101 Reasons to Love the Indian Scout 101

While I may not have 101, there are plenty of reasons to love the 2025 Indian Scout 101. This new addition to the Scout lineup is a powerful mid-sized cruiser, with a low center of gravity, nimble steering, and an improved suspension system. That list alone makes this one of the best Scouts I’ve ever ridden, but add to that comfortable ergonomics, a user-friendly dash, and eye-catching paintwork, and the 2025 Indian Scout 101 is a cruiser I’d not only recommend, but I’d seriously consider purchasing myself. With that said, as a motorcycle journalist I try to maintain an impartial opinion of the bikes I review, but every so often a motorcycle comes along that really resonates with me. The Scout 101 is one of those motorcycles.

Classic American motorcycle style. Let’s ride.

With a focus on power and performance, Indian Motorcycle drew from their own history and heritage for the Scout 101. Introduced in 1928, the original Scout 101 was heralded as one of the best bikes of the period and remains a highly sought-after machine by collectors. The modern incarnation is the most powerful Scout ever offered and that’s one of its main selling points. With a 1250cc liquid-cooled 60° v-twin engine that cranks out a claimed 111 hp and 82 ft-lbs of torque, this motorbike has a ton of muscle and applies it to the road with ease using a silky smooth 6-speed transmission. To further manage that power, the Scout 101 also comes with the latest tech including three ride modes (Rain, Standard, and Sport), as well as ABS and traction control.

The Scout 101 powerplant is as pretty as it is potent. Black is beautiful.

The engine is this bike’s heart and soul, as the motor runs strong and rolls into the power band quickly, especially in Sport mode. To be perfectly honest, I usually kept this Scout in Sport, as the throttle response was more lively, with more aggressive mapping than the other offerings. Standard mode is likely a sensible option for newer or less experienced riders, and the more cautious Rain mode was appreciated as I encountered some wet weather while out on the bike. And while the engine functions extremely well, I also found it to be an aesthetic centerpiece of this motorcycle. From a design standpoint, sometimes engines get less attention, but the engineers and designers at Indian worked in harmony here on the Scout 101. The engine, header pipes, and exhaust are all black, and accented with some silver touches including an Indian cursive “I” on the side of each cylinder. The engine also lacks a side-mounted air cleaner that has been a staple of cruiser design for decades. This gives the engine a clean look that was complimented well by the Ghost White Metallic paintwork that came on our bike (a Sunset Red Metallic is the other color option). The paint and graphics give off a custom vibe that is definitely intentional, as the new Scout line utilizes a steel frame over the bulkier aluminum one used on previous gens. According to Indian, part of the decision to go with steel over aluminum involved the custom community. Steel is a much friendlier welding medium, and it would appear that Indian hopes builders see the new Scout line as a canvas for radical customization.

Slammed low 26.8 in. seat height. “Low Rider”.

Before the customizers have a chance to reconfigure the Scout 101, let’s take a moment to discuss the stock setup further. Given that I stand at 6’1” and weigh just over 200 lbs, my body doesn’t fit every motorcycle. In fact, on earlier iterations of the modern Scout, I felt cramped. So I was pleasantly surprised by the ergonomics of the Scout 101. With a seat height of 26.8 in, throwing a leg over the Scout 101 should not be a problem for most riders. And once in the saddle, the forward controls and moto-style handlebars on 6-inch risers make for a comfortable riding position, at least for someone of my size/reach. The solo seat is plush, without feeling spongy, and the reach for the grips does not require a significant stretch forward. All in all, this is a comfortable cruiser that is easy to ride for many, many miles.

The swipeable touchscreen is among the best and easiest I’ve ever used on a modern motorcycle. So many features.

To navigate those miles, the Scout 101 comes with a 4″ infotainment system powered by Ride Command. The dash is one of the best and most intuitive systems I’ve ever seen on a cruiser. The screen is touch-sensitive (even with gloves on) or can be operated with a mode button on the right handlebar and a joystick on the left. Riders have the option of two factory speedometer displays, one presenting an analog experience that I preferred and a second with a more digital presentation. A deeper dive into the infotainment system reveals information about the motorcycle including engine temperature, battery voltage, fuel economy, and fuel range, as well as air temperature, time, and compass direction. Current ride information is also retained including ride time, distance, time moving, time stopped, and elevation change, and the customary odometer and two tripometers are also available. The GPS navigation is user-friendly, showing directions clearly and large enough to be seen without the reading glasses I feel are required of some competitors’ nav systems. And like most vehicles today, the Scout 101 also allows for Bluetooth® connectivity should the rider want to use their phone or listen to music via their connected helmet.

