Indian FTR Sport vs Harley Davidson Sportster S: Here's How They Stack Up Against Each Other

Jul 21, 2023

These two American rivals are closely matched in many regards, but, which one "triumphs"?

The venerable Sportster has gone through dozens of evolutions over the years. It is an excellent starter bike, daily rider, project bike, race bike, whatever you could imagine for it, really. The 2023 Harley-Davidson Sportster S, looks downright derivative of the Indian FTR Sport—which isn't really a bad thing per se, but it goes to show that Harley finally sees the value in updating their lineup to be competitive instead of tweaking old concepts. The Indian motorcycles, and the FTR Sport, in particular, boast some pretty favorable specs. Scroll through Harley's models and point out any real innovation or even at least some amount of competitive performance achieved by its hulking displacements. Sure, some might argue that if you want one of those newfangled plastic bikes with their gadgets and gizmos, you should just go get one of those and leave Harley alone. Well, that's honestly understandable—a huge appeal among Harley enthusiasts is how you can do all the wrenching yourself and not need to feel like a full-blown engineer if anything needs to get done. Modern tech can be intimidating and can complicate otherwise simple designs. Nonetheless, Harley has dipped its toe into the waters of innovation and competition against Indian. So, how does it stack up?

Speaking of major chop and weld jobs: used to be that you could turn just about any bit of raw metal into a gas tank if you knew what you were doing. However, these two models have such a defined aesthetic that it's unclear whether that would have as good of a result as it might have on an old Shovelhead, for example. For sure, these bikes look great— that's not in dispute, except maybe among die-hard classic HD fans. In general, sports bikes of a type look like the next, except for minor cosmetic changes. As far as garage chops, even the vast majority of Indian bikes look the way they did from the factory. On the other hand, Harley's enthusiasts have long enjoyed a vibrant customization scene. Whether your skill level only covered bolt-on mods or you could weld a franken-frame together, everything was on the table; nothing was off limits. Now? Well, maybe you could manage a fender chop or a new exhaust, but it seems fair to count this narrowing of style as a con for both models.

First and foremost, let's talk engines. The FTR runs a liquid-cooled, fuel-injected 1203cc V-twin, which spits out 120 horses and produces a top speed of 147 MPH. On the other hand, everyone always says that all a Harley can do is convert gas into noise instead of speed. Earlier Sportsters, for sure, couldn't touch the FTR on their best day; maybe only after a few stage kit upgrades. So HD clearly went back to the drawing board on this one with a vision to enter a new chapter into Sportster history, and produced the Revolution Max 1250T— a 1252cc water-cooled 60-degree V-twin that produces 121 horsepower, barely scraping past the FTR, but very slightly less max speed: 143 MPH. For street riders, top speed figures should be irrelevant if you mean to stay on the right side of the law. The Harley wins here with better power, but the difference is negligible.

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They share a nearly identical wheelbase at about 60 inches each. The FTR has a ground clearance of 6.5 inches while the Harley has a clearance of about 4.1 inches. As mentioned earlier, they both have electronic rider assistance to improve handling in adverse conditions. The FTR uses ZF Sachs fully adjustable suspension and Brembo brakes at the front and back. The Harley also uses Brembo brakes but interestingly seems to go out of their way to avoid mentioning it. The FTR has a lean angle of 43 degrees, and the Harley's is 34 degrees. That nine-degree difference can really make a difference in a tight turn, but that isn't exactly the niche these bikes are built for. The riding position is an important factor here also: the FTR places your feet in a better position to absorb shock if necessary, which is not possible with the Sportster's forward feet controls.

The Sportster S returns a favorable 49 MPG while the FTR gets only 42 mpg. Is it a big deal? With a 3.1 gallon and 3.4 respectively, it definitely can matter if you end up on a long desert stretch or just lose track of time and gas on the highway—been there, done that. If you're torn between the two models, you would be wise to carry a fuel bottle either way. And, if your concern isn't about fuel economy or capacity, but rather aesthetics, you would be better off checking out an earlier model Sportster. Currently, there does not seem to be much aftermarket support in terms of different tanks.

