Indian Motorcycle invited me to their Scout Sixty launch in Vegas, which was oh-so-exciting for a multitude of reasons. This was the first time I got invited to a press launch as MotoLady FOR MotoLady! Squeee! It was also my very first trip to Vegas… and I got to fly there with a bunch of rad motorcycle journalists on a private plane.
Not your run-of-the-mill private plane, either… a Douglas DC-3! Let me take a moment away from motorcycles for some history nerdery…
I’m not an airplane historian (obviously), nor am I that knowledgeable on them. But between the crew’s history lesson and the editor of Motorcyclist Magazine Marc Cook’s excitement over the DC-3 we were flying on… I learned a thing or two. This very plane was active in WWII, helping transport supplies to the front ally front lines. Douglas came out with this design in 1935 and not only did it play a pivotal role in the Second World War, but these aircraft are still being used in the military!
Okay, back to motorcycles and the Indian Scout Sixty.
I really enjoyed this bike– not only does it have a nice comfortable riding position, smooth throttle, decent brakes, but it’s also pretty good looking with the retro style going on. Sleek, curvaceous, and simplistic in a good way.
Here’s some technical specs on the 2016 Indian Scout Sixty: It’s a 1000cc low rider cruiser– the seat height is just over 23 inches. Since the center of gravity is so low, you barely notice all 542 lbs (without gas). To give you a comparison… my Monster “Pandora” weighed 410 lbs (with gas) before I chopped probably 20 lbs off of her. My first bike, a Yamaha XJ650, weighed about 450 lbs. So for me, over 550 lbs with fuel is a bit of a chunker. That being said… I didn’t notice at all.
The brakes, compared to what I’m used to riding, are a little bit softer. Which makes sense because they’re single rotor rather than dual. They still did the trick, though! Same with the suspension, it’s a little bit softer… but it made for a really comfortable highway-type bike. And when I slammed it around in corners, it didn’t falter. The only limit I found with cornering were the pegs… the first time they hit the ground I was a wee bit surprised! To say the least.
The rest of the technical specifications can be found at the very bottom of the article!
Some other notables when it comes to the overall ride of the Scout Sixty might include the fact that the controls were comfortable for someone of my size. The levers weren’t a big reach, the clutch had a soft enough pull to be manageable even in traffic, and the forward controls didn’t leave me feeling stretched out. The fat front tire feels really smooth while cornering, and while the stock exhaust unsurprisingly doesn’t have a big bark… it still sounds like a motorcycle.
Engine Type: Liquid Cooled V-Twin
Displacement: 61 cu in
Electronic Fuel Injection System: Closed loop fuel injection / 60 mm bore
Final Drive: 2.357 : 1
Horsepower (HP): 78 (58.2 kW)
Peak Torque: 65 ft/lbs. (88.8 Nm) @ 5800 rpm
Fuel Capacity (Litres): 3.3 gal / 12.5 l
Ground Clearance: 5.3 in / 135 mm
Overall Height (in./mm.): 47.5 in / 1207 mm
Overall Width (in./mm.): 34.6 in / 880 mm
Rake/Trail: 29°
Seat Height: 25.3 in / 643 mm
Wheelbase: 61.5 in / 1562 mm
Overall Length (in./mm.): 91 in / 2311 mm
Weight (Empty tank / full of fuel): 542 lbs / 561 lbs (246 kg / 254 kg)
Suspension: Front – Type/Travel: Telescopic Fork/4.7″ (120 mm)
Suspension: Rear – Type/Travel: Dual Shocks/3.0″ (76 mm)
Brakes/Front: Single / 298 mm Rotor / 2 Piston Caliper
Brakes/Rear: Single /298 mm Rotor / 1 Piston Caliper
Tires/Front: 130/90-16 72H
Tires/Rear: 150/80-16 71H
Wheels: Cast 16″ x 3.5″ Front and 16″ x 3.5″ Rear
Exhaust System: Split dual exhaust with crossover
Gauges: Digital tachometer, odometer, trip meter, engine temp, and low fuel lamp
Lights: Headlight, tail/brake light, turn signals, license plate light, and speedometer and indicator lights
Big thank you to Indian Motorcycle for the invite, and Robert Pandya for putting up with me, haha! It was a really fun trip, and overall I really really enjoyed riding the bike. For under $9k, it’s a really solid classic bike that I could easily suggest to friends who were looking for a nice cruiser.
I’m so excited to announce the project that I’ve been working on for two years… a book all about badass motorcycling women! In the MotoLady’s Book of Women Who Ride you’ll meet 74 of the most influencial motorcyclists of the last century. Motorcycle heroes, trailblazers, and record-breakers like Jessi Combs, Shayna Texter, Laia Sanz, Gloria Tramontin-Struck, the Van Buren sisters, and more can be found inside the 184 pages of this hard cover book celebrating motorcycling women!
Posted on November 23, 2015 in Blog, Motorcycles, News & Features by Alicia Mariah Elfving