America’s motorcycle manufacturers tend to be known for building the same thing over and over for all of eternity. Regardless if you ride Harley or Indian, these companies are best at slinging gigantic expensive cruisers. That’s why the Indian FTR was a breath of fresh air. It was the exact opposite of America’s motorcycle bread and butter, but even better, it looked gorgeous, rode well, and had levels of cool no Harley Street Glide could match. Dare I say? The Indian FTR was the coolest motorcycle America has built in years. But now it’s dead. Thankfully, you still have some time to buy one if you want one, so act fast.
This news comes to us from a report published at Motorcycle.com. Polaris Industries released its Q4 2024 and full-year 2024 financial report. In it, the powersports manufacturer got to the point, highlighting damage done across its portfolio. In terms of dollars, sales were down 23 percent last year and overall sales were down 20 percent compared to 2023. Polaris made no mention of specifically its Indian Motorcycle brand, but the presentation made clear that last year was not a good one for Polaris as a whole.
The saddest thing of all was the mention of the FTR. Some motorcycles get a grand departure when they die. Maybe a manufacturer might sell a final edition or maybe we get a loving press release. The FTR isn’t getting that. Instead, in that nerdy earnings presentation is a line that says: “The Company realized certain costs associated with the wind down of the FTR product line beginning in the fourth quarter of 2024.”
I imagine this has taken several in the industry by shock. It was only a few days ago or so I was chatting with a marketing agency associated with Indian and we were chatting about where we’d love to see the FTR go. If killing the FTR was a plan set ahead of the earnings report, Indian might not have let everyone know. Sadly, I have confirmed that the FTR really is dying. The motorcycle isn’t getting a funeral or a proper send-off, so I’ll pour one out for the FTR right here.
Since Indian Motorcycle’s rebirth, it has been gunning for Harley’s best. So then, why on Earth did it even have something like the FTR in the first place?
Born From Racing
The FTR story started on the track, where Harley-Davidson and Indian were historically rivals in pretty much every aspect of their businesses. From a previous piece:
Over the next 50 years, the two companies would battle each other in intense competition. As Web Bike World writes, Indian built its first V-twin before Harley, in 1905, and until World War I, were marketed as “America’s fastest motorcycles.” The company backed up those claims with race wins and speed records. In 1906, a pair of Indian dealers rode from San Francisco to New York in a record-setting 31 days, reporting no mechanical issues. That same year, Harley-Davidson moved out of a machine shop and into its first factory on Chestnut Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Later, Indian’s factory racing team swept the podium in the 1911 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. In 1913, Harley-Davidson sponsored a racing team, one that would later be called the Wrecking Crew for its dominance in the dirt and on the board track. This success was interesting, in part because at first, Harley wasn’t even interested in going racing.
[…]
Both motorcycle companies supported the World War I effort by sending motorcycles overseas and by 1920, Harley-Davidson grew to become the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer with 2,000 dealers in 67 countries. It took the title from Indian, which was the largest motorcycle manufacturer during the 1910s. The rivalry continued into the 1920s and beyond with both companies producing liter engines in 1920. Harley-Davidson and Indian continued to battle it out on track and later, Indian would introduce the luxurious Indian Four. Over time, Harley would focus on comfort and utility while Indian continued to build fast and powerful machines. Indian would go into a decline after World War II and cease production in 1953.
For decades, American motorcycle companies found success in winning races as a marketing tool. Thrill-seekers looking for the fastest rides wanted to ride the brand that dominated on the track. The original rivalry ended in 1953 after Indian suffered in the post-World War II motorcycle market. Indian was gone, ultimately crowning Harley-Davidson as the champion.
The Indian name has been passed around several times since then. The latest caretaker of the Indian name is Polaris Industries, which started producing Indian-branded motorcycles for the 2014 model year. Sadly, while the Indian motorcycles of today look like descendants of the ones of the past, they aren’t related. Still, the Polaris Indian has still reignited the old rivalry.
One of the challenges of the revived Indian was marketing itself. It didn’t have a century of real heritage like Harley-Davidson and the last Polaris bikes Americans knew about were the weird Victory machines. In 2016, Indian employee Gary Gray came up with an idea. The last time people really knew about Indian was over a half-century ago when it was still winning races. Indian could return to the circuit to challenge the supremacy of the Harley-Davidson XR-750 dirt-tracker.
