Vippen
Member
... really, but here I am with a 2019 FTR.
My daughter is turning 18 in a year, so I made up a devious plan to get a small, easy to handle, bike for her to learn on, and then eventually sneak someting more potent into the garage for me to use when she practices. So, I got us a Husqvarna Svartpilen 401, a fenomenal beginners bike that's super-easy to ride, and it has a surprisingly good punch for its size. Love it! Then I had to get some new boots (mine from when I last had a road bike 30 years ago was a bit rugged...) to ride in, why I went to one of the bigger bike dealers here in Stockholm, Sweden. Cunningly enough you have to pass both new and used bikes on your way to the accessories department, and there stood a used FTR, looking as incredibly cool as I remember from the pictures (of the prototype, it turns out) I've seen on the great interwebs. It had the high S&S exhaust so it looked very much flat track. Thinking nothing more of it at the time, a seed was planted...
Some days passed, and I started thinking: it couldn't harm to go try it out, right, just to see what it's like!???! A couple of weeks later I happend to have some business on that side of town, so I took the Husky over to have a closer look at the FTR. It had me at hello... Or rather from the first rev. I've never heard anything like it, already idling, and when I took a ride, there was no going back, I was completely blow away by both the power delivery, and the increadible sound on all revs, under all circumstances! I've spent time on japanese sports bikes, and italian, but what a lovely brute this is! So here we are, me and the Indian. Unfortunately I got it in November, when winter should already have us in its grip, but I managed to squeeze in a couple of rides in 2-3 degrees C before there was ice on the ground. It's going to be a long winter for sure, but hey, what a spring I will have!!!
Hope to learn a lot here from You guys, and maybe even contribute some in due time. Now I think I'll go down to the garage to see the Indian is doing OK in its hibernation. And count the days...
My daughter is turning 18 in a year, so I made up a devious plan to get a small, easy to handle, bike for her to learn on, and then eventually sneak someting more potent into the garage for me to use when she practices. So, I got us a Husqvarna Svartpilen 401, a fenomenal beginners bike that's super-easy to ride, and it has a surprisingly good punch for its size. Love it! Then I had to get some new boots (mine from when I last had a road bike 30 years ago was a bit rugged...) to ride in, why I went to one of the bigger bike dealers here in Stockholm, Sweden. Cunningly enough you have to pass both new and used bikes on your way to the accessories department, and there stood a used FTR, looking as incredibly cool as I remember from the pictures (of the prototype, it turns out) I've seen on the great interwebs. It had the high S&S exhaust so it looked very much flat track. Thinking nothing more of it at the time, a seed was planted...
Some days passed, and I started thinking: it couldn't harm to go try it out, right, just to see what it's like!???! A couple of weeks later I happend to have some business on that side of town, so I took the Husky over to have a closer look at the FTR. It had me at hello... Or rather from the first rev. I've never heard anything like it, already idling, and when I took a ride, there was no going back, I was completely blow away by both the power delivery, and the increadible sound on all revs, under all circumstances! I've spent time on japanese sports bikes, and italian, but what a lovely brute this is! So here we are, me and the Indian. Unfortunately I got it in November, when winter should already have us in its grip, but I managed to squeeze in a couple of rides in 2-3 degrees C before there was ice on the ground. It's going to be a long winter for sure, but hey, what a spring I will have!!!
Hope to learn a lot here from You guys, and maybe even contribute some in due time. Now I think I'll go down to the garage to see the Indian is doing OK in its hibernation. And count the days...
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