Bike EXIF | Our Favorite Indian FTR Customs

When Indian Motorcycle unveiled the FTR 1200 in 2019, it was a rare moment when a manufacturer actually listened to its fans. For years, we had begged for a street-legal version of the dominant FTR750 Scout Racer, and Indian delivered a high-spec, 120 hp V-twin, trellis-framed hooligan. It was a bike that finally offered an American alternative to the European naked bike establishment.

However, as the dust settled, the custom scene identified a few “factory” compromises. The stock FTR is a bit heavy on the scales and heavy on the plastic, with a fuel tank layout that hides the mechanical beauty of its trellis frame. These perceived flaws have acted as a starting gun for the world’s best builders, who have spent the last few years stripping away the bulk to find the pure, lean race bike hiding underneath. Here are five of our favorite Indian FTR customs featured on Bike EXIF.

The ‘FTR 1200’ by Arctos Collection

The team at Arctos Collection—a Swiss powerhouse comprising Gannet Design’s Ulfert Janssen and Stefan Fuhrer of Fuhrer Moto—decided that the FTR’s biggest sin was its “bloated” aesthetic. Janssen, a former Renault designer, and Fuhrer, a former MotoGP mechanic, set out to put the FTR on a radical visual diet. Their primary mission was to expose the asymmetrical trellis frame, a task they admitted gave them massive headaches due to the complex routing of cables and electronics hidden beneath the stock covers.

The transformation began with a hand-hammered aluminum tank cover, sculpted after a clay-modeling phase, which allowed them to slim down the area around the handlebars and relocate the OEM dash into the cover itself. Out back, the bulky rear section was replaced with a svelte, all-in-one fuel tank and subframe unit from Roland Sands Design. This part not only reduced the visual mass but also moved the center of gravity, giving the bike a more purposeful, “tail-high” stance.

Performance was leveled up with a Hyperpro rear shock and Kineo wire-spoked wheels wrapped in Michelin Anakee Wild rubber. To match the “scrubbed” metal and midnight blue livery, they finished the frame and swingarm in pearl white, making the skeleton the hero of the build. It’s a practice in industrial design that proves the FTR looks best when it has nothing to hide. [MORE]

The ‘Black Swan’ by Workhorse Speed Shop

Brice Hennebert of Workhorse Speed Shop is not a man of half-measures. While he was building an ’80s-inspired FTR for one brother, he was simultaneously creating the ‘Black Swan’ for the other. This build is a brutalist, carbon-clad superbike that draws inspiration from 90s sportbikes and RAUH-Welt Porsches. The centerpiece is a 3D-scanned, one-piece carbon fiber body kit that integrates the fairing, tank, and tail, weighing a staggering 1.8 kg.

Hennebert’s “Batman meets Top Gun” vision includes a set of motorized “eyelids” that slide open over the headlight—a nod to classic sports cars. Under the carbon skin lies a custom aluminum fuel cell and a bespoke swingarm, both CNC-machined by Vinco Racing. The exhaust is a one-off titanium system from Akrapovič.

The component list reads like a racer’s wish list: blacked-out Öhlins suspension, carbon fiber Rotobox wheels, and an ultra-light prototype braking system from Beringer. Finished in raw carbon weave with gold-leaf striping, the Black Swan is perhaps the most technically complex FTR in existence—a high-tech predator that swaps the dirt oval for the asphalt of a MotoGP circuit. [MORE]

The Hooligan Racer by Blixt & Dunder

While many FTR builds are destined for the street, Jonathan Falkman of Sweden’s Blixt & Dunder built his for the dirt. Competing in the European Hooligan series, Jonathan stripped a base-model FTR 1200 down to its bones, losing a massive 50 kg in the process. The first major surgical strike was to the swingarm, which was shortened by 7cm to sharpen the cornering—a crucial modification for tight dirt ovals.

The bike features a “cleansed” front end with Yamaha R6 forks and a custom top yoke, while the rear subframe was rebuilt to accommodate a Saddlemen tracker seat and a smaller, race-legal fuel tank. To keep the lines clean and the weight down, Jonathan deleted the ABS, oil cooler, and almost all of the wiring, opting for a simple “on/off” button and a tether kill switch.

Rolling on 19-inch spoked wheels with Dunlop DT3 rubber, the Blixt & Dunder FTR is a raw, functional tool. However, it still wears a stunning “Tron-style” wrap over a frame painted with purple holographic flake. It is a reminder that the FTR’s soul belongs on the track, proving that when you remove the street-legal fluff, you’re left with one of the most competitive platforms in modern racing. [MORE]

The Pikes Peak Tracker by Freeride Motos

Pierre Dhers of Freeride Motos in France wanted to capture the “form-follows-function” spirit of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Working in collaboration with Surplus Motos, Pierre aimed to use as many repurposed, high-performance parts as possible. The result is a mechanical hybrid that utilizes a complete KTM 1290 Super Duke R front end and a KTM 790 Duke rear wheel.

The bodywork is a clever piece of recycling: Pierre used the tail section from a 1996 Honda RS 250 to create a mold for a new one-piece fiberglass and carbon monocoque. This sits atop an aluminum fuel cell that doubles as the bike’s subframe. The front number board, machined by BMC, houses a row of LEDs and bears the number 19—a tribute to the last year motorcycles were allowed to race “The Clouds.”

The build is rounded out with a custom four-day pie-cut exhaust, an Öhlins rear shock wedged into the gusseted swingarm, and a leather-trimmed ignition. With its aggressive stance and mix-and-match engineering, the Freeride Motos FTR is a gritty, high-performance street tracker that honors the era of the mountain-climbing privateer. [MORE]

The ‘FTR AMA’ by Workhorse Speed Shop

The second of Hennebert’s FTR masterpieces, the ‘AMA,’ takes a totally different route. Inspired by 80s AMA Superbike racers and the iconic Martini Racing livery of Lancia Delta rally cars, this build is all about “war tank” brutalism. To nail the retro muscle bike vibe, Brice converted the FTR from a monoshock to a twin-shock rear end, utilizing a pair of Öhlins dampers and a custom-fabricated swingarm that is 40 mm longer than stock.

The bodywork was designed in CAD and 3D printed before being reinforced with carbon fiber. It features a blocky endurance-style fuel tank cover (hiding an aluminum fuel cell) and a square-back tail section with a retrofitted LED taillight. The wheels are custom-made “turbo fan” units from JoNich Wheels, mimicking the aerodynamic covers seen on Group B rally cars.

To handle the 1,203 cc V-twin’s power, Brice fitted Beringer’s 4D braking system and a pie-cut stainless steel exhaust with S&S Cycle mufflers. The Martini-inspired paint job, penned by Axecent in Japan, is the perfect finishing touch. The FTR AMA isn’t just a custom; it’s a nostalgic time machine that reminds us why the muscle bike era remains the high-water mark for many enthusiasts. [MORE]