08-04-2014, 10:53 AM
(08-03-2014, 11:01 PM)redbirds_imp Wrote: I think it diverges much from the typical Japanese cruiser. Weight and performance are going to be the big differences. To start, 100lbs less than the Honda Saber at $13000, 100lbs lighter than the Yamaha V Star 1300 at $12290. And engine power, the Asian cruisers are not even in the contest.
I don't think Indian intends this bike to be a "retro" Scout but rather an evolution of what the Scout may have become if Indian had never gone bankrupt. A modern hot rod cruiser with ties to the original Scout concept of a light "sport bike". To reach the very high performance numbers it has, water cooling is the only option and rather than hide this fact with fake engine fins and chromed plastic covers, the designers chose to show it's engineering openly. If Indian had designed this as an air cooled bike it would be just another underwhelming V twin with lackluster performance. The time is not far off when all air cooled bikes will be something we old timers will bemoan as the passing of "the good ol' days".
Your points are valid, but are they the specs that small/mid-size cruiser buyers are looking at? In the beginning the XL was HD's modern, performance bike. But for decades XLs have been the "starter bike" that gets traded in for a "real Harley". They're heavy and they're slow, but they sell.
At this point, Indian doesn't have the brand culture of HD, so the Scout will have to pull buyers from the type of bikes you named. I'm just not sure this bike will do that, orvtgst they've created a bike that's different enough to draw the very few cruiser riders who give $.02 about performance.
There's a big Indian dealership only 5 miles from my place; I guess I'll have to CB on over there and check this thing out once they get a demo ride.