The Indian cruiser that can rival the Harley-Davidson Softail at a lower price

Since the discontinuation of the highly popular Softail Standard in 2025, the Street Bob has been in the spotlight as the most affordable Harley-Davidson Softail today. It offers a beautiful blend of old-school design, rumbling V-twin muscle, and urban accessibility and ergonomics for $15,999 ($14,999 for the single-seat version). However, if you look closely at the market, you will find a much more muscular looking and powerful custom built custom inspired cruiser bike from India competing in the same space.

The best part: This Indian cruiser bike is significantly more affordable than the Harley Softail. With the change, you can buy a 1980s Honda Gold Wing GL1200 today. This is a clear example of how Indian And Harley Davidson war is helping two of America’s oldest motorcycle manufacturers push their limits, which is a good thing for us customers.

To ensure accuracy, the information collected in this article has been taken from authoritative sources including the official websites of the respective manufacturers such as Indian Motorcycle USA and Harley-Davidson USA.

A modern liquid-cooled V-Twin offers more power

The 2025 Indian Scout Bobber is powered by a modern, liquid-cooled 1,250 cc V-twin engine with 105 hp and 82 Nm of torque. This engine has a short-stroke construction, which gives it a high speed, with a peak torque of 6,300 rpm. The power is sent to the rear wheel via a belt drive system.

Compared to this, the Harley-Davidson Street Bob is old-fashioned, with a considerably larger air- and oil-cooled V-twin of 1,923 cc. The Milwaukee-Eight 117 V-twin is a long-stroke unit that produces a meatier 120 pound-feet of torque. However, it falls short in terms of power, with 98 hp. Oh, and the Scout is a whopping 100 pounds lighter than the Street Bob!

Engine and gearbox specifications compared

The Indian Scout Bobber can lean harder than the Harley Street Bob

The Indian Scout Bobber’s high-revving engine is complemented by a lightweight chassis. The Scout Bobber strikes a balance between stiffness and lighter packaging, with a tubular steel main frame and cast aluminum subframe. The Harley Street Bob, on the other hand, uses heavier mild steel throughout the chassis.

Suspension is provided by telescopic forks at the front and twin shock absorbers at the rear with adjustable spring preload. Harley has beefier front forks and the famous Softail special hidden rear monoshock. Braking power is provided by single 298mm discs at each end, mated to a twin-piston caliper at the front and a single-piston caliper at the rear.

Finally, the Scout Bobber boasts 16-inch wheels at both ends, wrapped in 130-section front and 150-section rear tires. This gives it a significantly higher lean angle of 31 degrees, compared to the Harley’s 28.5 degrees. The Street Bob is limited by its thinner tires, with the front end featuring 100-section rubber wrapped around a 19-inch wheel and 150-section rubber wrapped around a 16-inch wheel.

More accessible ergonomics and dimensions

Especially for new riders

Although the Indian Scout Bobber looks fatter and more muscular, its low-slung and customized styling contributes to its more assertive visual appeal on the road. Compared to the Harley, the Indian has a shorter wheelbase, lower ground clearance and a slightly more compact overall structure. The weight difference here is notable, with the Indian being 104 pounds lighter than the Harley. This, combined with the lower seat height, contributes to a much more accessible rider triangle and ergonomics.

Dimensions and weight compared

Indian offers three times as many options

Harley-Davidson keeps it simple with the Street Bob. There is a variant with one seat or a two-seater model. However, Indian Motorcycle gives riders more freedom of choice. With each trim level, the Scout Bobber is enhanced with more advanced technological features. Interestingly enough, despite the addition of many superior technological features to the top spec Limited+Tech equipment level, this Scout Bobber still manages to be more affordable than the Harley Scout Bobber.

Diving deeper, the basic trim of the Scout Bobber is quite simple, with key highlights including a semi-digital instrument cluster, keyed ignition system, LED headlights and ABS. With the Limited trim it gets spicier, with extra functions such as cruise control, traction control, a USB charger and three driving modes (Sport, Standard and Tour).

The most loaded Limited+Tech trim level ups the desirability level to 11 with additional cool features including keyless ignition and a 4-inch circular TFT screen powered by RIDE COMMAND. This screen has various connectivity options via Bluetooth. Other features include a GPS with turn-by-turn navigation and customizable screens. Indian is also adding Ride Command+, which unlocks features like Bike Health, Bike Locator and Account Sync. On the other hand, the Harley Street Bob has a much simpler digital-analog four-inch display.

Finally, the Indian’s accessory list is considerably more extensive than that of the Harley. However, due to its vastness, we have not included it here. View the detailed list of accessories for the Scout Bobber here and the Straatbob here gives you an idea of ​​the differences between the two models.

All this costs $2,000 less than the Harley-Davidson

All differences in performance, underpinnings and features are determined by one decisive factor: the price. Despite the advantages of the Scout Bobber, Indian still has it aggressively priced at $12,999. Yes, this is the basic trim price. But even the $13,699 Limited trim and the $15,199 Limited+Tech trim still surpass the $15,999 Harley-Davidson Street Bob (two-up variant) in value. If you don’t doubt the nostalgic appeal that the Harley brings, the Indian Scout Bobber is definitely a very lucrative choice.