Indian Scout Sixty Me, the rider: 5’10”, ~172 lb with gear. Midwest weather, lots of bad pavement. Mostly solo. I like midrange power and quiet hands.

The bike: bone-stock at pickup except for a small flyscreen I added in week 3 and better brake pads later. Belt drive, low seat, mid controls. That’s the gist.

Indian Scout Sixty Day 1

Light rain, city streets, late errand. The Indian Scout Sixty feels low and narrow, easy to paddle around. First surprise: throttle is smoother than I expected. Second surprise: mirrors blur a bit around 3.5–4k; upshift and they calm down. Not fast, not slow—just… willing.

Week 2 (486 miles)

Commuting and aimless loops after work. The LED headlight is actually good; sharp edge, no weird hot spots on wet asphalt. Fuel gauge is moody: full-to-half takes forever, half-to-empty vanishes if you ignore it. I started resetting the trip and trusting that more.

Month 1 (1,320 miles)

First small trip: lake road, crosswind all afternoon. The bike doesn’t spook—leans a hair into the gusts and carries on. At parking-lot speeds I plan my U-turns like grown-up geometry; once rolling, it “shrinks” and steers with hips and a nudge. Floorboards touched once, very polite warning.

Indian Scout Sixty Service slip (oil + once-over)

No drama. I tightened one cheeky fastener on a side cover. Belt tension checked. Pads fine. I put a dab of anti-seize where future-me will thank present-me.

Month 3 (3,900 miles)

Found a route with patched concrete and expansion joints every ten car lengths. The Scout keeps its shape if you’re smooth with wrists and elbows. Suspension reads “firm, not harsh.” You’ll feel square-edged potholes, but the bike doesn’t throw your spine a memo about it.

A note about the engine

Best part of the bike. It’s not a rev chaser; it’s a pusher. From ~3,000 rpm it just shoves the world behind you. If you keep hunting the top of the tach, you’re doing it wrong. It’s happier living in the middle, where it has that steady heartbeat you can match your breathing to.

Indian Scout Sixty Ergonomics

Seat is low. Shorter riders will like that, taller riders won’t feel folded as long as they avoid the tiniest solo seat. Mid controls help when a crater appears: stand for half a second, sit again, carry on. Bars on mine are stock; I tried mini-apes on a friend’s bike and went back—nice in photos, not my wrists.

Indian Scout Sixty Brakes & tires

Stock brakes are fine for the road; better pads made the initial bite feel like I meant it. The first rear tire squared off at ~7,800 miles (mostly straight-line commuting guilt). Swapped both and promised to take more corners. Promise partially kept.

Heat & weather

Right-side warmth on hot days is real. At long lights I edge my knee away and don’t pretend it’s “character.” In drizzle, no electrical weirdness, no fogged dash, no sulking. The small flyscreen takes the edge off morning chill more than I expected.

Indian Scout Sixty Storage & range

Bags would be nice; I run a small roll bag and jacket pockets. The under-seat space is for a wallet and a rag, not your lunch. Range: 110–140 miles depending on how much your right hand thinks it’s 1998. I use the trip meter: fuel at ~100 miles, stretch or swap routes at ~130.

Things that bug me (not deal-breakers)

• 1st-to-2nd can clunk if you baby it. Firm boot, clean shift.
• Fuel gauge mood swings (see above).
• Wind at highway speeds is wind. It’s a naked bike—add a screen if you live in the fast lane.

Things I didn’t expect to like

• How calm it is at 45–60 mph on broken B-roads.
• How the engine note makes me sit on the curb after parking for one more minute.
• How quickly it disappears under you once you’re rolling—heavy on the spec sheet, light in the hands.

One small scare

Wet bridge grate, downhill, lazy brain. ABS blinked, lever pulsed, bike stayed pointed where I’d asked. Not heroic, just competent. I said “thank you” out loud inside my helmet. Nobody heard; good.

Running costs (rough, from my notebook)

• Oil + filter at normal intervals: ordinary money, nothing exotic.
• Tires: not cheap, not ruinous; rear goes first if you commute.
• Nothing has rattled off. A few bolts got love at 4,000 and 8,000 miles because that’s adulting.

Do I recommend it?

If you want armchair comfort and a stereo, no. If you like a low, tidy machine that rewards smooth inputs and midrange riding, yes. It’s the kind of bike that makes you take the long block for no reason and call it “errands.”

Indian Scout Sixty Last entry (12,0xx miles)

Sunday evening. Air smelled like wet leaves and cold metal. Third gear, lazy throttle, the motor from the Indian Scout Sixty doing that slow, even thud that feels like a metronome with manners. I realized my shoulders had dropped. Not relaxed—unclenched. The Scout didn’t ask me to prove anything. It just kept going where I pointed it, like it planned to do that for years.

That’s the whole pitch: not a poster, not a stunt. A rhythm you fall into. If that sounds right, you’ll know by the second tank.