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Indian Motorcycle will return to AMA Pro Flat Track racing with the FTR 750, a proprietary liquid-cooled, 750 cc V-twin engine. Not much else is known except that it is a rather sanitary yet handsome engine, as judged by the photos.
Indian officials say the engine is specifically designed for the intense handlebar-to-handlebar flat-track racing and will be installed in a specially built chassis.
Two official photos from Indian of the FTR 750 V-twin. As you can see, it's a very clean design but also striking.
AMA Grand National champion Jared Mees will join the Indian team as a test rider.
“We will have a lot of work to do to develop a 100 percent new race platform, but I’m committed and excited at what I have seen on the drawing boards and what the plans are for Indian Motorcycle Racing,” says Mees.
Indian motorcycles used to dominate flat-track racing in the US.
“We have established the new Indian Chief and Scout series as the cornerstones of our production lineup, and now is the time for us to return to racing in a big way,” adds Teve Menneto, president of motorcycles for Polaris Industries, the parent company of Indian Motorcycles.
Officials are very tight-lipped about any technical details for the engine. They do confirm that the engine was co-designed by SwissAuto, a subsidiary company that Indian has partnered with for “some time.”
There is speculation that the FTR 750 is based on a de-stroked version of the Scout 999 cc engine. Here are cutaway views of that street-bike engine.
CycleWorld just posted a story based on discussions with engineers at SwissAuto and reports that an early development engine sports a 88.00 x 61.5 mm bore/stroke and makes 109 horsepower at 10,000 rpm. Helping keep the costs down, the DOHC design includes 33.5/30 mm steel valves and connecting rods. Other details noted include 53-degree V-angle, 14:1 compression ratio, Nikasil-lined cylinders, 23-degree valve angle, oil-cooled pistons, chain-driven camshafts, single fuel injector per cylinder and 8-disc clutch. Final weight, according to CycleWorld, is 106 pounds.
At one time Indian dominated flat-track racing with legendary riders like Bill Tuman, Bobby Hill and Ernie Beckman–also known as the Wrecking Crew.
AMA champion Jared Mees will head up the riders on the Indian factory team.