Related: Ranked: Top 10 Touring Motorcycles With The Best Fuel Economy

The way you sit can make or break a ride, and the same bike can be different for different people based on their height and build. There are a few factors that contribute to ride position: handlebar height and angle, seat height, seat position, and foot control positioning. The FTR has a seat height of 30.7 inches; the HD is 28.9 inches. Both figures are fairly comparable, but the Harley certainly favors shorter folk in that regard. The bars on both models don't extend back much at all, maybe just a few inches behind the forks. The FTR has mid-controls while the Harley has forward-controls. Forward controls can be comfortable on a long ride but on a sport bike, it seems like an unusual choice, but one that might suit people familiar with Harley. The seat position on the FTR is more aggressive and overall seems like a better choice, but might make taller people feel more cramped.

Apart from something more surgical, it's fair to say that due to Harley's popularity, there simply will always be more aftermarket mods for its bikes. And that goes for any of the typical changes like bars, air filters, grips, paint, mirrors. According to the presence, or lack thereof, on mod forums: it seems as if it's a crime to change anything about Indians. It's a shame there aren't more options for their bikes. Even if you aren't trying to do modifications per se, it can be a huge help to have a community full of people who are experienced with your bike and know why something weird is happening. Mechanics charge by the hour even if it only takes even one minute to change something like a crankshaft position sensor or voltage regulator. That's not to say that Indians don't have any forums, but there will always be more people who are knowledgeable about H-D bikes.

Related: 10 Types Of Harley Davidson Motorcycles

The Indian and Harley's displays are fairly similar. They're both four-inch touchscreens that are capable of giving you real-time traffic updates, routes, information about your bike such as speed, RPM, remaining fuel, temperature, and so on; as well as connecting to your phone to show you music and take/decline calls. These devices also help modulate their respective rider assistance systems, consisting of traction control, ABS, ride modes for different conditions, and more. It's hard to really call one better than the other and might come down to buttons, of all things. Some might argue that the Harley's buttons are reminiscent of a TV remote, which could turn confusing at speed. The FTR's buttons are similarly convoluted, utilizing various buttons whose function can differ based on the length of press, but this system seems more intuitive in a way. Maybe it's just a generational thing to have a peeve about buttons, but the screens operate by touch as well if that's more your speed.

Although these sportier offerings from HD and Indian are ideal for a solo rider, you could ride with a passenger on the stock FTR if the situation called for it— not so on the Sportster, at least not without HD's optional add-on. The kicker is that just the foot-peg mounting kit is over $200 and that doesn't even include a seat, which comes in at $168.95. This represents a frustrating aspect of Harley, in that they often expect their customers to shell out for features that are often basic and integral to bikes of other manufacturers. Defenders might suggest that this was simply Harley giving you the chance to personalize it or that they were preserving an aesthetic; but on the other hand, the argument can surely be made that Harley holds back in key areas as a rule, not an exception.

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Both Indian and HD suffered some early recall issues, but Harley's was just a software issue with the display, while the Indian FTR had an issue with the cooling system leaking onto the rear tire, which could definitely exacerbate if not addressed adequately. If you're looking to snag either model and keeping an eye on the used market, you'll want to be careful that whichever model you choose is outside the affected model range or has had the issue dealt with. You definitely don't want your wallet or your safety on the hook for any factory issues.

Both models are incredibly similar in almost every way, and each are both covered by a two-year unlimited warranty. One thing that could potentially be a deciding factor is price. The latest Sportster S has an MSRP of $16,399 while the FTR Sport is recommended at $15,749. Maybe that sounds like peanuts but put in perspective, you could buy a Playstation 5 and maybe a game or two with those savings. Think about it!

When he's not turning a wheel, a wrench, or a throttle, Alex is probably dangerously close to turning a parallelism into a run-on sentence. He began riding motorcycles and teaching English in 2017 and from that, grew to love both realms deeply. Since then, he has owned three motorcycles and crossed the USA on them an equal amount of times. Joining the Top Speed team has been an opportunity to combine both passions.