Indian FTR 1200 S Adventure Custom

No matter how functional or beautiful a machine is, there’s always someone, somewhere who wants to chop it up and remake it in their own vision. Motorcycle customization is built into our sport, whether it’s changing your handlebars or totally repurposing your machine. For Kelly Anson and his 2019 FTR 1200 S, it was the latter. His mission: To take this flat-track-inspired street machine and turn it into a more off-road-capable dirt-slinging adventure bike.

Anson heads up product development at Trail Tech, manufacturers of digital motorcycle gauges, so as much as this was just a fun idea, it was also going to need to be a bit of a statement piece and draw attention to the Trail Tech Voyager Pro featured prominently above the FTR’s Ride Command system. Indian’s display is bright and versatile, but does not currently have a navigation system. The Voyager Pro features off-road mapping with a topographical display and can easily be uploaded with GPX map files from any number of sources, as well as buddy tracking if you’re riding with friends who have the same equipment.

Related: 2020 Indian FTR 1200 Rally First Ride Review

After the new gauge was installed, the first thing to be addressed was the exhaust. A full high-mount 2-to-1 system was brought in from Toce Performance, increasing ground clearance, reducing weight, and letting the engine exhaust spent fuel more efficiently. To help get the most out of this upgrade, and the engine as a whole, the ECU was flashed with Dynojet’s Power Vision 3, adjusting the air-fuel mixture. The Sachs 43mm inverted fork was then revalved and resprung for better washboard compliance by Richard Wilson’s House of Horsepower in Eugene, Oregon.

A small windscreen was installed above the headlight with Rigid auxiliary fog lights on either side of that, and taller Renthal handlebars were put on with Fastway hand guards over the levers. Various brackets, fittings, and a large skid plate were 3D-printed out of Delrin at the Trail Tech facilities. Large grippy Fastway footpegs replaced the stock rubber-clad ones, and a set of Shinko E805 Crossfly tires were installed on the stock 18- and 19-inch wheels. Lastly, a dirt-style front fender was installed underneath the headlight, replacing the low, street-style fender on the stock bike.

“It’s got more power, more snap—it’s definitely louder!” Anson says. “The suspension works way better off-road, there’s more ground clearance. The motor is the shining point of the whole package, it just makes great power everywhere and is very predictable.” But as far as it has come, it comes as no surprise that there are challenges as well.

The FTR has only a 3.4-gallon fuel tank, which Editorial Director Mark Hoyer noted in his 2020 comparison, could struggle to make it 100 miles between fill-ups—not exactly conducive to backcountry exploration. It’s also quite wide where your legs hit the sides of the seat while standing, and the new, higher exhaust only exacerbates the issue. In fact, Anson said that if it wasn’t for the wider aftermarket footpegs installed, he may have not been able to keep his right foot planted at all.

Anson is exploring ways to carry more gas, and would love to see the FTR gain some more dirt-friendly ride modes, adjusting traction control and ABS to work better with varying traction levels.

Indian’s engineers should be paying attention to this project, as we hope to see a more dirt-focused FTR in the future, though testing here has shown that it would likely be closer to something like Ducati’s Scrambler Desert Sled than the new H-D Pan America. For now, Anson has one hell of a scrambler and one of the meanest FTRs we’ve seen on—or off—the road.