With its recent success on the Flat Track circuit and burgeoning footprint in the worldwide market, it's easy to forget that Indian Motorcycle is actually America's oldest bike manufacturer, and the marque reminds us of its deep roots with the new Scout Bobber Twenty model. This bike takes us right back to the custom bikes of the early 1900s with bobbed sheet metal, blackout treatment, and laced wheels on a modern chassis that mimics the geometry of the old-school hardtail bikes. A modern V-twin delivers 100 ponies for your riding pleasure, and ABS protection is available on all the colorways to deliver some modern safety as well.

Indian Scout Bobber Twenty Design

Indian's Scout Bobber Twenty makes an interesting platform for the rebirth of the original Scout G-20 that was built for the 1920 model year, much to the delight of the early fiery-eyed pegdraggers. The old-school flavor starts right out of the gate with blackout rims on wire wheels that mount a fat hoop at both ends of the ride.

It gets its “Bobber” moniker from the cut-back sheet metal over each wheel, but it doesn't stop there. The headlight mini-nacelle, short apehanger handlebar, and bar-end mirrors swerve even deeper into classic custom territory, and the blackout finish continues in earnest throughout. In fact, if it weren't for the highlights on the engine and exhaust headers, the Scout Bobber Twenty would utterly void of any bling, and that's not necessarily a bad thing in my estimation.

LED blinkers signal your intentions from blackout bullet housings, and the taillight is a minimal LED bar that doesn't exactly correlate to an historical feature but definitely still qualifies as custom looking. Oh, but the side-mount plateholder definitely lands in custom territory.

All of the instrumentation is concentrated in a single round gauge to keep the control area simple. The 3.3-gallon fuel tank has a teardrop profile ahead of a floating tan leather floating solo seat that channels the saddles of yesteryear but leaves potential passengers in the lurch. Ten-inch mini-apes and low, 27.4-inch seat height join with forward foot controls to define a relaxed riding position that plays well with the overall custom vibe. Same with the dual shotgun exhaust that adds an old-school performance flavor to the mix. Stock, bar-end mirrors roll in the upright position off the showroom floor, but they can be switched around to the hang-down position for even more of that custom goodness.

Indian Scout Bobber Twenty Chassis

The frame on the Scout Bobber Twenty does a lot for the dated look, even while it delivers a modern ride. A double-downtube main structure supports and cradles the engine rather than using it as a stressed member, and it mounts a rather inconspicuous radiator up front to deal with the waste heat. From the steering stem to the swingarm, the frame geometry mimics that of the old rigid frames, and the swingarm really sells it as the shock picks up and extends the angle of the backbone to create the suggestion of a hardtail. Maybe not as much as, say, a Harley-Davidson Softail or Triumph's Bonneville Bobber, but the look is there nonetheless.

A set of 41 mm, right-way-up forks take care of business with 4.7 inches of travel but nothing in the way of adjustability. Out back, dual coil-over shocks only allow for two inches of travel, which is kind of on the short end of the spectrum, but it's the price you pay for the look you get from the seat and rear-fender arrangement. There just isn't room for a long suspension stroke back there, nothing for it.

Laced rims mount Pirelli hoops in a fat 130/90 up front opposite a fatter 150/80 out back, both in a 16-inch diameter that bolsters the Bobber Twenty's old-timey chops. Indian kept the brakes modern with a single 298 mm rotor on each wheel, and left the old drum brakes in the history books where they belong. A two-piston anchor bites the front disc with a single-pot caliper out back and stock ABS coverage in all of the color packages. If you'd prefer full-raw brakes, the basic black model is your Huckleberry.

As for handling, a 29-degree rake angle and 4.7-inch trail is a nice balance between agility and stability, and you can count on a 29-degree angle-of-lean before you start making sparks.

Indian Scout Bobber Twenty Drivetrain

Indian keeps to longstanding American tradition by powering its Scout Bobber Twenty with a V-twin plant. The geometry isn't quite old school at 60 degrees instead of 45, but the parallel faux pushrod tube details mimic the look of the old side-valve engines pushrod tube details mimic the look of the old side-valve engines}}. It's a nice touch even though the factory doesn't go half as far as it does with its flathead-looking Thunder Stroke big twin engine, but it is what it is.

