Sucker Punch: Indian Scout Flat-Tracker

WITH the popularity of custom built motorcycles in the old school genres of café racer, scrambler, tracker and bobber, it’s a challenge to find the right base model as a canvas for your art. One of the hazards of this kind of project is whether you’ll need to spend a motza getting your ride into some sort of reliable, roadworthy condition. After all, the seller telling you “…she was going good until I parked it up a few years ago,” is hardly a reliable endorsement as to the condition of your new project.

So what’s the alternative to buying an old bike in the hope that it won’t become a money pit? Start with a new one, of course!

Selecting a bike because you like the way it looks seems logical, but having the vision to see something unique lying under its skin is another thing altogether. Brisan Motorcycles, the Indian Dealership in Newcastle, had the idea to build a flat-tracker using an Indian Scout as a base, and with the help of Downside Customs, the results speak for themselves!

Now sliding around on a dirt oval with a 1133 cc V-twin, with six cogs to get you there, between your legs, would be a hoot and not for the faint hearted. The torquey monster breathes a bit easier through a Trask pod filter and expels the bad air through a custom-built set of headers fitted with SuperTrapp mufflers snaking alongside the right-hand side of the donk… after all, you don’t want them interfering with your ground clearance, and they look the goods too!

To give the Indian a stripped-down race bike look, the retro-styled original rear mudguard and plush single seat were removed and a new rear subframe and tail piece was fabricated with custom seat, LED lighting and minimalist number plate bracket giving the Scout a racier leaner stance.

The front mudguard is a token gesture and looks more like a guard mounting bracket, and the LED headlight has been recessed into a colour-matched race number board to continue the theme of the bike perfectly.

A set of Performance Machine 18-inch alloy rims are shod with Dunlop K180 rubber for that dirt track look.

Ikon shocks at the rear give the rear of the bike a bit of a lift from standard and a race number board is mounted on the left rear side. The chain guard and counter drive cover have been removed to give it a bit of a stripped-down racer feel. 

Paint was taken care of by Darren at Ace Paint & Panel (02-4957-8577) in Kotara. The finish is not just black — when the sun hits the curves of the bodywork, a metallic fleck through the paint gives the bike a bit of a luxurious glow — and the oversized retro branding follows the contours of the tank perfectly to leave no mistake as to what you’re looking at!

Anyhow, if you think this bike would look good in your shed, give the Brisan Motorcycles a call. If this one is gone, I’m sure they can build you one just the way you want it.

Georgi the Dancer

THIS DANCER, fire performer and model keeps herself busy and fit running her dance school, The Jungle, while performing at private and corporate events, festivals and kids parties! And as a performer, you’d expect her to be comfortable in front of the camera — the shots of her posing with Brisan Motorcycles Indian-Tracker is testament to her ‘show off’ nature — and although she’d been out for a few shots with her friends the night before, she showed up on time like a trooper and got down to business decorating the Scout in fine style.

The staff and customers at Brisan’s were equally distracted and curious about this scantily clad babe in the yard and the showroom, but like the professional she is, Georgi didn’t let it faze her. It was cold, she was hot, all was good! Check her on Instagram: @georgi_phoenix_taylor

photos by John Turton: CELEBRITY OBSESSION