We’re still waiting for Indian to officially pull the wraps off its all-new water-cooled Challenger tourer but the firm has unveiled the updates for its Scout range in 2020.
And 2020 is an important year for Scouts, as it marks the 100th birthday of the model, which was first revealed in 1919 as a 1920 model. Inevitably, that means the big news for 2020 is a limited-edition ‘100th Anniversary’ version of the Scout, with styling tweaks to make it more like the original.
As well as red paint with retro Indian logos and gold pinstripes, the 100th Anniversary model swaps the normal alloy wheels for wire spoked versions and gains a tan leather single seat. Just 750 are to be sold worldwide, so while the Scout 100th Anniversary isn’t going to be immensely rare, you’re unlikely to see them on every street corner.
The Scout Bobber Twenty also marks the 1920 introduction of the original Scout, but it’s a full-production model offered in a range of colours. Based on the normal Scout Bobber, it also gets wire wheels but adds ape-hanger bars that give it the look of a 1970s custom bike. Three colour options will be offered; Thunder Black, Sagebrush Smoke (matt green to anyone who doesn’t speak fluent marketing-ese) and ‘Burnished Metallic’, which is an orangey-brown tone with a strong metalflake.
Outside the new models, all Scouts including the smaller-engined Scout Sixty and the Bobber get new brakes with floating discs and revised calipers and master cylinders. The Scout also gets a ‘Sport Seat’ for 2020, along with pillion pegs.
New options for the Scout range are intended to increase is touring appeal. The main news is the addition of an optional quick-release fairing, which is colour-matched to your bike and can be retro-fitted to existing Scouts. Three screen heights are on offer to suit individual requirements, and later this year Indian will also be releasing a new set of semi-rigid, quick-release saddlebags for the Scout range.
Words & Pics Ben Purvis
