CarBrandLogos archive · Indian Motorcycle · 2019

Indian MotorcycleFTR

A flat-track racer's proportions on a road bike, from a brand that badly needed one.

The story

A defining chapter in Indian Motorcycle history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Indian Motorcycle FTR, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Polaris rebuilt Indian around cruisers, then dominated American Flat Track with the FTR750 racer, and found itself with a competition reputation and nothing in the showroom that reflected it. The FTR, launched in 2019, was the answer: a 1,203 cc liquid-cooled 60-degree V-twin in a steel trellis frame, with upright bars, a flat seat and the visual proportions of the race bike, though sharing no components with it.

2006Honda CBR600RR-profile · Rich Niewiroski Jr. · CC BY 2.5

Design and engineering

At launch it ran 19-inch front and 18-inch rear wheels with flat-track-style tyres, which looked right but blunted the steering. Indian revised most of the range to 17-inch wheels and road rubber for 2021, along with better suspension and a touchscreen, and the bike became considerably sharper without losing its stance. Rally, S, Carbon and Championship Edition variants followed.

In production

It never sold in the volumes the cruisers do, which is the usual fate of a naked bike in the American market, and production ended in 2025. Its value to the brand was strategic rather than commercial: for six years Indian had a motorcycle that appealed to riders who would never have considered one.

At a glance