I am surprised by that - my Scout is an ‘18, and I do have a few extra ponies thanks to exhaust upgrade, but I can be cruising on the 65mph freeway, and it still responds immediately when I merge onto the 75mph interstate. That’s one thing I love about this bike.

maybe have your tune checked?

 

Downshift

 

This.. Put it in 2nd and tell me you don't have any power lol

 

As soon as you learn how to run your Scout, your opinion of its' power will swing into the red on the other side of the scale.

Hint: put er in 2nd, cruise slowly up to 4000 RPM, hold it there.. Take a deep breath, snap and hold wide-open-throttle until you piss your pants (or you hit the rev limiter @ 8300 rpm)..

 

Now that sounds more like the experience I had when I test rode one for a friend's wife. He showed up in shorts so they wouldn't let him ride. The bike is awesome but just too small for me. Learn it and you'll surely be pleased.

 

Are you in 6th gear already when you are going from 55 MPH? You should still be in 4th or 5th, and it should get up there just fine. I've never had an issue with speed with my Scout.

 

As others have said "drop a gear to disappear"

Per Fuel Moto, here is the stock Scout dyno chart. As you can see, you don't start making real power until you're over 4k, closer to 5. Max power isn't until 7.74 rpm. Most likely you're revving it out higher when starting from zero than the 55 mph roll on. That's why you get better acceleration.

 

As others have said, if you are going 50 to 60, downshift, to 5th or 4th and you will accelerate to whatever speed you want no problem. It sounds like downshifting is new to you, so I would take my time and get used to it. Just downshift one gear at first, from 6th to 5th and get used to it. Then try downshifting to 4th. At 50, 4th is a good gear to be in for decent acceleration. At 50-60 mph, 4th is really a sweet spot to accelerate from. I wouldn't go lower than 4th until you gain more experience with downshifting, and besides, you would only need lower than 4th if you were racing.

The smaller bikes have less power and lower gear ratios to make up for it, and you are nearer to their top speed on a highway, but 6th gear on a scout is meant to go 140 mph+, so 50 or 60 mph isn't even half its range, thus you need to downshift.

Cars have automatic transmissions and downshift automatically in that situation.

 

question:

why does the manual say 5th to 6th gear should be around 50 MPH?

 

I was just on the highway on my way to work. Acceleration at any speed is NOT an issue lol.

 

Same here. I pass in 6th gear.

 

I think what a lot of people forget to realize that the scouts LOVE 3800-6000rpm. They have a secondary powerband almost like a 2 stroke. This isnt the 111 or 116 with a redline of 5K the redline on a Scout is 8K so yes they are ridden completely different. I was cruising with my wife this past weekend and riding side by side I told her wait until 3800 then punch it to 6500 then shift. The shitty grin smile on her face told me everything I needed to know.

So just remember these Indians like and thrive in the Higher RPM zones that what they were made for.

 

Well, if the Scout is only good for that RPM range then it is useless to me for all the everyday riding I do in traffic. I guess I'll have to sell it. Shame, I really loved the bike to.

 

I agree @syscore , I'll trade ya a TW200 for your crappy Scout.. The TW is a great traffic bike !

 

If I ask mine to get me from 55 to 75 as fast it can it replies sure dude lets see if you can hold on and not fall off.

More seriously, there is a whole other motocycle that lives down there and above 4000 rpm, look at a Hp RPM curve for that motor, you can see it develops all it power once you get above 4000 RPM and start taking it up higher. If you drop it into 4th at 55 and are not getting up to 75 in a blur -- there might be something amiss with the machine.

 

Even on my Sixty I can accelerate from 60 on the highway ok in sixth. I don't normally drop to 4th (Sixty doesn't have a 5th) unless I am going 50 or I want more acceleration. But I noticed that the OP's bike has a pretty large windshield ...

https://www.indianmotorcycles.net/threads/new-scout-owner-in-florida.344621/#post-3626884

 

I am in the maritime provinces on a 3 week tour. Lots of long steep grades. Must be something wrong with your bike or you. I have a 19 scout and it never lacks power. Ride in the city in 3rd gear and it does fine even at slow speeds. Back roads are mostly 90 klm or 55mph and no problem running in 6th. Lots of power for passing. On long hills I drop to 5th to pass but if still in 6th it still pulls hard and no problem passing. Engine sounds fine and never yet have considered it to be lugging. On the big roads at 75 mph it plays with the hills and still running only at about 4000 rpm. Drop to fifth at that speed and you want to be hanging on. I can pass 3 o4 transports in a milisecond. I have never needed to go to 6 or 7 thousand to climb a hill or pass quickly. Only got up to 8 thousand a few times when some of the big boys think they have much more than the scout. Usually they get a surprise.

 

Well, how do, from Grand Manan, NB.

 

MrDormouse
there must be something wrong with yours. My bone stock Scout 60 revs to 8000rpms then I shift to the next gear, keeps going, fast, all the way to 120mph. It will go faster, but !

 

Even when downshifting?

 

My 16 Scout 60 is also my first bike, and I have never had an issue getting to 75 mph from a stop or cruising. I do have the performance air intake and slip-on fishtails, but no tuning. Mine goes so fast, it scares the shit out of me at times. I don't recall any issues before I added my upgrades either.

 

What? You read the manual?

 

Now that's just friggin' cheating!

