Why Did Indian Discontinue The FTR 1200 Motorcycle?

If you were looking forward to a new model of the Indian FTR roadster, you'll have to sadly settle for Indian's remaining stock of its current model. Polaris Industries, Indian Motorcycle's parent company, announced in an earnings call that it's discontinuing the lineup because it doesn't represent the future of the brand, according to New Atlas. Polaris had a rough 2024 with the whole year bringing in 20% less than the previous year. The fourth quarter of the year was down 23% compared to the previous year. Moreover, Polaris expects to experience a further one- to four-percent decline in overall sales in 2025.

The FTR was the brand's first naked bike and things seemed to be trending in the positive after Indian debuted its second-gen FTR X 100% R Carbon in 2024, but the lineup clearly struggled. Its V-twin engine wasn't cheap to make, especially since it had to comply with Euro 5+ emissions standards. Even though Indian Motorcycles has some engines built in Poland to avoid European Union tariffs, having to comply with strict standards can be costly. Combined with poor sales, which is what the discontinuation and financial report points to, producing the FTR wasn't financially feasible any longer.

The FTR can be looked at as an experiment for the Indian brand. Aaron Jax, the Vice President for Indian Motorcycles, told MCN, "The FTR was an important step in our brand's history, as we look to expand or[sic] footprint. What we've learned though is we really see significant opportunity in the cruiser, bagger, tourer space." And that experiment failed.

Despite being one of the best Indian motorcycles ever made, the FTR lineup was short-lived. It technically debuted in 2018 with the FTR750, but that version was designed for dirt-track racing. Many stunt devil and motocross enthusiasts watched Travis Pastrana ride it on the History Channel when he recreated a series of Evel Knievel's stunts.

The following year, Indian launched a street legal version. It was initially met with genuine interest from riders everywhere, but that interest gradually tapered off. The bike started off with an homage to its dirt bike roots, featuring an 18-inch rear and 19-inch front wheel with DT3-R Dunlop rubber.

Eventually the motorcycle maker swapped those out for the more common 17-inch wheels –front and rear– and slapped on Metzeler Sportec tires. Tyler O'Hara used this revamped model to win the Super Hooligan National Championships in 2022 as well as 2023. These wins inspired the FTR Championship Special Edition, of which only 400 were made. Then there was the FTR X 100% R Carbon and FTR X RSD Super Hooligan variants, with the Super Hooligan being the final version ever made.

Unfortunately, back-to-back championship wins didn't encourage more riders to buy the promising naked bike and now the Iowa-based manufacturer is discontinuing it.