There was just one problem: In 2016, Polaris had nothing but heavy and slow cruiser engines. What Indian achieved after was incredible. Its engineers hunkered down and came up with a new race engine in about a year. The resulting Indian FTR750 flat tracker dominated the circuit, winning its first Grand National Championship at the end of 2017. The FTR750 would then win seven more in a row.
America’s Coolest Motorcycle
The Indian FTR street bike was built in celebration of Indian’s track wins. It’s not the racebike by any means, but inspired by it. In 2017, after the FTR750 racebike had proven itself to be a speedy wonder, Indian presented the FTR1200 Custom concept (below) at the Milan motorcycle show. It was an instant hit with the public. The FTR1200 was beautiful, powerful, and a complete departure from what everyone expected for a street bike from an American manufacturer.
Indian greenlit a production version and in 2019, the Indian FTR 1200 was born. At the heart of the new FTR 1200 was a new 120 HP 1203cc V-twin and some minor traits trickled down from the racebikes. Like the racer, the FTR 1200 featured a trellis frame and its airbox was tucked neatly on top of the engine.
The awesome part about the FTR 1200 (later just called the FTR) is that Indian didn’t just lazily make a boring bike that looked like the racer. It went through the work to make a motorcycle that rode just as good as it looked. We’re talking meaty Brembo brakes, a fuel tank under the seat, a low center of gravity, and some terrific fun handling. Sure, it wasn’t nearly as snappy as even anything with the name “Buell” emblazoned on the side (to give an example of another American bike), but it wasn’t afraid of curves.
The motorcycle then went on to score generally positive reviews by the motorcycle press and it deserved it. While I never had an FTR long enough to write a full review of it, I saw what the moto press loved in it. The FTR was never the fastest, the best handling, or the best value for money. It also wasn’t particularly light at 512 pounds, either. Personally, I thought the FTR was a bit more expensive than it should have been. The FTR also had a few quirks, like a flimsy side stand and an unrefined throttle response when the engine wasn’t fully warmed up.
Our friends at RideApart had numerous complaints about their FTR tester. That bike had some oddity with its fuel system where the engine would stall out just trying to idle after a cold start. If the writer was brave enough to ride the thing before the engine was fully warmed up it would either stall or buck. RideApart also found the pegs uncomfortable, the tires suboptimal on imperfect pavement, and the turn signals ridiculously fragile.
However, if you were able to look past those downsides – most of which can be corrected in the aftermarket, anyway – the FTR was a seriously fun ride. I loved every single moment I’ve gotten to swing a leg over an FTR. I loved my FTR rides so much that the FTR was the first new motorcycle I ever attempted to buy. Sadly, I found out the hard way that my then cash-only lifestyle made me unattractive to banks. Oops!
To me, the Indian FTR hit a sweet spot of fun, vulgarity, and beauty. It’s a bike you could stare at all day or swing a leg over and tear up backroads. The Indian FTR has that sort of “badass” cool that the likes of Dodge so desperately wants today. Even Ryan F9 of Fortnine practically gushed over the thing:
He’s Dead, Jim
Unfortunately, being cool apparently isn’t enough to sell bikes. It’s hard to say where Indian went wrong here. Maybe the FTR could have been faster, cheaper, or looked closer to its concept. Or, maybe it was doomed because if Harley-Davidson’s long list of modern-day fails suggests, it’s hard for an American cruiser manufacturer to convince enough of the public to buy something that’s not a cruiser.
I suppose another reason could also just be the world as it is right now. Recreational products almost across the board from motorhomes and personal watercraft to side-by-sides experienced cratering sales after the pandemic. People are still buying toys, but they clearly aren’t buying as many as they used to. Even I ended up buying a much cheaper Royal Enfield instead of spending at least $13,499 on the FTR.
Why did Indian Motorcycle discontinue the FTR?
I reached out to Indian for an explanation and received this:
Indian Motorcycle regularly reviews its portfolio – critically evaluating where to focus investments to have the biggest impact for riders, as well as position the brand for continued growth through the development of products that reflect emerging trends and rider preferences.
After careful consideration, Indian Motorcycle made the decision to discontinue the FTR lineup. The decision aligns with Indian Motorcycle’s long-term vision to focus on models and technologies that represent the future of the brand, as FTR is small part of Indian Motorcycle’s overall portfolio. The decision enables the brand to focus investments on platforms, as well as future products and technologies in the pipeline.
