Although not quite as well-known as its compatriots from Milwaukee, Indian Motorcycles has a long and rich history. Not only is Indian the oldest active motorcycle brand in the world, but it also gained considerable recognition for being used in Burt Munroe’s world speed record attempts.
The Scout model name is no less distinguished, dating all the way back to 1920. We tested the latest iteration, the entry-level Scout Sixty.
The Sixty’s name is a reference to the bike’s engine capacity in cubic inches – 60 cu in is a whisker short of 1 000 cc, which is 130 cc less than its bigger and more expensive sibling.
Being an entry level bike, the obvious question is how much it loses from the bigger Scout. The answer is “not much, if anything” – the Sixty feels remarkably similar to the bigger Scout, which is forcing Indian to push the latter a little more up-market to justify the price difference.
The Sixty shares its sibling’s ECU hardware, but it has different programming. The 2kg added to the Sixty’s dry weight is the result of thicker-walled cylinder sleeves as a result of the smaller bore, which makes the 134cc difference – down from 1 133 cm³ to 999 cm³ – with the stroke unchanged for a bore and stroke of 93 x 73.6 mm. So, the engine is actually 61 cubic inches, not 60; it seems the marketing department overrode their technical colleagues in this instance.
The Scout Sixty is all cruiser with its laid-back, fists-punching-wind seating position. Visually it is a stunning study in Art Deco design, from its huge tail light to the saddle-type seat to the single-dial instrument panel – even the colours of the latter scream “1930s”.
Price: R149 900
– Wheels24.com
