The Indian FTR 1200 Is Hitting The Dirt Track
The FTR is going back to its roots.
There’s one thing Indian has been excelling at for the past three years and that’s flat-track racing. The factory team, the Wrecking Crew, has been dominating the dirt oval with Jared Mees in the lead. The manufacturer scored a home run with the introduction of its new FTR 750 dirt warrior, so much so that it too everything it learned on the flat track and applied it to a street-friendly bike. Thus the FTR 1200 was born. Now, we’re about to find out how whether the 1200 has the same racing chops as it competition-specific counterpart with the Indian FTR 1200 Hooligans.
The Street Tracker:
The two specially-prepared FTR 1200 are the work of Wisconsin-based shop S&S Cycle, incidentally Indian’s official part supplier on the dirt track. The two FTRs have been significantly modified to go from street to dirt tracker. The exhaust pipes have been re-routed to high-set tips, the headlamp has been removed and replaced by a number plate, sitting on top of the new S&S billet triple-clamps meant to increase and improve steering. The new clamps also decrease the rake angle, making for a slightly shorter wheelbase.
Gallery: Indian FTR 1200 Hooligan
The front brake has been stripped down and the 19 and 18-inch cast wheels have been replaces with Roland Sands Design circles. The front inverted fork has been stiffened and the rear suspension has been replaced with a FOX FTR 1200 race monoshock with remote reservoir teamed with a new, shorter swingarm.
A reworked frame positions the footpegs higher up for improved ground clearance and the new subframe receives a smaller battery and a carbon fiber tail. All and all, these modifications has allowed the FTR 1200s to shed a significant 55 lb.
The two Indian FTR 1200 Hooligan will hit the track in the second round of the European Hooligan Championship during the Wheels & Waves event taking place in Biarritz, France. The two track-to-street-to-track bikes will be raced on the dirt oval by Krazy Horse’s teammates Lee Kirkpatrick and Leah Tokelove.
Sources: Indian Motorcycle, New Atlas
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