I asked if Indian planned a replacement for the FTR:
Indian Motorcycle regularly reviews its portfolio – critically evaluating where to focus investments to have the biggest impact for riders, as well as position the brand for continued growth through the development of products that reflect emerging trends and rider preferences.
Unfortunately, it’s pretty safe to say Indian doesn’t have something else in the works. Weirdly, this will mean that Harley-Davidson will have the more diverse portfolio of the rivalry, but nobody really knows how much time the LiveWire and Pan America have left before they’re tossed in the dustbin.
Even the FTR750 racebike is having a bad time. American Flat Track changed its rules, effectively banning race engines like the one used in the FTR750 and Harley’s XR-750.
There’s still time for Indian to send the FTR out in a more proper way. The FTR was one of the coolest American motorcycles in years, it should go out with a little more fanfare than a dry statement in a financial report. Thankfully, there is also still time to get one if you want one. Indian hasn’t given a firm date for when production will cease this year and as of right now, it’s still being advertised on Indian’s sites. Depending on how things go, dealers might even have new ones sitting around for a while. But after that, it’s the end of the road. Maybe one day America’s motorcycle brands will get this right.
One of the most beautiful bikes ever!
*slowly rubs hands together waiting for blowout incentives*
BOOOO! This is the only bike I ever came close to buying. Still balked at the price oh a new bike, but still. The demo around Denver was great.
The FTR visually looks great but it shot a bit above the target while not delivering enough to make it worth while. It was expensive, had too small a fuel tank, and was too heavy. It also makes more power than it needs to which changes how you have to ride it and who it appeals to. Expense is relative and someone may be willing to pay a premium over a Japanese bike, but the physical aspects of the bike should have been more akin to a Ducati Scrambler or Yamaha FT/MT.
Indian could still do this in the future. Give us a quick-reving 800/900/maybe 1000cc liquid cooled v-twin, keep the weight down and keep the bike slim, and make it more of a ‘people’s hooligan’ instead of a ‘gentleman’s flatracker’.
While visually appealing and even stunning, these bikes and their exhaust systems make me want to invest in making riding gear with asbestos incorporated into the right leg.
And I don’t get the apparent two-into-one-back-out-to-two plumbing of the production FTR. Perhaps I’m missing something.
It might not actually be that unusual as I imagine most cars with dual or quad (and triple, Civic Type R) exhaust pipes probably run everything through a single cat. And don’t get me started on Camrys with four pipes, but only two get dirty.
It’s so true! The outer pipes on the Camry are fakes, leading absolutely nowhere.
Right? Even on a cold morning you only see water vapor coming out of 2 of 4 of them. I would be embarrassed to be part of that design team.
Ever looked at X pipes?
You can join and separate pipes with no downsides using knife edged Ys, even benefits.
Polaris made money by reading the market, Victory was a moderate success before they rebranded as Indian and cruisers and baggers sell, American sport bikes don’t. The Harley XR1200 and V-Rod, never sold as well as any Glide.
I would be part of the problem, I’d have sooner bought a BMW R NineT than an FTR, but I’ve been riding an Airhead over 30 years.
Man that’s really disappointing, this was the only American bike I’ve ever really wanted.
Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. That thing is as ugly as homemade sin.
Homemade sin can be pretty attractive…
Is store-bought fine?
I’m not such a big Harley or Indian fan, and I always seem to like the model nobody else does. I loved the V-rod and I went to the Indian dealer to buy a FTR a couple of years ago but they had a very lightly used XDiavel S on the lot and it was cheaper to boot. I bought it and it has been pure bliss ever since!
I think it’s a victim of the same thing that killed off HD’s more-or-less version of this, the XR1200 – flat track just isn’t that well known outside of people like us here.
You say race bike to most people, and they think replicant sportbike. If you have to explain what the racing you actually mean is, you’ve likely already lost the sale.
Unfair (I’ve ridden flat track myself and absolutely love it – sliding a turn right is an amazing feeling), but true.
I live in a city with an Indian dealer and I don’t think I ever saw an FTR on the road.
Me neither. Moto companies rarely release sales data, so it makes me wonder how rough things got..
Might still be able to find them new on a dealer’s floor in a couple years and talk them down
I’ve always been excited by the concept of the FTR and really want to like it, but to me it’s a slightly uglier Yamaha SCR950 at ~2x the price, and I don’t have one of those either. (Yes, it’s also ~2x the HP but 50HP is enough for me.)
