“Look Sharp, Make Noise” — Heritage and Sons builds an FTR 1200 S…
In 2017, after more than 60 years away from the sport, Indian Motorcycle reentered American Flat Track with a brand new race machine, the FTR750, and signed top-name racing talent to recreate the legendary Indian Wrecking Crew of the 1950s. So far, the FTR750 has proved dominant in the Twins class, winning four consecutive manufacturer’s championships and renewing the “Harley-Indian Wars” of the post-WWII era.
In 2019, Indian released the FTR 1200, a factory street tracker inspired by the FTR750. Aimed at riders of bikes like the Ducati Monster and Triumph Speed Triple, the FTR features a lightweight trellis frame, Sachs suspension, and Brembo brakes, and a liquid-cooled 60-degree V-twin delivering 123 horsepower and 87 lb-ft of torque with ride-by-wire throttle control:
“A light, fast, agile street tracker inspired by Indian’s championship-winning race bike that breaks free of the cruiser orthodoxy that has dominated American-made motorcycles for decades.” —Rider magazine
Enter Dany Kunz and Serge Lindenmann of Switzerland’s Heritage and Sons, a brand whose collection of vintage workshop and industrial treasures can be found in their small store in the Ace Cafe Lucerne. HAS also builds custom cars and bikes like the XS650 street tracker we featured earlier this year.
Now they are back with the “Lone Wolf,” a high-spec 2019 Indian FTR 1200 S built in partnership with Indian Motorcycle Switzerland and displayed at SWISS-MOTO, the country’s largest moto exhibition. The bike’s bodywork has more than 200 hours in it, hand-shaped in aluminum, with hand-lettering by @squirrelgraphic, featuring 18-carat gold leaf!
The lighting is MFK-legal — no easy task with Switzerland’s strict motoring regulations — and the S&S flat-track exhaust and updated fuel mapping give the bike a serious boost in terms of both power and sound. (An MFK-legal exhaust is also included.) This bike is actually for sale, and you can find out more and contact the sellers here: www.heritageandsons.ch/indian-ftr-1200-s-race-replica.
Below, we get more details on the build and stunning shots from photographer Noel Saugy of Streetonaut.
Indian FTR 1200 “Race Replica”: Builder Interview
• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.
This bike was built under the Heritage and Sons brand. Heritage and Sons is the new Vintage Industrial Brand of Dany Kunz and Serge Lindenmann. Heritage and Sons described:
We love rare and unusual things — at least as much as we love to search for them. The Heritage & Sons Vintage Store is a collection of finds we found during our hunt.
The old and lived through look is exactly the unique, mood-setting element of our items. There will always be signs of use and aging, which in our opinion gives each item its individuality and personal charm.
Heritage and Sons — A story that goes back to Dany’s childhood. Already at a young age he collected workshop and industrial treasures. On his travels around the world he has secured a remarkable collection over the years. Rarities with corners and edges, with patina and history — are now available in the small store in Lucerne at the Ace Cafe.
From lamps to furniture to unique one-off pieces; at Heritage and Sons you can find everything that is somehow rugged and vintage. You still want to furnish your café or restaurant? Our team has a trained eye and brings the HAS flair to give your premises that certain something.
Heritage and Sons also makes custom bikes and custom cars. You can find a selection here:
www.streetonaut.com/custombikes/custombikes
Because nothing tells more than time.
–Heritage and Sons
• What’s the make, model, and year of the bike?
Indian FTR 1200 S 2019.
• Why was this bike built?
This bike was produced in a partnership with Indian Motorcycles Switzerland and presented at Swiss Moto.
• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?
The goal was to create an unbelievable look and to incorporate the Heritage idea.
• What custom work was done to the bike?
Bodywork completely rebuilt in handmade aluminium, tank cover, rear: 200 hours of work.
Lighting system MFK-approved with single plate and LED lights in flat-track style, rear turn signals integrated in aluminium shell, flat-track LSD handlebars, small rear view mirror on handlebars, grips made of leather.
S&S flat-track exhaust system (with cat gas cartridge and DB limiter) — in addition the flat-track Akropovic exhaust system for MFK testing.
Complete speedometer display was integrated on tank shell (naked on top), TKC80 tires, hand-lettering “Lone Wolf Racing 44” with 18-carat gold leaf and lettering drawing.
The FTR has a performance increase with the S&S exhaust system. Unbelievable sound, incredible performance due to the adapted mapping, custom look of the harder grade. A flattracker in dirt-optics. Hand-painting and gold-leaf by @squirrelgraphic.
• Does the bike have a nickname?
“Lone Wolf.”
• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?
This bike has all the extras and rides incredibly well. The power of the bike is scary and you find yourself going very fast, too fast.
• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?
The handmade aluminium bodywork.
Follow the Builder
Heritage and Sons:
www.heritageandsons.ch
IG: @heritageandsons
FB: @heritageandsons
Builder: Serge Lindenmann
Seller: Heritage and Sons
Link to Page: www.heritageandsons.ch/indian-ftr-1200-s-race-replica
Partner:
Indian Switzerland
Hand-lettering:
IG: @squirrelgraphic
Photographer:
Noel Saugy, Streetonaut | @streetonaut
Looks great, but then again, the FTR1200 is a pretty nice platform to start with!
Hop Swiss. I’m happy to see that you can still have some mechanical fun in my country of origin. When I had my HD Dina in the early 2000s, I wanted to change the front brake caliper for something better. They had to run the bike to the DMV for approbation and the DMV put an attachment to my “licence to circulate”. Both took enough space in my jacket to warm me up in the winter.