What do you guys think about the Indian FTR1200?

He's Travis Pastrana, and he's trying to jump the Ceasar's Palace fountain like Evel tried many moons ago. I think it is an Indian FTR. 8pm et.
 
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Yeah I saw that too. I think it’s unbelievable that he’s trying to do that jump on an Indian. Most of these long distance and stunt jumpers these days use dirt bikes. That Indian will be a handful to land.
 
Yep, 750. Unless it's fake news :)

"As if trying to outdo the legend isn’t enough, Pastrana has chosen to attempt these record-breaking feats on an Indian Scout FTR-750 motorcyle similar to the bike Knievel used when he famously attempted to jump the Caesar’s Palace fountain on Dec. 31, 1967."

I guess it's similar in that Evel used an XR750, Harley, if I'm not mistaken. Amazing neither has a 750 for sale. Like leaving a table full of money with four aces.
 
Yep, 750. Unless it's fake news :)

"As if trying to outdo the legend isn’t enough, Pastrana has chosen to attempt these record-breaking feats on an Indian Scout FTR-750 motorcyle similar to the bike Knievel used when he famously attempted to jump the Caesar’s Palace fountain on Dec. 31, 1967."

I guess it's similar in that Evel used an XR750, Harley, if I'm not mistaken. Amazing neither has a 750 for sale. Like leaving a table full of money with four aces.

The 1967 Caesars Palace attempt was made on a Triumph Bonneville.
 
The 1967 Caesars Palace attempt was made on a Triumph Bonneville.

This very bike in fact. It’s on display in a private museum in Phoenix. At Buddy Stubbs Harley Davidson
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Going by the stuff they showed him do in the intro, the jumps he has to do tonight will be like nothing.
 
That is the kind of thing History Channel usually attributes to aliens.
 
And Buell? They actually were very good bikes, even if the styling was a little ( ahem) awkward.

I'm on my second Buell, and that whole fiasco with HD was baffling. They spend this money investing in the company, then do everything they can to keep them from selling. There's definitely some awkward ones in the bunch.... the blast, which HD made them product for their beginner riding courses, Buell lost money on every one they sold, the XBs, which would've had the ending from the V-rod which Buell was producing with Porsce before HD took over and took the engine for the Vrod, the belt drives... dictating engine sizes... He did the best with what he could, and had HD let him do what he did best, Harley could've been selling those 1190's with their name stamped on the side and actually had a bike that could beat Japanese/Italian bikes, instead of selling amazing bikes with sportster motors jammed in them as a last resort that dealerships wedged in the back corners of their showrooms. That being said, I still have a 97 S1 as my daily commuter and I love it. I'll have it until I die, or until one of my kids want it. Aside from a couple upgrades, like the primary chain tensioner, and a drive gear for the oil pump, they're pretty reliable and dead simple to work on.

I'm someone who would happily ride any bike, but I still consider HD to be nothing more than a t-shirt company that sells some motorcycles. Nothing made me happier than to see the new Scout and have hope that it'd actually force HD to upgrade it's sportster a bit. Doesn't seem like they're budging yet. The rest of the Indians are a bit much for my taste, but I think the Scout is about as good as a cruiser gets at this point.

Yeah I saw that too. I think it’s unbelievable that he’s trying to do that jump on an Indian. Most of these long distance and stunt jumpers these days use dirt bikes. That Indian will be a handful to land.

I think it was awesome watching people make those jumps on regular bikes. I know Evel's son was doing jumps after he had passed away, but anything I remember seeing was him on a dirtbike, and I lost any interest in seeing someone do those jumps on a dirtbike. There's how many people doing the same thing with a few backflips thrown in on dirtbikes. The only thing that kept other jumps interesting was the fact that they were on normal bikes.
 
I’ve ridden a couple Buells and liked them very much, especially ( for me) the Ulysses. It had a nice upright riding stance and very good suspension and was very comfortable. I also liked their compact stripped down street fighters, the name escapes me, but they were very fun to ride. I thought Buell made Harley cool. I worry about parts availability in the coming years, as Harley only committed to making parts for so long.
 
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If you want to see a truly mind blowing jump, here’s Robbie Madison jumping ten stories straight up to land on top of the Paris hotel in Vegas replica of the Arc de Triomphe, after he leaves the end of the ramp its 80 feet straight up and he sticks the landing, then turns around and rides BACK OFF , a 100 foot drop to the ramp.
 
I’ve ridden a couple Buells and liked them very much, especially ( for me) the Ulysses.

Seeing what he did on his own with the 1190RX and 1190SX I think shows what kind of bikes he could've been making had Harley actually supported them. The company is slowly dying because it's customer base is dying off, and they blew off a chance to sell world class sportbikes because it actually entailed a little more effort than just pumping the same bikes off the assembly line they've been making for decades. That's what happens when you hire a new CEO that doesn't even ride motorcycles. At least Indian tried to make the Scout a bit more modern. My dad has a 92 sportster, aside from the upgrade to FI, I can't even tell the difference between his bike and a current 2018 model.

I'm not too worried about parts. I would be moreso if I had one of the rotax engine bikes, bike the tube framed and XB models share plenty of parts with sportsters. I don't have any real worry about ever needing anything for my bike. Any of the bike specific parts could be made by hand in my garage if needed. It's a pretty simple machine.
 
If you want to see a truly mind blowing jump, here’s Robbie Madison jumping ten stories straight up to land on top of the Paris hotel in Vegas replica of the Arc de Triomphe, after he leaves the end of the ramp its 80 feet straight up and he sticks the landing, then turns around and rides BACK OFF , a 100 foot drop to the ramp.
Nice! I think a lot of Evel's appeal, and why these other guys aren't household names, is that Evel would fail sometimes and they were just as public as the successes. There were a lot of funny moments in the show last night -- one was when the host asks the biographer "I guess Evel didn't have a sports psychologist around." And the biographer replied "There wasn't a psychologist of any kind around."
 
I was completely fascinated by Evel Knievel when I was a kid. His jumps were a big deal, publicized way in advance and usually a big prime time live television event. It was the build up and his showmanship that made him so much fun to watch. That and his utter fearlessness. He had had so many devastating crashes and he would be back a couple years later to do it again. And yeah....he was much more famous for his crashes than his successes.
I still remember him doing these monster wheelies on his Harley for the length of the track.
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But the landings were definitely not his strong suit. Lol!
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You couldn’t help but love the guy. Sitting in front of the TV on the edge of your seat. “ Cmon Evel! You can make it! “
A legend in his own time. RIP Evel....they broke the mold, after it broke you.
 
Something I noticed in I think it was the fountain jump last night and also in the vertical jump you posted is that a foot silpped off a peg on landing but they recovered. It would have done much more for their fame if they had crashed! Then you have these extra dramatic elements next time -- will he crash again or will he overcome and succeed. Backstory stuff with a life of its own.

Yeah, Evel was prime time and front page. If you weren't there you don't know what it was like :) I was very pleased to not see an ad for R** B*** for this entire thing, it was a little bit like a throwback. But then at the very end he comes out drinking one and puts on a R** B*** baseball hat.
 
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