I’d much rather build a café or flat-tracker out of an old tube-frame Buell or Sporty and get something air-cooled with a reasonable weight, a cable-actuated throttle and real gauges.
Regardless of what this article claims, this 500 pound bike IS about style rather than substance. It looks like the race bike but it’s a long long way from actually being like the race bike.
If you want a street legal bike that actually comes close to the bikes used on dirt tracks, you need to build it yourself or if you have the money, pay Richard Pollock of Mule to build you one. Take a look on the BikeEXIF website, search for some of the Mule bikes which have been discussed there, and you’ll see what the real deal is like.
Indian is being smart discontinuing the FTR. There are only so many people who are going to buy a bike like the FTR or the XR1200, and once they buy one the demand for the bike drops off sharply.
In fairness, I did not claim the bike was like the racebike. Their engines aren’t even in the same class. Looks like it, yes, a couple of similar traits, yes, but as I definitely said, not the fastest, not the best handling, not the best value, and iffy quality.
It was all about looking cool with a dash of fun, hence “coolest” in the headline. 🙂
I didn’t know this bike existed, so I looked it up.
The main image on the FTR’s website makes it look dowdy, like it’s trying to highlight the faux fuel tank.
But, honestly, at ~$13k – it’s not an unreasonable ask next to more established hooligan bikes like a Triumph Speed Triple, Honda CB1000R, or Ducati Monster.
Honestly, though, if it’s my money: Honda, Triumph, or Ducati would be well ahead of it.
I got my 2022 standard in Dec 2023 for 10K out the door. It was a crazy discount. If they sold them at that price, like the Rebel 1100, they may have gotten more customers, but maybe they aren’t profitable at that price.
Anyways the bike is still gorgeous and the torque and power and handling even in the standard are phenomenal. I love it, and I am sad to see it discontinued.
They’re hella cool bikes that just can’t be justified rationally against other bikes for the money (at least in Canada), and also don’t appeal to the crowd typically shopping american bikes specifically. Not surprised they’re going away.
Love ’em but wouldn’t buy.
I was excited to get one when they came out until I saw the hideous tail section. Good god, it’s so ugly compared to the rest of the bike.
I’ve had many bikes, and they inherently have different product development challenges than cars. Bikes are almost exclusively purchased as toys, meaning objective realities are much less important than subjective ones. Especially the subjective ones that deal with cultural signaling.
The thing that attracts a buyer to a nostalgic American brand is also largely the thing that demands strict adherence to tradition. In current terms, that means handling and speed are no match for the cut-and-paste visuals and sound of a Harley cruiser.
I have had friends who worked at Polaris/Victory and even as far back as the rebirth of Excelsior Motorcycles, and no matter how much they knew they could improve the product, they also understood it likely didn’t matter to their target demographic.
Meanwhile, people who want other qualities like handling, performance, comfort, and quality are unlikely to feel comfortable buying a style that brands them as a part of a subculture of which they might not be fond.
I know the history of the brand but it still feels odd in 2025 to have a brand called “Indian”, especially when everyone knows that’s not referring to Asia. I often wonder how many potential sales are put off by folks not being at ease with that. It might not be a lot but I’ll bet it’s not zero.
Yeah, kinda makes you wonder why they didn’t keep the Victory brand alive. It did not have the history or following of Indian and could have a been a landing spot for other bike types.
It is my understanding that part of reviving Indian had at least some to do with name recognition. Only bike nerds like us know what a Victory is (I’ll take a Vision any day) but Indian has more recognition.
I bet not one single person who actually has a genetic background which links him or her to indigenous native Americans ( the people we used to call Indians ) is bothered by the existence of a motorcycle brand named indian.
And I bet they would laugh their asses off at you expressing your pathetic virtue-signaling concern about it.
Have a lovely day.
There is an interesting story about that. Some indigenous people love their Indians, some don’t like the name. I leave it up to those communities to hash that out as I’m not a member of them. That said, I covered the name debate in my review of the Challenger:
https://www.theautopian.com/the-2023-indian-challenger-dark-horse-is-a-love-letter-to-the-open-road/
The local Indian dealership near me never had any of these in stock. They had an orange one on display, but that got moved from the front of the store and I never saw it after that when driving by. That place only ever seems to have Scouts and Chieftans, and I’m wondering if there’s any place in the U.S. with enough buyers to support twenty different all black Indian Scouts being in the building at all times.
My local dealer always seemed to have at least one FTR in stock. Typically two to four. The number of other Indians absolutely dwarfed the number of FTRs though.
