My Love Affair

My love affair with Indian Motorcycles began shortly after we moved to TN.  It was round about September, and my father in law (FIL) finally got me up on a bike.  He had a 2000 Honda Valkyrie; HUGE bike.  In CA, I had finally brought myself around to thinking it would be pretty fun to own a Can Am Spyder some day.  There was an outfit that rented them, and David and I had thrown around the idea of indulging in that one weekend.

First time I sat on an Indian ... love ...

Some of you know, when David and I met, he got me into riding ATV's.  We both bought Honda quads, and rode EVERY weekend we got the chance to.  I got pretty bold and confident; even got a little cocky once and ended up breaking my collar bone.  Still didn't stop us from riding though!  My quad was a 'sport utility' with a manual transmission, but an automatic clutch.  Which meant I had to shift like normal, but I didn't have to worry about choking it ever :)  We had a LOT of fun riding, and then I got pregnant with Kody.  From that point on, we more or less quit riding :(  David wanted to buy a motorcycle when Kody was about 7, but I talked him out of that and into buying a truck to go pick up my new HORSE with.  Obviously, I had to sell the horse to move to Cali, and I began to get that itch again; to get out and feel the wind.

We were so positive we were going to buy our own, we'd already bought helmets!

So the FIL took me for my first ride, and I cannot even describe the thrill it gave me!  I was simultaneously thrilled and terrified.  I may have even whooped once or twice.  From that moment on, I have become hooked.  My MIL had David ride her Honda Shadow out to our house from GA, and then she left it for about 2 weeks.  I rode with David on her bike for the first time, and we just had a BLAST.  East TN is motorcycle country, and there are tiny back roads GALORE around here.  It's also Harley Davidson territory, big time.  We live about 2 mins away from a dealer, and we decided to take a ride up there.  The bike I fell in love with is a Heritage Softail Classic, but I could NOT imagine EVER riding one myself.  And sadly, David just didn't like the feel of the bike.

Gorgeous.  Just not for us.

We were out and about one day just riding to every dealership that sells motorcycles we could think of, so David could sit on as many bikes as possible so he could figure out what he wanted.  We purposely went to the Honda dealer in Knoxville, then looked up the road and realized there was an Indian dealer up there as well.  Neither of us knew much, or had even looked at Indian before, so we headed up the hill to take a look.  Wow.  The super nice sales guy gave us the grand speech on the Springfield even though we told him we were NOT in the market for a new bike, EVER, lol.  I just fell in love.  They are beautiful, classic bikes.  Graceful curves, sleek lines, and deep, V-twin sound.  No, you don't see the crazy variety with Indian motorcycles that you do with Harleys, but that doesn't bother me at all.  I saw the Scout, and at first glance, it was not first love.  She's a classic, graceful bike, but not the fully dressed chromed out cruisers I'd developed a taste for.  At the time, I had no real plans to get my motorcycle license.  I was a complete, total, 100% beginner.  Heck, I wasn't even accustomed to driving with a manual clutch!  The Springfield became my 'dream' bike for David and I, and then I sat on the Scout.  Holy cow.  She was everything Harley Davidson wasn't.  I began to see visions of ME driving that bike.  The Scout is certainly CAPABLE of riding 2-up, but she's really not meant for that purpose, so David never really looked at her, but she became a fixture in my mind.

My dream baby

Fast forward to about 4 weeks ago, and I actually rode her for the first time.  COMPLETELY different animal than the H-D Street 500 bikes we learned on.  David was sort of steering me towards one of those, and we half way looked at them in the dealership.  I just don't like the looks of them.  To me, the Street 500, the Street 750, and all other styles that resemble that look turn me off.  Just not my cup of tea!  The advantage, she was a fairly easy bike to ride.  Nice smooth clutch pull, low seat height, and low weight.  But the Scout ... holy cow, she's a Cadillac!  SO comfortable to hold up, comfortable seating position (100% different than the Street 500), and a ROCKET when the clutch is at the sweet spot.  Took me about 1 minute to get comfortable with the forward controls, and the rest is history!

Easy to learn on, not what I want to own.

Can't believe I actually own her now, I didn't even think I would get my LICENSE any time soon, much less have a brand new Indian Scout sitting in my garage.  Her engine is technically "bigger" than the Vulcan even though the Scout is smaller.  I can say I finally have my "pony", lol!!  My petite little powerhouse pony.  I'm an Indian fan for life; can't wait to buy David a Chieftan in a few years (we've completely bypassed the Springfield, thanks to the demo truck, lol) <3

Somebody pinch me!

Chieftan, just wants one without the ape hangers!