Kopp's Perspective

KOPP’S PERSPECTIVE

The 47-year-old semi-retired Grand National Champion tells us what it’s like to race the new Indian FTR750

Piloting the Indian Scout FTR750 for its historic racing debut was 2000 Grand National Champion Joe Kopp. The flat-track faithful were as interested in how the bike would do as they were to see how the veteran would fare in his first Mile race in five years. As it turned out, pretty well. Straight out of the gate, Kopp was running with the likes of Brad Baker and Bryan Smith, he finished second in his heat, and took the Dash for Cash win. In the main, he was up there with the frontrunners but ultimately dropped back in the rough conditions to finish seventh.

“The bike’s awesome,’’ Kopp said. “It’s better than me right now! In the main event, the bike was perfect. I had a hard time pushing it at that level, really. The intensity picked up a little bit in the main with Brad [Baker] and Bryan [Smith] when they went by me. They were just taking chances that I wasn’t comfortable doing. It was a good day before that. I could have sat down after the first practice and been happy with everything that went on. The bike’s awesome. It’s going to be a major contender next year.”

What does Kopp think of the FTR750’s power and feel? “It’s definitely an in-between of appeal,” Kopp explained. “It puts the power to the ground, kind of like a Harley XR-750, but it keeps revving like a Kawasaki and makes good top-end power. It’s a new benchmark, really. We’ve always had the XR-750 as a benchmark, but people are changing that, I promise you. The Indian is going to be the bike."

Andrea Wilson