placement is a trifle odd, right on the yoke
and it meant a head dip to read at speed,
although sun angle never made it unreadable.
You could be easily fooled into thinking
the FTR is just a beefed Scout, but it is
an entirely rebuilt beast, it shares almost
nothing with its predecessor, is a lot
lighter and has a 12.5:1 compression ratio,
and it rips furiously to the red line.
It is remarkable, and the first American bike
I’ve ever ridden that I would actually happily
own. The bike can be ridden fairly gently,
but hell why would you!? There was a minor
glitch when cold on the demo bike, but once
warmed up this machine is just pure American
fun and frolics; it’s a hamburger and a coke
with a pretty girl and sunshine, and forty
years of promise. Dirt trackin’ and road ridin’
KIWI RIDER 57