88 sportster chopper full#

In both cases, the high-profile tires on 16-inch wheels do their part to help out the suspension.įreeway riding is another place where the Scout’s longer suspension travel is an advantage. The Scout’s suspension advantage is not a big deal in normal riding, but on a rough city street or when you hit an unseen pothole, it makes a difference. While the emulsion-style Harley-Davidson shocks are good, there is only so much that can be done with 1.6 inches. The Indian’s forks have an additional inch of travel, while the rear wheel travel on the Scout is nearly twice that of the Forty-Eight Special (3.0 inches to 1.6 inches). Give an edge to the Indian in the suspension department for city riding. That makes all the difference in the confines of urban riding. The torque peak of the motors is insignificantly different, but the Harley-Davidson hits the peak at just 3500 rpm, while the Indian requires revving up to 6000 rpm. The secret sauce that keeps the Forty-Eight Special competitive is the low-rpm torque. Of course, once, you hit 60 mph, the Scout runs off and hides.

In the stoplight derby, the Forty-Eight Special held a slight edge and was easier to get up to speed. One might expect the Scout’s liquid-cooled, short-stroke DOHC eight-valve motor to walk away from the Forty-Eight Special’s air-cooled, short-stroke, pushrod, four-valve powerplant, but that is not the case in the city. With a wheelbase under 59 inches, the fork angle a relatively steep 28.7 degrees (the triple clamp tucks the front end in an extra degree-and-a-half), and plenty of leverage courtesy of the mini apes, the Forty-Eight Special is downright agile in traffic. Though torque is strong off the bottom, the engine isn’t fast revving, so it does not wear you out. The clutch pull is significant, and the gearbox action requires more deliberate initiation. With a rubber-mounted air-cooled motor, the Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight Special provides a much more visceral experience. Also, the clutch pull is lighter on the Indian. The 61.5-inch wheelbase discourages fast lane changes, and the motor is smooth at lower rpm and revs out very nicely, should you find the room to do so. With the long wheelbase, inch-shorter seat height, and beach-cruiser style bars (also suitable for dirt tracking, of course), the Indian Scout is low and leisurely. The two motorcycles tackle in-town riding in distinct ways. It’s worth noting that both companies offer windshields, bags, and passenger accouterments as factory accessories, so turning them into casual touring mounts certainly isn’t out of the question. We wouldn’t take either on a long touring ride-you’re sitting too upright and in the wind for that.

88 sportster chopper full#

Regardless, both motorcycles are happy for full days in the saddle, tackling canyons and urban areas. With less vibration and a more relaxed riding position, the Scout gets the nod for the least fatiguing of the two. The Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight Special feels a bit smaller, even with the tall bars. The Indian Scout has a roomier feel, despite the pulled back bars, due to it being a more stretched out motorcycle with a wheelbase 2.6 inches longer. While both have abbreviated seats with little wiggle room and the pegs are mounted at the front of the engine cases, the Harley-Davidson has mini-apes, while the Scout goes with low sweptback handlebars.

The most obvious difference between the Forty-Eight Special and the Scout is the ergonomics. Perusing the spec sheet of the 2019 Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight Special and the 2019 Indian Scout shows how close they are-they have similar displacements, claimed torque peak is almost the same, tire sizes are identical, the weights are within a few pounds of each other, rake is close, seating is solo, foot controls are forward, and the prices are within a grand of each other. However, our experience with previous editions, along with plenty of specs similarities, convinced us this pair belongs together. Visually, the two motorcycles don’t look like direct competitors. So, we looked to the Harley-Davidson Sportster line for a challenger, and the 2019 Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight Special stood out as the motorcycle to take on the 2019 Indian Scout. Harley-Davidson rivalry-it took about 10 seconds to go there. When the 2019 Indian Scout showed up in the Ultimate Motorcycling garage, we didn’t immediately think about stoking the Indian vs.