Indian issues commemorative Scouts as the model turns 100

The Scout gained a reputation as a manageable, competent motorcycle, especially for entry-level riders. That’s not to say more experienced riders didn’t enjoy it, as well. Middleweight motorcycles have a similar role today.

Indian kept revising the Scout to stay competitive against competitors like Harley-Davidson and Excelsior. The bikes got optional electric lights for their second year of production (nice to have), followed by chassis updates and more displacement. (We’re still tweaking this stuff a century later.) The model ran for a few decades, Indian sputtered out, and the brand was passed around like a bad cold for the rest of the 20th century.

The Scout struck a memorable balance between power, physical size, and handling. That’s why the Scout, along with the Chief, was one of the first models to be resurrected after Polaris acquired the brand in 2011.

“The Indian Scout has stood the test of time as one of the most influential, iconic and recognizable motorcycles in the world,” said Reid Wilson, Indian Motorcycle’s VP. “100 years is an incredibly special milestone.”

2020 will mark a century since the first Indian Scout debuted, and while that’s not even close to a century of continuous production, they’re going to celebrate anyway with two new models. The first, the Scout 100th Anniversary ($15,999), will be limited to 750 units worldwide. The bike gets paint inspired by the original Scouts, plus anniversary badges, a tan solo seat, and beach bars.

Its sibling, the Scout Bobber Twenty ($11,999-$12,899), takes a bobber-styled approach with its wire wheels and floating seat. Ten-inch apes and some old-school colors round it out. 

For the few who will get their hands on these bikes, I’m sure this is welcome news. Personally, I’m a lot more excited to see a nameplate stand the test of time, even if it didn’t take the “purest” route to the present. Hey, it’s a hundred years. A lot can happen.

But many things much larger than the Scout have come and gone in that time. At the risk of overly romanticizing a couple bikes with fancy paint and badges, I think the Scout’s centennial is a bit of a testament to this whole motorcycling thing. All these years later, we still love it.