Indian FTR750 Converted Into a Hillclimb Bike

Indian FTR750 Converted Into a Hillclimb Bike 1

Indian motorcycles have transformed their FTR750 bike into a Hillclimb machine to compete at the American Hill Climb Championship. The motorcycle now features an extra-long swingarm, custom S&S exhaust system and knobbly tyres.

It’s not the first time Indian has re-worked their bikes to make them fit for motorsport as we’ve seen in the past that the brand entered flat track competitions with their FTR750 model. Now, it was time to convert the bike for Hillclimb racing. Thus, Indian partnered with S&S Cycle to build a custom, one-off Indian FTR750 Hillclimb motorcycle.

The championship is AMA Pro Hillclimb Series and the bike was tweaked to race in the two-cylinder class. This way, Indian is making a comeback in a sport which they’ve dominated 80 years ago.

The base model for this project is the Indian FTR750 flat-track racer which already is a heavily modified motorcycle. The FTR750 Hillclimb version features a motocross fork, 21-inch spoke front wheel and a disc brake. On the rear, the bike is fitted with an extra-long swingarm fitted with a spoke wheel as well. The rear end also has a newly hinged central spring strut. Of course, the riding position had to be tweaked for hill climb use, so the carbon-moulded tank-seat combination was modified and a new handlebar was installed.

The rear end also was customized and borrowed from a motocross model. Indian motorcycles have redesigned the manifold and the rear silencer while the standard tires were replaced with knobbly ones.

The V2 engine was re-tuned and equipped with a Rekluse flyer clutch. Unfortunately, there are no details about the performance of the Indian FTR750 Hillclimb.

The motorcycle will be ridden by ten-time AMA Pro Hillclimb Champion John “Flying” Koester and with this bike, Indian marks its return to Hillclimb racing since 1939 when the company made their last hill climb bike.

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