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Roland Sands Designs Custom Pays Tribute to Indian Motorcycle Racing Heritage
Roland Sands Designs Custom Pays Tribute to Indian Motorcycle Racing Heritage
Oct 20, 2016
The RSD custom Scout is a rolling tribute to Indian's racing heritage
Indian Motorcycle’s racing roots trace back to the very beginning of the sport in the early 1900s. Indians were a constant fixture on the infamous board tracks of the turn of the century as well as the dirt ovals of the early flat tracks. You can’t talk motorcycle racing heritage without a reverent acknowledgement of Indian’s integral role in starting and growing the sport.
Likewise, the talented folks at Roland Sands Designs have always had close ties with flat track racing. It’s common to see an RSD custom on display in the pits of the nation’s biggest flat track races. In fact, RSD custom motorcycles even roost the flat track oval at events like the 2016 Super Hooligan Race in Las Vegas.
The Scout breathes through a K&N high flow air filter
It’s only fitting that the venerable marquee and Roland Sands would enter into a mutually beneficial partnership as Indian reenters the flat track scene. It’s a symbiotic match made in racing heaven.
The most recent fruit of the RSD / Indian relationship is the scintillating Sands custom that pays homage to the early Indian race machines. “This was a fun build,” says Sands, “and we put our best foot forward in hopes to pay proper homage to the original Scouts that tore up race tracks all over the USA from the 1920s through the 1950s.”
The RSD project began with the newest incarnation of the Indian Scout. The mating of the new technology of the modern Indian company and the vintage styling cues of the Roland Sands concept is remarkable. That seamless visage is the result of an artistic vision, intricate design, and masterful craftsmanship.
The styling is vintage and the technology is modern
The most striking design element of the RSD build may well be the girder fork which is wonderfully reminiscent of the Indians of the first half of the 20th century. It was crafted from scratch from chromoly steel, and a mountain bike shock was fitted to offer a bit of dampening. Making a liquid-cooled bike look vintage is no easy task, but the RSD team did a fine job of creating radiators and plumbing that offer up a clean look. Then there is the issue of what to do with the modern electronics. To solve that quandary, Sands constructed a faux oil bag to hide the wiring and computer technology.
Of course, the beautiful Indian breathes through a K&N filter that supplies the V-twin with the healthy dose of clean air it needs. It’s fitting that an American icon like the Indian is fitted with a legendary filter made in the USA. On the exhaust end, RSD created a custom stainless system that is capped off with one of their Track mufflers.
Classic details abound on the Indian custom
The project is coated in a stunning vintage Indian red paint job. The pin stripping, lettering, and numbering were applied with had turned gold leaf. The gold accents are carried into the shock reservoirs and the chain for a beautifully unified motif. The vintage aesthetic is completed with antiqued leather grips and tooled leather solo seat.
So the goal of the Roland Sands Designs custom was to “pay proper homage” to the Indian motorcycles that defined the incipient stages of the sport, and the passion of motorcycle racing. All we can say is - mission complete!
