The Indian Scout is proving to be an interesting custom platform. It’s a whole new take on what custom can be and a very modern one at that.
Many of us had visions of what we thought the Scout should be, classic, steel chassis, air cooled vintage styled motor, ect.. but if you were Indian, a progressive company that had a huge focus on racing in it’s heyday, what would your bike’s look like today? That’s a big question and one that shouldn’t be answered by copying your rival. It’s an adjustment in mentality and admittedly the Stock Scout feels like a beginners bike is stock trim and that’s not a mistake. The handlebars are goofy and the fenders are very Polaris but those are easy things to change. The base chassis is not bad and in black the radiator and over designed rear frame panels start to disappear. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this custom is how well it accepted rear struts becoming a nearly perfectly aligned rigid.
The line from the triple clamp to the rear axle really flows. Lose the mini ape bars, add some RSD clip ons, radial masters and rear sets and things start to get downright aggressive. Tail section sucked down on the rear tire, stainless exhaust and you damn near got a drag bike. Throw all that together and you have the Tomahawk Indian Bordeaux by Charly Abraham.