(Curiously, it’s four pounds heavier than the Scout, even though it has a smaller engine and has five gears instead of six. It rides lighter than its 543 pounds, and feels like a smaller bike. It sits at a very low 25.3 inches, and comes off the side stand with minimal effort - effecting a first handshake that should make smaller or newer riders confident. The new Scout Sixty is powered by a 61-cubic-inch engine - hence its name - inside a frame that’s a little more stripped down and basic than the full-size Scout. This time, having taken a swipe at Sportster, Indian is taking aim at Harley’s popular Iron 883.

Now Indian has doubled down on the Scout, and gone further down market. “There are folks who already own Roadmasters or Chieftains and want an around-town bike,” Menneto said. The first, he said, is “the starting out rider or jump-up rider who wants to move from a 250-cc to a bigger bike.” The second? Indian owners who want something smaller. Menneto said the Scout attracts two kinds of riders to the brand. Some months, the company says, the Scout is No. 2 best seller, after the big bore touring bike, the Roadmaster. After some early production problems that kept the new bike back-ordered, the Scout quickly became the company’s No. Both Sportsters and Scouts also cost a lot less than their big-bagger siblings, and attract a younger, more urban rider more interested in jetting around town than taking heavy metal onto the highway. Like the Sportster, it sits low, weighs less and has plenty of grunt. The Scout was the company’s way of going after Harley’s entry-level Sportster line. In short order, they began making heavy cruiser riders out of motorcyclists who had stayed out of that segment, and began taking sales away from the heavy motorcycle leader, Harley-Davidson.

Indian has since rolled out a half dozen new machines, all of them more attractive, better built and more affordable than their predecessors. Too tall, too narrow, too large.Polaris, the power sports giant better then known for its snowmobiles, jet skis and Victory motorcycle line, made Steve Menneto chief of Indian, and charged him with bringing the heritage division into the 21st century - or at least the second half of the 20th. (Tried uploading photos but no matter what I did I could not meet this site's guidelines. Overall, I love the way it rides and I've even had Harley owners stop and tell me they were thinking of switching, this bike looked cool, etc. I do wish the fuel tank was a bit bigger as I seem to have to fill up ever 120 miles or so to be safe. I'm annoyed that in order to change the air filter you must remove the gas tank. I think the Scout is also the only bike that doesn't come with floorboards but rather just pegs.

I removed my Indian Scout badge, went bare a bit, then added the headdress. I wish all Indians came with the headdress on the tank. The stock exhaust sounds like a vacuum cleaner is running so I installed slip-ons myself. Seat is painful to me after 30 minutes and hitting any bumps is bone jarring on the spine. I do not like the stock seat or suspension. I like that I'm not hunched over like I would have been on the bobber. So glad I did as this is not too much engine for a newbie like me. I originally ordered a scout 60 but this one came in stock first and I went with it. I now have about 1,700 miles on this bike in a couple of months.

Newbie rider loving the bike overall I'm a brand new rider and ordered this bike even before I had my license.

Indian scout