So, I got to thinking the other day about these Indian Scout motorcycles. You see ’em around, they’ve got that classic look, and I just started wondering, you know, just how quick are these things? Are we talking real speed or just cruising comfort?
What I Dug Up on Modern Scouts
First thing I did was hit the web, just started poking around to see what the current models are like. It’s pretty interesting stuff. For the newer ones, like say the 2025 Indian Super Scout, they’re putting out around 105 horsepower. That’s a decent kick. From what I gathered, the top speed on that one is somewhere around 115 MPH. You gotta rev it up to get there, it’s not like all the power is instantly on tap at low revs, or so I’ve read. You really have to work for it, which some folks like, I guess.
Then there’s the Indian Scout Bobber. That one seems to have a bit more oomph, or at least it’s geared or tuned a bit differently. I saw figures saying it can hit a top speed of about 128 mph. And, get this, it can supposedly go from a standstill to 60 mph in around four seconds. That’s pretty snappy, enough to make you grin for sure.
So, for the modern bikes, here’s a quick rundown of what I generally found:
- Super Scout (2025-ish): Around 115 MPH top speed.
- Scout Bobber: Can get up to about 128 MPH.
Not bad, right? Definitely enough for some fun on the open road.
Then I Found This Legend…
But man, as I was looking into all this, I stumbled upon a story that just, wow, it really caught my attention. There was this fella, Burt Munro. This guy was from New Zealand, and back in 1967, when he was 68 years old, believe it or not, he did something nuts.
He took a 1920 Indian Scout – yeah, a bike from 1920! – and he’d tinkered with it, modified it like crazy over the years in his shed. He took this heavily modified machine, which he called a Streamliner, out to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. And he set an official land speed record of 184.087 mph. Can you even imagine? On a bike that old! Some folks even say his unofficial top speed was over 205 mph. That record he set? It still stands today for its class.
That whole thing just blew my mind. It shows you what these Indian Scouts, even the ancient ones, are capable of when someone with enough passion and skill gets their hands on them. It’s not just about what comes out of the factory, but what people can do with them.
So, when you ask how fast an Indian Scout is, it’s a bit of a layered answer. The new ones are plenty quick for most riders, hitting those speeds between 115 and 128 mph. But then you have the history, the legends like Burt Munro, who took the name Indian Scout to a whole different level of speed. It’s a pretty cool part of motorcycle history, that’s for sure. Made me appreciate the name a lot more.
