After spending a long time with it, we are saying goodbye to our beloved Indian FTR 1200. The whys and hows of it differ between individuals and do not always make sense. The point is; it is going away and with this special piece reliving the moments we have spent with it, we are going to make sure that the goodbye is proper!
Ever since we got the first hint of its existence, we knew that Indian Motorcycle was up to something really good. They did not disappoint. We were invited to Los Angeles for the global launch and first ride of the Indian FTR 1200 and boy, what a time we had! It lived up to everything we hoped for it to be and then some. Even before the ride was done, our minds were made up; the FTR 1200 HAD to be a part of the xBhp Garage.
So we got to work like we do and soon enough, the time came. Not only did we induct the Indian FTR 1200 into the xBhp Garage but we also became the first ones in India to own one. Imagine that for a second; one of the fiercest motorcycles you can get from one of the classiest motorcycle manufacturers around, and you get to be the first one in your country to own one! The feeling is hard to explain in words.
After its induction in the garage, we were expecting the usual; that the excitement was going to settle down after a while. That could not have been further from the truth. The Indian FTR 1200 is anything but mundane. No matter how many times you ride it, it is a thrill every darn time. But something did happen. COVID. Lockdowns meant no riding for a while. Yet, just to satiate the urge to take it out on the roads, we came up with a fair few projects.
With all the precautions and permissions in place, we went out on our Indian FTR 1200 to explore the locked-down National Capital Region. While it was harrowing to witness the terrifying lull that had engulfed the bustling concrete jungle, the Indian FTR 1200 still roared with pride. It was a unique experience marred by terrible times. But then, just like the good times, bad times don’t last either.
The lockdowns were lifted gradually and slowly, we regained all the freedoms that we had lost, the freedoms that we had taken for granted. The world had changed forever, but it was at least much closer to what it was before the pandemic. The festivals that had become muted, could shout at the top of their lungs again. After all, a festival like Holi is better celebrated with as much pomp and show as possible.
The Indian FTR 1200 is one of the closest things to pomp and show on two wheels. Just look at it! It is a bonafide stunner. And it was its menacing looks that gave us the idea of celebrating Holi with it. We have celebrated the festival of colours with only a few motorcycles but the FTR was not missing out on that. Revel in the photos for a few moments before you get ready to read about more of our adventures with it.
The FTR had been with us for a while and time simply flew. We only got the grasp of it as the 18th anniversary of xBhp rolled around. You may all be aware that for every anniversary of xBhp, we prepare a special livery for all our machines. The Indian FTR 1200 got one too. #18YearsOfxBhp-special Indian FTR 1200 was a piece of art. Black, Gold, and lots of carbon- the graphics fit the FTR’s masculine looks like a glove.
To top it all off, we also lived up to our claims of being India’s only lifestyle motorcycling magazine. BoConcept is a Danish brand with stuff that can turn any house into a home, a luxurious and opulent home. But we went to them claiming that we could top that. That resulted in a photo shoot at their showroom in Delhi and the #18YearsOfxBhp Indian FTR 1200, looking like the smug and handsome hooligan it was always supposed to be… despite being confined to the walls of the facility!
Another fantastic opportunity to ride the Indian FTR 1200 in a unique manner was the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride. The attire of the rider was supposed to be dapper, worthy of being donned by, well, a distinguished Gentleman. But the motorcycle here is a bare-chested beast, you say. Just look at the photos and you’ll know better. It may be a brash hooligan, but it is far from being a one-trick pony.
And not being a one-trick pony reminds us of another one of its specialities. The Indian FTR 1200 is referred to as a street-tracker, a flat-track-inspired motorcycle for the streets, streets being the keyword here. Despite that, its origins and its tyres had always had us curious. Curious to find out how it would fare off the tarmac. That would not only allow us to quash that bug but also, give us an idea about how ready it was for the ride of a lifetime!
So, we took it to a nearby dirt park and handed it over to a rider who was better equipped to figure out the limits of our Indian FTR 1200 in the dirt. The findings were interesting, to say the least. While it did not set the trails on fire, it surely showed that it had the potential to do well if treated well. Again, despite not being a thoroughbred, it dealt with whatever we could throw at it without leaning on its street tag to mask its shortcomings.
Onwards to the ride of a lifetime that we talked about. After figuring out that the Indian FTR 1200 can handle the rough stuff, we decided to take it to Ladakh. The unforgiving riding conditions and terrains meant that it needed just a few accessories to bolster its chances. Once that was done, off we went. How did it fare? It exceeded all our expectations.
On the roads, the Indian FTR 1200 is a proven winner. But even on broken roads, outright dirt tracks, water crossings, rocky routes, gravel, and whatnot, it did not falter. It rallied forth waving the flag of the faith that we had in it. It really was a ride of a lifetime and this is one of the rare occasions where our photos cannot do justice to the experience.
In addition to riding our own FTR here in India, we experienced the street-tracker from the US of A in Australia as well. Riding one similar to ours and then a newer iteration that was completely road-biased with rubber and geometry more suited for the tarmac. Despite the country or the locale or the iteration, the essence of it remained the same. It was a thriller on Day 1 and it was a thriller on Day we have lost count of.
After all that time, all those kilometres, and all that fun, Make Content Not War is our last stint with this phenomenal machine. Donning the camouflage with pride and delivering our message loud and clear to the masses, the Indian FTR 1200 became an inseparable part of celebrating #20YearsOfxBhp. But like we said before, just like bad times, good times don’t last forever either.
The Indian FTR 1200 is a brilliant motorcycle, a marvel of engineering, a shining and barking and growling example of what can be achieved if one strives to push the limits of what’s possible. It is a unique motorcycle that finds it hard to fit into the constraints of the classification of motorcycle that we so fondly use to categorise. It carved its own niche. Be it the performance, the looks, or the technology, it moved motorcycling forward by leaps and bounds.
If it is so good, why does it have to go, you ask? We can’t tell either. Things just happen. All we know is that xBhp is not where it is by getting stuck. One of the most important messages that we have always tried to convey is that one must keep moving. Sometimes, things will be left behind. But if you stop, you might miss out on what the journey has yet to show you. If you stop, you might miss out on what the future holds. With this though, one thing that we can be sure of is that Indian Motorcycle will keep moving forward too, and so will the FTR. And if so, who knows…
You can also find this article in the April-May’24 issue of the xBhp Magazine that you can get here.