That being said, I rarely see any Indians on the road. I’m not in a big biking area (I ride) but I’m pretty sure I see roughly the same amount of Moto Guzzis as I do Indians, which is probably single digits per riding season.
It’s the same thing here with the low numbers on the road. Most of what I see are Hondas and BMWs, which is an absolute mystery because there are no dealerships here or for quite a distance around for those. But there are dealerships for Indians, Harleys, and Yamahas.
My local dealers have a bunch in stock, including a couple of new unsold 2023 models. Yikes! I have seen a number of Indian bikes on the road, but I can’t remember when was the last time I’ve seen an FTR in real life outside of a show or dealership.
I’m honestly not sure I could pick out one cruiser from another in a crowd unless I got a good look at what’s scrolled on the tank.
Guzzis, on the other hand, stick out.
I see what you did there.
Too Bad, the FTR was pretty much the only Motorcycle I have considerd buying lately. the price is actually quite decent for the performance and it being and american brand. The only reason I have not is simply because I have 2 other bikes and I don’t have the space for a 3rd really. I also kind of want a Panamerica at some point, and that would serve a lot more riding options overall.
I’ve been wanting Polaris to release a T700 competitor.
Mid-sized ADV is about the only growing motorcycle market in North America right now.
Polaris is run by people who are smart enough to understand that trying to compete with Yamaha is a losing game. No way they are going to enter the adventure bike market segment.
No one says you have to beat Yamaha, you just have to offer something that has a compelling reason to buy it. See bikes like the Transalp, Tuareg, Himalayan, Wee-Strom… all “worse” adv bikes, but all have prospective buyers that likely cross-shoped against the T700 and some people saw fit to not get the T700.
I’m not suggesting a volume game here, I’m suggesting they could create an offering that could be sold in reasonable numbers (smaller than the T700) and make a bit of profit from.
Polaris is in trouble. It’s demographic is sort of aging or shrinking because of the shrinking world population and anyone that wants an ATV or UTV or a side-by-side kind of already has one or has been priced out of them now that they cost more than and are bigger than some cars. This is not helping Polaris in the long run, And that bites into their motorcycle business.
Powersports in general are having a lull, let’s say. KTM is bankrupt and Arctic Cat is essentially closing up shop this summer unless they find a compelling reason not to.
I’d look at this as the canary in the coal mine, shit’s expensive and people don’t have money for frivolous stuff. Obviously I hope not, but it looks like things are gonna get bumpy.
I forgot that Arctic Cat is basically done with snowmobiles. Yep polaris and arctic cat are headquartered in MN and crap is getting real for them.
The fact that large chunks of MN have gotten almost no snow for two winters in a row cannot be helping winter powersports sales.
no for sure and really the snow has been iffy for a long time. some years yes lots of snow and others not so much. Also, the culture of snowmobiling seems broken in that as more people become urban the generational passing on of snowmobiling seems to not be happening and most people are getting side by sides that can do some snow travel.
Fact : BMW sold more bikes last year than it ever sold in prior years.
There’s a big world outside of the US, and the US isn’t even close to being the most significant country in the world with respect to how many bikes are sold. A market downturn in the US does not equate to a market downturn in the rest of the world.
KTM is not going to leave the market. There will be restructuring at KTM, but they will still be a part of the motorcycle world.
It is sad to see the FTR go it had a Mechannocal style to it, but was it there for image a few years ago and to make money from then on.
The US motorcycle market is a much different than the rest of the world and the machine is looked upon more of a toy than transportation in North America. Engine displacements are huge and if you have less than 100 bhp on tap……
And then there is this anomaly, which has dropped from the rest of the world, but they still make for the US market. https://powersports.honda.com/motorcycle/cruiser/shadow-phantom
They are super reliable, understressed, slow enough for Royal Enfield match races and are V-twins. They are fun and look cool.
It must be worth it for Honda to keep updating them.
Imagine racing the Isle of Mann TT on a 120 year-old bike! Yikes!
I suspect if polaris or any other american manufacturer invests any money on two wheeled vehicles in the near term it will be cheapish and aimed at the surron type market of questionably legal off road electic.
Indian actually started off in this realm a few years back. they never really got serious on performance, but they could not compete with China and amazon to make a compelling reason to buy their version of an electric bike.
Yeah, they still offer their eFTRs. No idea if any of them are good or cost competitive though…