 

LOTSA good info here and I do believe all the nails have been hit on the head..I gotta add a conversation I had recently with a new customer of mine.

He has a Kawi 1700 Vaquero, Kawi's bagger and rides with guys on Harleys, and stated he was always having a problem keeping up. His statement of "I am shifting as fast as I can" alerted me to ask what RPM is he shifting at.

3000 RPM! On a skoot that hits the rev limiter at 5800! LOL.I suggested he needs to shift higher as circumstances require, I gotta give him a call to find out if he tried this suggestion.

3000 RPM oh my God!!!

RACNRAY

 

I guess my question is which scout do you have? i have the 2019 69ci model and going from say 65-70 to a hundred is amazingly easy. First time i did it i didn't even realize how fast i was going try to get away from the asshole tailgater. I do try hard to stay under 90. Get far better gas milage at 70mph.

 

I am pretty sure he has the same scout all of us have, he just has to get used to a manual transmission and how to stay deep in the power band or not. Someone earlier said it right, when they leave early in the morning, they act like the manual. You can ride it where you have to hold on or ride it where it is like a scooter (kind of hard) or anywhere in between. I think he is just learning that he is in control with a manual transmission, and will have a smile on his face soon.

 

I didn't know downshifting for acceleration was a thing before reading this post. So you mean to tell me that downshifting into 4th from 55 mph will accelerate me to 75 mph faster than remaining in 5th and twisting the throttle? How does that work?

 

Acceleration is proportional to torque, and lower gears produce more torque (at the rear wheel). The trade off is speed, but at 55 mph, you are well below the max speed (which is over 100 mph in 4th). It is the same principle as a lever. You can double the force but you halve the distance. With an engine, horsepower equals torque X RPM. The max horsepower of an engine is fixed, but you can use gearing to increase torque (at the rear wheel) at the expense of speed.

 

S60 has the same power as a S69 up to around 6k rpm - at which time the S60 computer starts to shut the throttle blade regardless of the fact that you are holding it wide open ( on the throttle grip) .. Therefore, power is artificially reduced in the top end of a S60.. A peep would never know this unless a S60 and S69 were ridden back to back with WOT runs on each..

This is why nothing should be done to a S60 engine until a FM PV3 is used to flash the FM S60 Improved Stock tune - it gets rid of the polaris detune - and "uncorks" the S60's full potential..

 

But don't both bikes have the same gear box (same gear ratios) except that the 60ci (smaller engine) has dropped the 5th gear (cost reduction)? So with less torque and horse power how can it have the same acceleration? What am i missing here?

 

Another thing to think about riding your bike…..

You have two fairly large wheel / tire assemblies. They act like gyroscopes. The faster they spin (the higher the speed), the tougher it is to turn / lean the bike. The gyroscopic effect of the wheels wants to keep the bike upright.
This is why racebikes typically have smaller or lighter wheels - less rotating mass = lower gyroscopic force.
If you slow down just a bit in a sweeping turn, you’ll notice it’s much easier to get your bike to turn more quickly. Less gyroscopic force.
Additionally, smaller / lighter wheels have less rotating mass and allow for quicker acceleration. BUT the gearing is usually adjusted for smaller wheeled bikes to make greatest use of the physics.

 

1. The 69 has more power than the 60 and would beat a 60, but they are both powerful for their size, and the difference is not huge. Sure, in first or second, it would be hard to notice, because of how wild the acceleration is in those low gears, but by third you start noticing it.

2. Geometry (rake, trail, etc.) is why a bike is stable (stays upright). Even at higher speeds, gyroscopic forces are only 10 to 15% of the force on the front wheel. The rest is geometry (rake, trail, etc.). They have even created bikes that eliminate gyroscopic forces and they still stayed upright, due to geometry. Fundamentally, if a two wheel vehicle tends to turn into the direction it leans, then it is positively stable (self righting). The design is similar to what they do with planes to make them self return to level flight.

3. Rotational inertia is definitely a factor with regard to acceleration. It takes more energy to roll a 50 lb wheel up to 50 mph than it takes to carry it (not rolling) up to 50 mph.

 

Thank you all for the feedback. I am definitely shifting too early for this bike. I was typically upshifting at 4000. I have been ill so this past wknd was the first time I was able to try lower gears. Before the rain started moving in, here's what I found:

Flat road
In 4th: Easily cruised at 60 @ 4k and 70 @ 4500
In 5th: 65 @ 40k and then I think 70 was about 4200

It seems I just need to get used to where the scout likes to be still.

Thank you all very much for the feedback

 

since you are talking 5th gear and not 6th, that makes me think you have a scout 60ci not a 69ci. So, to start the scout 60 had 5th gear dropped to reduce cost, otherwise it has same gearing as the bigger scout. And yes, it has less HP and torque than the bigger bike, so depending on your size it does make a small difference. So, acceleration is less.

 

Try the same roll-on test in 2nd gear; should get you to ~85 before redline, but blink and you'll miss the speed limit

 

I’m staying with what I know, light loading an engine will not seat rings, stay to gentle and oil will build in the cross hatching and prevent rings from seating (glazing) take it from 2-25 mph in 2 or 3 with a smooth roll on run it up to 6k or so back down, up down for 15- 20 min, then ride gentle to let it cool a bit, after 50 or so miles of this gentle take it higher up the rpm band up n down gentle wrist, 15-20 min at a time your rings will be seated in roughly 100 miles and no glazing