Ask Indian Motorcycle’s design director, Ola Stenegärd, which part of the new Indian Scout he’s most proud of, and he’ll most likely point to its tubular steel frame. So imagine his delight when Indian gave Ronna Norén at Unique Custom Cycles a brand new Indian Scout—and the first thing he changed was the frame.
That’s not sarcasm, by the way; Ola is genuinely happy that Ronna took an angle grinder to the Scout. For Ola and the entire team at Indian, the potential for customization was baked into the refreshed Scout platform from day one. Yes, the Scout is a modern bike with modern trappings that make it inherently chunky—but Indian wanted to make sure that customizers could work around all the frou-frou with minimal fuss.
Ronna’s take on the new Indian Scout is refreshingly simple and speaks volumes of his relationship with Ola. The two go way back and are both long-standing members of the Swedish bike club, Plebs Choppers. And although Ola draws inspiration from myriad sources when penning new motorcycle designs, there’s a small part of him that wonders what Ronna will think (or, more accurately, what Ronna will give him flak about).
Ola hoped that the Scout’s steel fuel tank and tubular steel frame would prompt Ronna to rework both to his liking—and that’s exactly what happened. Within a week of taking delivery of the Scout, Ronna had cut off and rebuilt more than a third of the frame, bringing the bike’s geometry more in line with the choppers he’s famous for.
The frame’s new front section pushes the steering neck higher, and further forward, raking out the forks enough to nail the stance, but not so much that it looks cartoonish. There’s some elegant fabrication hiding under the fuel tank, where Ronna ‘split’ the frame to accommodate a burly Trask Performance air filter. With the airbox gone, he could also remove the ducts that normally sit fore of the tank, leaving the area around the frame neck looking airy.
The Scout sits on 8”-over forks from Tolle Engineering, held in place by a set of custom-made yokes. Ronna installed a pair of Fox OEM shocks at the opposite end of the bike, and then modified the swingarm to move its shock mounts further back. Featuring color-coded springs, the shocks are now perfectly aligned with the frame.
Next, Ronna swapped the Scout’s modern alloy wheels for a pair of laced items, featuring Cerakoted hubs and rims, and stainless steel spokes. Measuring 21” at the front and 18” out back, they’re wrapped in Metzeler ME888 Marathon Ultra tires, giving this retro chopper contemporary levels of grip.
That juxtaposition between style and performance is central to Ronna’s approach. Plebs Choppers might be a chopper club, but its members are riders first and foremost—so their bikes are built to be ridden, not hidden.
That philosophy is not only reflected in Ronna’s choice of rubber, but also in his decision to spec the bike with high-performing brakes from ISR. A six-piston caliper grips a 320 mm floating disc at the front, with a four-piston caliper out back. Both are mounted using prototype billet aluminum mounting kits, designed specifically for the Indian Scout.
Another hallmark of Ronna’s work is that he favors bikes that are clean and timeless, rather than flashy and trendy. He’s also worked on several key OEM concept bikes. So he has an appreciation for what goes into producing a factory motorcycle, and a knack for putting his own spin on a bike, while still maintaining some of its signature details.
That consideration is evident in Ronna’s judicious redesign of the Scout’s fuel tank. Rather than build a new unit from scratch, Ronna split the factory part in four, before trimming it and welding it back together. The ‘new’ tank retains the traditional Scout silhouette, but it’s a lot more compact.
The work also involved moving the fuel pump further forward inside the tank, to ensure significant clearance for the bike’s new air filter. A pop-up gas cap from Tolle Engineering sits up top, while handmade steel fenders round out the bodywork. The seat is a one-off too, with upholstery by the immensely talented Silver Machine.
Moving to the controls, Ronna modified the stock handlebars, by integrating the risers and adding a custom housing for the OEM speedo. Finishing touches include some subtle mods to the stock foot controls, and a guttural stainless steel exhaust system. Then there’s the alluring paint job; a suitably old-school metal-flake design, laid down by Hakan Lindberg.
Ronna’s custom Indian Scout hits all the right notes. No single mod vies for attention—instead, every little detail works together harmoniously, creating a modern chopper that’s impossibly clean.
It also fits its new owner like a glove. Once the bike was buttoned up, Ronna handed it over to legendary King Diamond, Motörhead, and Scorpions drummer (and Swedish national treasure), Mikkey Dee… who quickly quipped that the bike is louder than his drums.