I was lucky enough to find an Indian Motorcycle Demo Event near me, and headed to North Star Polaris (Facebook) in St. Clairsville, Ohio to test ride a Scout.
There was a chance for rain that day, so I didn’t take my trusty Magna. My plan is to find a bike to be my daily rider and put an antique plate on my Magna so I can still do some joyriding with it. Being that the ’88 Magna is made of mostly unobtanium, I don’t want to risk it getting damaged in day to day use and me not be able to get parts to repair it.
While at North Star, I was able to get some saddle time on the new Scout, and absolutely loved it! It took me almost a full 2 minutes to go from that weird feeling of sitting on a strange bike for the first time, to it feeling like it was an extension of me. The ergonomics are perfect for my 6’2″ over 100 pound (shut up) frame.
And the way it handles.. just perfect. It goes exactly where you want, when you want. Stable in the straights, but incredibly nimble in the turns.
I still want to ride the Triumph T100, but I think my decision has been made. The race is on, can Honda come out with a forward control package for the Rebel 500 before I buy a Scout? Time will tell.
I was also fortunate to get a spin on a classically styled red & cream 2017 Chief Vintage (but didn’t think to take a picture). Nice bike, but that Scout was just what I was looking for.
Jim says: “If you need me, I’ll be somewhere on two wheels.”