Indian also offers what they call Ride Command+ for one year free, and then on a subscription basis after that. Ride Command+ enables the rider to connect their phone to the bike to see live weather and traffic overlays through the dash, and via a phone app the rider can locate the bike as well as review the health/service needs of the motorcycle. During our time with the bike, I made extensive use of the dash functionality and even experimented with the Ride Command phone app. As a motorcycle purist, I find the level of information available to be a bit excessive. My focus is usually on the road and other drivers, at which point I just want clear data like my speed and current gear selection. While parked or in the garage, I did explore the bike settings and I’m sure the tech-centric riding community will appreciate the layers of information available. But I have a feeling the average rider may never venture too far beyond the simple speedometer screen.

The 2025 Scout 101 is better sprung than any previous Scout any of us have ever ridden, and the best in their Scout lineup.

Yet the average rider will enjoy some of the other upgrades available on the Scout 101, most notably the suspension. Put simply, this is the best suspension available on any of the Scout models, or previous model years. For the 101, Indian opted for fully adjustable, inverted front forks with 4.7 in of travel, and a pair of fully adjustable piggyback shocks in the rear with 3.0 in of travel. The quality of this suspension is immediately felt in the ride, especially when compared to other and older Scout models. The new suspension is also a nice visual touch, as the forks and piggyback reservoirs apply a splash of gold on the bike. The ride is further enhanced with a superb set of Metzeler Cruisetec tires (19 in front, 16 in rear) that instill confidence in the rider, as you’ll grind hard parts before taking these tires to the edge. And should you need to stop fast, the Scout 101 comes with dual 320 mm brake discs in the front, gripped by a pair of four-piston Brembo calipers. The front and rear brakes are a bit sensitive, but knowing this, I adjusted the amount of pressure applied to the levers and the bike complied accordingly. Throughout my time with the Scout 101, it remained firmly planted to the ground and carved corners better than the majority of cruisers on the market.

Absolutely beautiful. The old chapel building too.

And speaking of that market, how does the Scout 101 compare to the competition? As the top-of-the-line Scout, most will view the Harley-Davidson Sportster S as the closest competitor to the 101. The Indian, with an MSRP of $16,999, is $1,000 more than the more powerful Harley-Davidson (with a claimed 121 hp and 93 ft-lbs of torque). That power and price discrepancy will likely lead some straight to the bar and shield, but having ridden both bikes, I’d take the Indian. With an emphasis on sport, the designers at Harley-Davidson took the Sportster S in a space-age direction that is a little far afield from the classic cruiser. The upswept exhaust (clearly mounted as such for better cornering clearance) and the oval headlight feel out of place and lack the simple design elegance of the Scout 101. The Sportster S is a thrill to ride, but so is the Scout 101. And when it comes to looking at one of these bikes in my garage every night, I find the fit and finish on the Scout to be a step above.

I came to really enjoy this new iteration of Indian’s venerable Scout 101.

That opinion of the Scout extends to the ride as well. In fact, the more I ride the Scout 101, the more I like it. I live in an urban area and venture out for day trips, and this is where the Scout 101 excels. Weighing in at 549 lbs (in running order), the Scout is not exactly light, but it carries that weight so low to the ground that it never feels heavy or cumbersome, even at low speeds. The ride quality is vastly improved over current or previous generation Scouts due to several of the aforementioned improvements (engine, suspension, brakes, etc.). And the flyscreen, which is likely on the bike more for form than function, does defer enough air over the rider’s chest to prevent you from feeling like a sail in the wind.

I could ride this Scout 101 all day, every day.

These factors encouraged me to take the Scout 101 on a few extended rides, which enabled me to test its fuel economy and range. With a 3.4 gallon tank and fuel economy that ranged from 42.17 to 50.10 mpg as tested (depending heavily on city or highway miles), one can expect to get 140 miles out of a tank of gas, but I will note the low fuel light consistently came on after 121 miles. Those numbers matched my expectations for a new mid-sized cruiser, and with the level of performance that the Scout 101 offers, I found this bike to be an absolute pleasure to ride. For those with similar expectations of a motorcycle, who desire a sharp-looking bike that operates flawlessly around town and on country roads, the Scout 101 is worth the extra money. This motorcycle applies the additional cost to key areas that improve the bike, making it the best option in the Scout line and one of the best mid-sized cruisers available in showrooms today.

Christian Pierce

*For more on the Indian Scout 101, click here:
Scout 101

Video ride & review here: