Anvil used Ohlins suspension, Zard exhausts and Newfren brake discs alongside a whole host of custom made parts from Anvil’s inhouse team. Anvil took delivery of a standard Scout Sixty in February, using it to create something completely new that would pay tribute to flat trackers of the past. The bike was raced in Saturday’s ‘El Rondo’ flat track event.
Anvil Motociclette bosses ‘San Marco’ and ‘Phonz’ say that they’re particularly happy with how the fuel tank, side plates and mudguards, which are all handmade in steel, have turned out and they said: It’s been an amazing experience for us, we had it clear in our minds about our project from the beginning and we followed it,” they say. “We’ve been inspired by Albert ‘Shrimp’ Burns, so his story made us strong and focused on the final outcome. This is more than a bike for us, it is part of our lives as customisers and as a creative studio.
“What we loved about Shrimp’s story was that he was very young, but had great determination. His personality and perseverance in his short but thrilling life is inspiring. One of our greatest passions is to read about motorcycle history. During our research we found out about Shrimp’s story and we were suddenly fascinated by him. Not many people know about Shrimp’s story, but we think all passionate bikers should know about him.”
Indian also announced that it will give away once of the first FTR1200s off the production line, encouraging fans to visit www.win-ftr1200.com for a chance to take home a new bike.
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