Scouting for everyone

For 2024, Indian Motorcycle not only launched a new version of their water-cooled Scout, developed over the last three-and-a-half years to replace the bike that was first launched in 2014, but presented no less than five versions, with the 101 Scout being the range-topper.

- Dave Manning

Indian Scouts

While the new Scout, and especially the Bobber version, looks similar to the version that went before, it's a new-from-theground-up machine, with a new, larger capacity engine and a totally new chassis to go with it.

Quirkily, the chassis changes have headed in exactly the opposite direction to what you may have assumed, with the cast aluminium frame of the original 2014 bike now being replaced by a tubular steel frame. The polar opposite of what other manufacturers have done with more sporty offerings but, of course, this isn't a sports bike, regardless of the 2014 model's frame construction.

The reasoning behind the change is not a retrograde one, but in order to make the frame more easily modified by those who wish to go down the customising route with their Scout.

That's perhaps an exceedingly small percentage of the potential market for the new bike, but it does bring a certain level of kudos to the factory's designers (including experienced and well-known custom bike builder, Ola Stenagard), and probably a saving in terms of raw materials, too...

The five versions of the new Scout - that vary slightly in spec and pricing - are Bobber, Sport, Classic, Tour and Scout 101. It'll be the last one that we look at closely here, it being the highest in spec and also the one that I spent most of the time riding, although there are boxouts looking at the differences with the other models.