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Behold, The Indian FTR1200 Street Tracker Is Here

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They did it. They actually did it. Debuting today at INTERMOT, the Indian Motorcycle brand released its newest motorcycle, the 2019 Indian FTR1200.

The only production street tracker currently available on the market, the Indian FTR1200 takes its inspiration from the Indian FTR750 Scout race bike that is dominating the American Flat Track series, and in the process brings the company’s first non-cruiser motorcycle to market.

Answering the calls of many, the FTR1200 production bike is visually very close to the FTR1200 Concept we saw several months back, and it will come in two flavors: the base model Indian FTR1200, and the up-spec Indian FTR1200 S. Expect it to drop, Q1 2019.

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Rumors

Indian FTR1200 Confirmed for INTERMOT Debut Next Week

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We’ve seen patent design images and spy photos, and now we only have a week until the Indian FTR1200 debuts. We know this because Indian has begun teasing the street tracker’s debut in a short YouTube video.

In the video, we see American Flat Track champion Jared Mees sliding around on the Indian Scout FTR750 race bike, before he heads into an open garage. From there, we hear revving what is presumably the motor to the FTR1200 street bike.

Details on the 2019 Indian FTR1200 street tracker have been tight, but the American brand has been sloppy on keeping things under wraps. Design patents filed abroad have given us a good glimpse of the machine’s inner-workings, and the crafty Australian’s at Motorbike Writer have a spy photo which looks to give us the full monty on the machine.

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Rumors

Patent Application Shows Off the Indian FTR1200 Street Bike

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The Indian Motorcycle company has been teasing us about the upcoming FTR1200 street bike that it’s bringing to market next year, and now we have a pretty good look at the machine, thanks to a patent application with the USPTO.

Showing the engine and chassis of the Indian FTR1200 in line drawings, we can see that the new street bike will have a trellis frame, and an engine that looks very much like the v-twin motor found on the Indian Scout cruiser.

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Bikes

Harley-Davidson Outlines Its Future Electric Lineup

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The biggest announcement from Harley-Davidson today wasn’t its adventure-touring motorcycle (though it looks interesting), and it wasn’t its new Streetfighter or Custom models either (one of these I like, the other not so much).

The big news wasn’t the Livewire getting closer to production, though that is close to the mark, and where this story is ultimately headed.

All of these announcement would have been worthy of their own day in the press cycle, but the real news from the Bar & Shield brand is a look at Harley-Davidson’s upcoming electric lineup, which is coming across as very robust, and shows a decisive plan for the future.

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Bikes

Booyah!!! Indian FTR 1200 Confirmed for Production

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When the potent Indian Scout FTR750 debuted for flat track racing duty, fans of the American brand clamored for a street model.

Indian listened, giving us the Indian Scout FTR1200 concept late last year, with much rumor that the concept bike was the prelude for a full-fledged production model.

That rumor is now no more, as Indian confirmed this weekend at the Wheels & Waves event in France that we will see a production street-tracker model, named the Indian FTR 1200.

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Bikes

This Might Be the Best Buell on the Market

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You won’t often find me talking about my deep desires for a Buell motorcycle in my garge – any long-time Asphalt & Rubber reader should surely know this by now. But, what you are looking at here might be the only Buell I lust after – in Claudia Schiffer sort of way.

The bike I am referring to is the BOTT XR1R Pikes Peak race bike, which finished 4th in the exhibition class in 2017. You won’t see it at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb this year though, unfortunately because of sponsorship reasons.

But, this doesn’t have to be the final chapter of the BOTT XR1R Pikes Peak race bike however, and in fact, you could be writing its future story. This is because Bottpower is selling its race bike, and let me tell you, it is one tasty piece of two-wheeled machinery.

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Bikes

What If Harley-Davidson and Alta Motors Had a Baby?

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With the news that Harley-Davidson has invested an undisclosed sum in electric motorcycle manufacturer Alta Motors, the following concept might seem like a no-brainer.

