New Indian FTR 1200 Is Ready for the Road

Born in the Dirt, Designed for the Street

Indian’s FTR 1200 has its roots deeply seeded in their flat track racing heritage. American flat track racing – for those unaware – is the act of skidding your motorcycle around a dirt oval in circles until a winner crosses the finish line. The sport is difficult and highly specialized, and as a result, the motorcycles involved have to be built for this specific use. The Indian FTR 1200 (FTR standing for Flat Track Racer) took its design inspiration from Indian’s factory flat track racing bike and the visual appearance shows that. The 2022 model year brings changes to the Indian FTR 1200 to make it more road-friendly and bring better performance to the street. 

If you wanted a motorcycle for flat track racing, you probably would have bought one specifically built for that style of racing. With the previous iteration of the FTR 1200 still holding onto its dirt-racing heritage, Indian has taken feedback from street riders and made this updated version more suited for roadway use so it can keep up with other nakeds in the same market segment. 

This new FTR 1200 will be coming into the scene presumably as a 2022 model. 

The wheels have been updated with a new set of 17’s wrapped with Metzeler Sportecs; ditching the precious multi-surface DT3-R tires of the earlier generation. This change alone will be a game-changer when it comes to road use.

Beyond the wheels, the suspension has been redone and is now fully adjustable (front and rear). The rake has been updated and is now steeper and the trail has been shortened by 3.9 inches.

The engine sees some cool improvements such as the ability for the motorcycle to deactivate the rear cylinder of the V-twin to keep the block cool when idling in warmer weather. 

The bike has multiple versions, the base, S, Rally, and Carbon edition. The Carbon version comes complete with carbon fiber bodywork, Ohlins suspension components all around, a comfort seat, and an Akrapovic slip-on exhaust.

If you opt for the Rally version, expect to retain the Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires for multi-surface use and an extra $1000 USD added to the price of the base model.

The standard FTR will have an MSRP of $12,999 USD ($14,999 for the S edition), and if you’re looking for a more premium rendition of the motorcycle you can find the Carbon priced at $16,999 USD.