My 2017 Indian Scout Ride Impression Indian Motorcycle Reviews & Impressions >
Junior Member 22 posts Neronuff Junior Member 22 posts
Neronuff
Well I just got back from my first long ride on my 2017 Scout

I rode down the NSW south coast from Sydney to Bega (approx 450kms) then some riding around then a ride back home after  couple of days.  Approx 1200kms round trip.

Here is what I want to report on.

The Scout did not miss a beat.  The engine purred along without a problem of any sort.  Pulled well in all gears and was smooth as silk.

The ride was OK.  I did not experience much of the suspension horrors that others have reported.  I think that Polaris upgraded the rear shocks in 2017 so the ride was ok.  I might have got bounced out of my seat a couple of times but they were extreme road variations.  The front forks might be a bit soft though.  A couple of times I hit a road bump in the middle of a corner and I was bounced off line and had to correct my line.

I did an oil change the night before I left and that was pretty straight forward.  The oil filter is a bit tricky though, trying to tighten it with a lever type tightening tool.  Not much room between the oil filter and the floor (while on the side stand)

The Kendra tyres were ok and did the job that they were supposed to in all conditions. I did not buy the bike new and I will replace the tyres in a couple of thousand kms though, as they are beginning to wear down a bit (13000 kms on them now) 

I was worried about doing a long ride without a screen, but it was OK without a screen.  A bit of a strain (pulling) on forearms above 110 km/h, but it is a cruiser after all so I should cruise around 100kms/h and everthing will be sweet.

The ride home last night had me thinking that I would pull over for the night and book into a motel and continue the ride in the morning but I pushed on home and did a final leg of about 350kms to home.  The last 150kms were in nightmare weather.  Night time. Rain varying from light to bloody biblical proportions ((Noah). Then came the fog as I rode the stretch along a coastal escarpment.  Could not see much but thank heaven for the "Cats Eyes" markers on the road lines.  It was in the fog that I tried to find the Hazard lights (all indicators flashing at the same time).  Could not find them though so I looked it up online this morning.  It seems that I need to press and hold the toggle switch (left hand) to activate the hazard lights.  Has anyone else needed to use the hazard lights and is that how you do it? 

In the clear light of day now, I don't think that I should have kept pushing on.  I should have bunked down somewhere along the way at a roadside motel for the night. I was a bit foolish, but how smart we all can be with hindsight.

All in all though I think that the Scout is the sweetest bike that I have been on for a long time.  It attracted good look overs & comments with one woman asking if she could sit on it and have her photo taken.

I mentioned to a mate that we should do a ride around Tasmania in Feb next year. So I am now confident that the little Scout is up to the task and I am looking forward to many more long rides now.
Rob
Cronulla NSW
2017 Indian Scout
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V-Twin Founding Member 7,820 posts
V-Twin
Rob, that’s a nice write up about your Scout riding experience. Thanks for sharing mate.  I cannot believe you rode through that biblical weather on Kanda tyres!!  😳  Glad you got home safe mate. 

Re: suspension - I am not sure if 2017 Scouts have revised suspension. Maybe other Scout owners can chip in but I can tell you that most Scout owners only realise how bad the original shockers/fork springs are after they replace them with quality shockers/fork springs.
Melbourne, Victoria
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Neronuff Junior Member 22 posts
Neronuff
V-Twin wrote:
Rob, that’s a nice write up about your Scout riding experience. Thanks for sharing mate.  I cannot believe you rode through that biblical weather on Kanda tyres!!  😳  Glad you got home safe mate. 

Re: suspension - I am not sure if 2017 Scouts have revised suspension. Maybe other Scout owners can chip in but I can tell you that most Scout owners only realise how bad the original shockers/fork springs are after they replace them with quality shockers/fork springs.


Hi V-Twin.  I called into the Indian dealership at Ashfield (Sydney) during last week to pick up an oil filter.  The Manager there, Robertino Salbatecu (aka Rob) said that the 2017 model had a new type of rear shocks in response to feedback/criticism from Scout riders.  I hope that he is not talking with forked tongue. :-) 
Rob
Cronulla NSW
2017 Indian Scout
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Scout LE MKIII Full Member 197 posts
Scout LE MKIII
Hi Neronuff, agree with V great writeup of your trip and even better to hear that the Scout performed so well in all conditions. 
Cheers,
Townsville QLD
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Dr.Shifty Senior Member 1,623 posts
Dr.Shifty
Great writeup. The Scout is a real surprise package and comes into its own when you get to Tasmania!

Riding through that rain was a tough call, glad you made it home OK. We only got the edge of it up here but it was heavy enough to wake me up.

As much as I loved the Scout on our Tassie trip in November (ask V-Twin or Big Tone etc how much fun I was having), by the time I got back to Newcastle I'd had enough of riding local roads on short travel suspension and have decided on the new Springfield Dark Horse as a replacement.

I'll be going back to Tassie early in March with a bunch of Kawasaki mates and am looking forward to having the new bike on those wonderful (winderful?) bike roads.

PS. Push the indicator switch in for two seconds and the hazard lights come on. I had a problem with this for a while as I couldn't work out the self-cancelling indicator operation and sometimes pushed the switch in too long while trying to cancel and instead I got the hazards. That must have confused a few following drivers. [smile]
Cheers, Kim.

From Woodrising (no, nobody else has heard of it either)
Rides a Springfield Dark Horse
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Neronuff Junior Member 22 posts
Neronuff
Thanks Dr Shifty
Tassie in Feb sounds about right for me and a mate
How long did you have in Tas for your ride?
Was the time that you had there long enough to see everything that you wanted to?
Rob
Cronulla NSW
2017 Indian Scout
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Dr.Shifty Senior Member 1,623 posts
Dr.Shifty
Neronuff wrote:
Thanks Dr Shifty
Tassie in Feb sounds about right for me and a mate
How long did you have in Tas for your ride?
Was the time that you had there long enough to see everything that you wanted to?


We went down there as part of the Black Dog Ride and then went off for another week when that finished. We got off the ferry on a Saturday morning, rode every day until getting on the ferry Sunday evening, nine days of riding.

I had a tracker going most days and you can chase up our logs here
http://www.indianmotorcycleforum.com.au/post/black-dog-ride-tasmania-tour-final-plan-friday-3-november-2017-11-nights-8803219

We didn't really go there so see stuff, as in tourist sight-seeing. We were there to ride. Someone asked what we wanted to see and we had a bit of a list. I think the MONA gallery in Hobart was the only list item that got a look in. Even then, the arvo we were there was too short - MONA needs a few days with lots of short visits with breaks to clear your head to do it justice. We also stopped at a carving gallery called The Wall on our way west to Strahan. That was an hour well spent.

We ate well, drank well (as in quality) and enjoyed each other's company. The perfect bike roads were .. perfect.
Cheers, Kim.

From Woodrising (no, nobody else has heard of it either)
Rides a Springfield Dark Horse
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V-Twin Founding Member 7,820 posts
V-Twin
Neronuff wrote:
Was the time that you had there long enough to see everything that you wanted to?
If given a choice, I would have liked set aside 2 weeks to see Tasmania and you can easily spend more time.  This will ensure that you ride an enjoyable distance every day and have enough time to stay in one place for couple of days, we you liked the area.
Melbourne, Victoria
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