Indian Scout Test Ride Review

Ergonomics – First impression of the Indian Scout at a glance is ‘LOW’, so does it feel when you rest on this beauty. Seat height is at a low 643 mm and with a wheelbase of 1562 mm, it doesn’t feel like a heavy 250 kg bike. The leather seat provides all the comfort you need for a long touring experience. The handlebars are placed at a perfect distance and doesn’t give any unwanted cramps while riding. The footpegs are inclined forward as every cruiser but provides an easy access to the gear and brake lever. The stock Scout doesn’t have a provision of a pillion seat but there’s a list of accessories which can be added later on. The pillion seat is quite comfortable and the pillion would just be happy to climb onto it.

Performance – It’s been a long journey to come to this part of the review. The Indian Scout being a cruiser has an engine which exceeds expectations. The heart of the Scout is power packed with 69 cu in or 1130cc displacement, 100 BHP and a massive 97.7 Nm of torque kicking in at a low 2400 RPM and going steady till 6000 RPM. This 60-degree V-twin engine that has DOHC and 4-valves per cylinder uses chain-drive as its final transmission and is fed by a single 60 mm throttle body, it is provided with liquid-cooling. The redline sits at 9000 RPM and the 10.7:1 compression makes it thirsty for thrill. The Scout goes from 0-100 km/hr in just 3.7 seconds while second gear tops out at 120 km/hr.

The NVH levels are so low, you won’t even realise when you whizz past 90 km/hr

Some vibrations start coming in at around 100-110 km/hr, and increase substantially once you cross 150 km/hr on the speedometer. It has a 6-speed gearbox and the gear ratios are decently engineered so that you have no issues riding in the city or on the highway. For a soothing experience, it is recommended to ride between 80-110 km/hr, as the engine is around a low 3500 RPM and in top gear with another 100 km/hr to max out and 6500 RPM to redline. And to add to it, the gearbox is so smooth that you will need the clutch just to change the gear from neutral to first; later you won’t find any difficulty changing gears without disengaging the clutch, basically quick shifting.

The clutch is a bit on the hard side, if you are not used to such a stiff clutch, your hand might start to swell, but with time you get used to it. Be it riding in the city or cruising on the highway, just pop up the gas and it will hardly take any seconds to overtake anyone you want, that’s how quick the power delivery is. The exhaust on this machine is loud enough to make heads turn towards you around 100 meters radius. But while riding in the city, be sure you carry an ice bag with you; engine tends to heat up and it becomes quite uncomfortable if you are stalling at a signal or stuck in a traffic jam, it can become so severe that you might get burn marks under your thigh despite of the liquid cooling.

On a personal note “do not ride this machine in the city”, just take it out of the city, on highways where you will halt just to fuel up the tank. The Indian Scout tops out at 210 km/hr which is more than enough for a cruiser, and to be frank, India doesn’t have roads to carry such speeds for long, optimum range would be 150 km/hr (breaking the average speed limit of Indian roads). Though the engine is optimised at 100 BHP, it has the potential to go up to 140 BHP so we can expect a lot more in the future from the Indian Scout. Even though being such a power driven bike, it gives an astonishing mileage of 22 km/l. With full tank, that is about 12.5-liters of petrol, you can cover up around 240 kms with ease.