Readers might recall Workhorse Speed Shop from its build from last year, the Workhorse Appaloosa, based on the Indian Scout Bobber. The Belgium based outfit is now back with two speed oriented motorcycle builds using the Indian Motorcycle FTR.
Still in the build phase, this pair of custom builds from Workhorse take inspiration from two branches of motorcycling – the road-going sportsbikes of the 1990s dubbed “Black Swan” and the 1980s era AMA SBK race bikes, called the “FTR AMA”. These customs belong to two brothers, the brother who commissioned Black Swan asking Workhorse to build another for his brother, the only stipulation being it have Martini Racing livery.
Black Swan is built for road use, with a sporty intent and constructed from carbon-fibre. Rotobox will be supplying the carbon-fibre wheels for Black Swan, while German composite specialists Liteblox are providing a one-off carbon-fibre battery.
Blacked out, the FTR V-twin engine is ceramic coated by Cerakite NI with the billet CNC machined parts done by Vinco Racing of Holland. Clay modelling for Black Swan is done in-house, with Workhorse principal Brice Hennebert sculpting half the bodywork after receiving renderings of the concept sketches from Axsent in Japan.
After 3D scanning by Forame Design, Robert Colyns of 13.8 Composites then 3D-printed the bodywork for Black Swan from the CAD model, creating the masters for the carbon-fibre moulds and dies, resulting in bodywork that weighs just 1.8 kg. Further goodies for the Black Swan come in the form of custom Ohlins suspension and Behringer 4+ brake callipers.
For FTR AMA, the AMA superbike raced in the 1980s by the likes of Wes Cooley and Fred Merkel provide the design inspiration. Form follows function in the FTR AMA, with twin aluminium fuel cells providing a total of 14-liters capacity, with one of the tanks located under the seat.
The intake system has been redesigned to allow fitment of DNA air filters and the tail section now accommodates twin Ohlins shocks absorbers. JoNich Wheels from Italy provides the wheelset for FTR AMA, based on its Rush wheel design but omitting the carbon-fibre flanges.
Hennebert says the wheels from JoNich reminded him of the vented wheels used in the Lancia Delta HF, which then set the tone for the rest of this custom motorcycle. The final design of the FTR AMA will be an amalgam of the Bol d’Or endurance racers and American muscle bikes, retaining the original FTR’s upright riding position.
GALLERY: 2021 Indian Motorcycle FTR Workhorse FTR AMA
GALLERY: 2021 Indian Motorcycle FTR Workhorse “Black Swan”
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