That is because the folks at Carbon Projects envision the partnership between the two American brands as lending itself to the creation of an electric street-tracker model.

Taking the heritage-focused roots of Harley-Davidson, and applying them to Alta’s Redshift platform, the resulting model is quite a looker, if we do say so.

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Valentino Rossi’s Special Yamaha XJR1300 Flat Tracker

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It is good to be Valentino Rossi. Not only do you have nine world championships to your name, legions of yellow-crazy fans, but you also get pretty nice gifts from your friends.

Take “Mya” for example – a special Yamaha XJR1300 custom flat tracker that the folks at VR|46 built for their fearless leader.

Now, when you think about bikes that should be the basis for a custom project, the Yamaha XJR1300 doesn’t exactly come to mind. It probably doesn’t help that this decades-old model is only Euro3 compliant, and set to sunset at the end of this year.

The XJ1300 certainly doesn’t strike us as the appropriate starting point for a flat track bike either, especially with its 530 lbs weight figure.

That all being said, the VR|46 crew have done a pretty good job of spiffing up the old girl.

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Bikes

Is The Husqvarna Svartpilen 701 the Future’s Flat Tracker?

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In addition to showing us the production-ready Husqvarna Vitpilen 701, the Swedish brand also teased us with its dark side, debuting the Husqvarna Svartpilen 701 as a concept model.

A neo-retro take on the flat tracker aesthetic, this “black arrow” street tracker was designed to boast both minimalistic and sophisticated lines to motorcyclists around the world.

Centered around the same 690cc single-cylinder engine as the Vitpilen 701, the two bikes are a sort of ying and yang to where the Husqvarna brand is headed with its street bikes.

They share common design elements, like the round headlight, exposed pod air filter, fuel tank shape, and muted color palette.

Likely to be a 2019 model, the Husqvarna Svartpilen 701 concept is very close to what we can expect to see on dealership floors, if the debuted Vitpilen 701 can be believed.

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Bikes

Indian Scout FTR1200 Teases a Coming Street Tracker

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Indian Motorcycle dominated this year’s American Flat Track series, and what a better way to celebrate the success of the Wrecking Crew than with a custom street tracker concept.

The Indian Scout FTR1200 shares the name with the donor bike it comes from, but in reality it aims to look and feel like the American brand’s 750cc flat track racer. Though without the über-trick 750cc v-twin engine found on the Indian Scout FTR750 race bike, this 1200cc variant looks pretty good too.

Word is, we might see it go into production…just not for the 2018 model year. As such, don’t hold your breath – but also, never say never.

Indian created the Scout FTR1200 in house, wedging the 1,133cc v-twin engine from its production Scout into a custom frame that resembles its racing Scout.

Built like a race bike, the Indian Scout FTR1200 shaves massive amounts of weight, compared to its production counterpart – to the tune of 117 lbs. This means that the Scout FTR1200 hits the scales at only 427 lbs.

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Alta Motors Redshift ST Street Tracker Concept

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The One Moto Show in Portland, Oregon is just a couple weeks away, an event where hipsters and custom bike builder will come together to celebrate all things two-wheeled. One of the show’s sponsors this year is electric startup Alta Motors, and they will be debuting a street tracker concept to the masses.

The concept bike is built off Alta’s Redshift platform, with changes made to the bodywork (made via rapid prototyping), lowered suspension, and an LED headlight, along with the addition of 19″ carbon fiber BST wheels shod in flat-tracking rubber.

As a concept, the Redshift ST still has some evolving to do before it can be a production model, but it shows that Alta Motors is considering adding something to its lineup that resonates with a younger, more urban crowd (The One Moto Show being a prime spot to test those waters).

More importantly perhaps, the Redshift ST could a model to Alta’s lineup that has a seat height below 32″ – a key dimension when it comes to making motorcycles accessible to a wider variety of riders, both in terms of physical height and experience level.

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