#FtrS

Different is good. Change is good. Not fitting precisely into a predetermined category is good. That was the take-away from many when the Indian FTR1200 hit the market in 2019. Made in America with naked bike styling, a flat-track-esque wheel combo, and a rowdy performance-focused V-Twin engine, the FTR was unlike anything to come from an American manufacturer for quite some time – and arguably the best culmination of its mass-produced parts ever assembled Stateside. 

The FTR seems to be one of those love-it or hate-it polarizing kinds of motorcycles. With this trio of 2022 Indian FTR1200s, Polaris wants more love and less hate. When loosed upon the public in 2019, a large part of the confusion had to do with its 19-/18-inch wheel combo, complete with flat-track inspired Dunlop tires. What is this thing anyway? A sportbike? An ADV bike? A Ducati Monster wannabe? The only thing certain was that it wasn’t much like anything we’d seen before from a (major) American motorcycle manufacturer, or any manufacturer for that matter. The answer, of course, was that the FTR was a little of all those: a 120-horsepower liquid-cooled V-twin naked sportbike that was happy to blast down dirt roads too. Indian went so far as to hold the bike’s press launch in Baja, on a ride that included 40 miles of sandy dirt road. On the other hand, you could also just cruise, in the time-honored American idiom, thanks to the nice upright ergos and standard cruise control.