It's liquid cooled, but to Indian's credit the radiator is fairly inconspicuous, and love it or hate it, there's no denying that water-jacketed engines are cooler for the rider and more thermally stable in stop-and-go purgatory. A 60 mm throttle body feeds both of the 99 mm cylinders with a 73.6 mm stroke that gives the lump its 1,133 cc displacement and 10.7-to-1 compression ratio that'll put you at the premium gas hook. Horsepower maxes out at 100-ponies even, and since it's a V-twin, the torque numbers don't disappoint with 72 pound-feet at 6,000 rpm.

Power flows through a gear-type primary drive and wet clutch ahead of a six-speed transmission and belt-type final drive for a top speed that's governed down to 115 mph by the ECU. Unregulated top speed is reported at 128 mph, but seriously, if 115 mph ain't enough, you're looking at the wrong kind of bike. The Scout Bobber Twenty is an essential machine that carries nothing in the way of variable ride-control electronics, just raw power and a thrilling ride.

Indian Scout Bobber Twenty Pricing

Indian prices the Scout Bobber Twenty according to color and ABS. At the bottom of the range is the Thunder Black non-ABS model at $12,499. Next up is the same finish, but with ABS for $13,399. The colors all roll with ABS as standard equipment for $13,899.

Indian Scout Bobber Twenty Competitors

One American-made scoot deserves another, and I didn't have far to go to find a worthy adversary in the Harley-Davidson Sportster Forty-Eight.

Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight

Like the Scout Bobber Twenty, the Forty Eight aims for an old-school look with bobbed fenders and a classic peanut fuel tank. The blackout is strong with the Forty-Eight though Harley offsets it with some chrome bling in much the same way Indian does, and in the same places as well.

Harley doesn't try for a rigid look, but instead uses a standard setup with a yoke-style swingarm and dual shocks that hail back to its K-Model of the fifties, and the suspension is vanilla all around. Gotta' say Harley missed an opportunity when it settled on cast wheels instead of spoke hubs, so point to Indian in that respect, although both machines roll on fat 16-inch hoops for the classic look they bring to the table.

Regardless of color, ABS is a $795 option on the Sportster. H-D runs an air-cooled, 1,200 cc Evolution mill, and to its credit, this is a design the MoCo has used since 1986, so they have had plenty of time to perfect it. Some say it's Harley's best engine ever, but that's a matter of opinion at the end of the day.

It cranks out 73 pounds o' grunt at a low 3,500 rpm so it's not quite as rev-loving as the Indian, but that makes for lower-stress cruising overall. Neither marque is famous for using price as a selling point, but H-D squeaks in a win at the checkout with an $11,299 tag on its Vivid Black model. Half a dozen finishes are available under the $11,649 “Color” tier and the $11,999 Custom Color tier for a little savings over the top of Indian's range.

Read our full review of the Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight.

He Said

“Gotta' say, I love what Indian has going on over there, and I think the Scout Bobber Twenty is a great way to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of its original Scout, even if it isn't the only model to do so. The only complaint I have is the liquid cooling, 'cause there is just no way to make a radiator look cool; but beyond that, I think Indian made a good hit with this model. I look forward to seeing how it performs in the market.”

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “I'm not opposed to liquid-cooling as is my husband. It's common enough today that the radiator doesn't stand out tucked between the frame tubes. Overall, I really like this Scout Bobber Twenty. The look is snarly and no-nonsense. The low seat height makes it available to folks like me that have very short inseams, but make no mistake, that low seat height comes with a compromise. Your butt is going to feel every bump with that 2-inch suspension travel. The bike is a bobber, so it's comparatively light and that 100-horsepower engine is going to feel like a monster when you give it a twist. The rider triangle is very relaxed and the chassis gives you an agile ride that means fun and thrills all day long. I'm going to say the Scout Bobber Twenty would make an awesome commuter especially if you have to filter traffic in urban areas. It also scores points as a first bike for someone looking for a boulevard bruiser that they won't outgrow.”

Indian Scout Bobber Twenty Specifications

Further Reading

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