It seems like even Indian Motorcycle is preparing for an electric model in the future. With its perennial rival, Harley-Davidson already offering an electric model, the LiveWire, Indian may also be looking into creating their own.
America’s oldest motorcycle brand has recently filed a trademark application for the name, EFTR. Quite obviously, it seems the FTR will be the first model to receive an electric power plant. There aren’t much details besides the name of the upcoming model itself.
Nonetheless, this move suggests that Indian is taking a similar approach that Harley has with its LiveWire. The LiveWire is targeted at younger, more environmentally conscious buyers. This is evident in the LiveWire’s styling and sporty positioning. It has the performance to back it up, with Harley boasting of acceleration times of 0-100 km/h in just 3 seconds. Harley also claims it can run up to 225-km on a single charge.
For Indian, there couldn’t be a better candidate for electrification than the FTR. Its flat tracker style, raw power, and sporty handling is a refreshing change from the rest of the Indian lineup. Currently, the FTR is fitted with a 1.2-liter V-twin that produces 121 PS and 115 Nm of torque.
Victory Empulse TT
When it comes to electrification, Indian won’t be starting from scratch though. Its parent company, Polaris, used to own Victory Motorcycle. Victory once offered an electric model called the Empulse TT. As the name suggests, it was a sporty model that looked nothing like Victory’s large bagger cruisers. It was offered in 2015 for US$20,000 (PhP1M), had a range of 225-km too, and a quick-charging time of 3.5 hours.
With battery technology improving a great deal since then, chances are, Indian is looking at offering a similarly- or better-specced alternative at either the same price or less than Harley’s offering.
Indian has files the trademark in the US, Europe, and Australia, so there’s a very good chance it will be made available globally.
Unfortunately, the Philippines is still far behind in terms of electric vehicle infrastructure. There are hardly any charging stations in Metro Manila, let alone outside the capital. The few that exist were set up more for publicity than an earnest interest in promoting electric vehicles. As such, it could be a while before we get this, just as we still don’t have the LiveWire locally. Nonetheless, since these can be charged at home, they can still be used for short rides within the city.
