SpeedPlus 1250 vs Revolution Max 975T: The Midweight American Twins
Updated: Sep 28
Quick answer: On both figures the two companies publish, Indian's SpeedPlus 1250 is the stronger engine. It lists 82 ft-lbs at 6,300 rpm against the Revolution Max 975T's 72 ft-lbs at 5,750 rpm, and it is the larger engine. Indian publishes 105 hp for it and Harley publishes 91 HP for the 975T, so the horsepower half of the question does have an answer and it goes to Indian by fourteen. The catch is price, because the cheapest 975T is the Nightster at $9,999 and the cheapest SpeedPlus 1250 is the Scout Bobber at $12,999. And Harley's real answer at this displacement is not the 975T at all.
Disclosure: MotoGearRater and Legendary USA have the same owner. Links to legendaryusa.com in this article go to our owner’s store, and are marked as sponsored. How we make money
MotoGearRater runs no dyno and holds no independent measurement of either engine. What we do rate is the gear, and our reference point for American made leather is Legendary USA, which the gear section further down is measured against. Everything else here is the makers' own published figures, matched where they can be matched and left alone where they cannot.
All prices are base MSRP and exclude freight, destination, taxes and dealer charges.
Two engines, one comparable number
Start with what each maker actually publishes, because it decides how this comparison can be written. Harley publishes horsepower and torque for the Revolution Max family. Indian publishes both for the Scout and PowerPlus families. So these two engines can be put side by side in both columns, which is not something this comparison could do if a Thunderstroke were involved, because Indian publishes no horsepower for any of those.
Indian SpeedPlus 1250. 1,250cc, 105 hp, 82 ft-lbs at 6,300 rpm. Indian's MY2026 Scout specs pages print the engine as a liquid cooled 60 degree V-twin, and the SpeedPlus 1250 name is the one Indian used when the engine arrived in the redesigned Scout. In the 101 Scout the same engine is rated at 111 hp with the same 82 ft-lbs.
Harley Revolution Max 975T. 59.5 cubic inches, liquid cooled, 91 HP and 72 ft-lbs at 5,750 rpm, by Harley's own J1349 method. Indian does not state its testing method in the same terms, which is worth remembering before treating a ten ft-lb gap as precise.
So the SpeedPlus 1250 makes more torque and more horsepower, and it is a bigger engine. 105 hp and 82 ft-lbs against 91 HP and 72 ft-lbs, with the engine names carrying the rest of the story on their own, 975T against 1250. Anyone claiming the 975T makes more power is not reading either maker's published figures.
The comparison Harley would rather you made
The 975T is not Harley's answer to the SpeedPlus 1250. It is a smaller engine sold at a lower price, and comparing it to Indian's 1250 is comparing across a class. Harley's actual like for like is the Revolution Max 1250T in the Sportster S, at 76.4 cubic inches and 93 ft-lbs at 6,000 rpm. That is 11 ft-lbs clear of the SpeedPlus 1250 and it arrives 300 rpm earlier.
There is a third member of the family worth naming. The Revolution Max 1250 in the Pan America 1250 Special lists 150 HP and 94 ft-lbs at 6,750 rpm, the highest of either figure for any Revolution Max engine Harley builds. It is a different bike for a different job, but it tells you what the architecture is capable of when it is not being tuned for a cruiser.
Line the prices up and the picture is clear. Nightster, 975T, $9,999. Scout Bobber, SpeedPlus 1250, $12,999. Sportster S, Revolution Max 1250T, $15,999. Each step buys roughly ten more ft-lbs and costs about $3,000. That is a remarkably orderly ladder for two companies that do not coordinate their pricing.
What a midweight twin asks you to wear
Both of these engines are liquid cooled, which quietly removes the argument that shapes gear choice on an air cooled Thunderstroke big twin. There is no radiant heat problem to solve at a standstill. What replaces it is revs and pace, because both engines make their peak north of 5,700 rpm and the bikes they sit in are ridden accordingly. That points the gear conversation at the hands and at a jacket cut for leaning forward.
Double-Diamond Touchscreen Gloves, $143. The most expensive glove on this list and the one that justifies it on a bike ridden at pace, because the diamond stitched deerskin holds its shape at the palm instead of bunching under a hard grip. The touchscreen panel means you are not stripping a glove off at every stop. Made in the USA. No armour, no certification and no impact rating, which is the accurate description and not fine print. See the gloves.
Fingerless Deerskin Gloves, $91. The summer option for a liquid cooled midweight, where the heat you are managing comes from the weather rather than from the engine. Fingerless is a genuine trade and we are not going to pretend otherwise, but it is the glove that gets worn in August instead of left at home. American deerskin, made in the USA. See the gloves.
BECK 666 Distressed Horsehide Motorcycle Jacket, from $815. A cafe racer cut is short in the body and long in the sleeve, which is the shape that works when your weight is forward on a bike with the pegs under you rather than out in front. Horsehide is the denser, heavier hide, and it is the one that earns its price over a decade rather than a season. BECK is Legendary's own house line, not a third party label they resell. See the jacket.
None of the three carries a CE rating and none of it is armoured. Dainese is the direct comparison for a rider who wants a certified jacket cut for a forward riding position, and it builds to a standard this leather does not claim to meet. Alpinestars sits in the same bracket. Fox Creek and Vanson are the closer comparison if American made leather is the requirement rather than armour, and both deserve a look before you decide. Harley's MotorClothes range is the dealership default and is worth pricing against the motorcycle gloves above rather than assuming either way.
Where each engine actually lives
The SpeedPlus 1250 is in five motorcycles and every one of them is a Scout. Scout Bobber at $12,999 and 542 lb in running order, Sport Scout at $13,499 and 547 lb, Scout Classic at $16,699 and 555 lb, Super Scout at $16,999 and 589 lb, and the 101 Scout at $16,999, 549 lb and 111 hp. Same 82 ft-lbs throughout.
The 975T is in two, the Nightster at $9,999 and 481 lb and the Nightster Special at $12,499 and 483 lb, both with a 27.1 in laden seat and 3.1 gallons. That is a narrower brief, and it explains why the 975T reads as the junior engine here. It was built for a smaller, lighter bike and it is doing that job rather than losing a different one.
Which engine to buy
Buy the SpeedPlus 1250 if the question is which of these two engines is stronger, because it wins both published columns, by ten ft-lbs and by fourteen horsepower. The cheapest way in is the Scout Bobber at $12,999.
Buy the Revolution Max 975T if $9,999 and 481 lb are doing more work in your decision than the torque column is. It gives up ten ft-lbs and saves you three thousand dollars, and it makes its peak 550 rpm earlier, which is not nothing on a road bike.
Buy the Revolution Max 1250T if you actually want Harley's answer to the SpeedPlus 1250 rather than its answer to a smaller question. 121 HP and 93 ft-lbs at 6,000 rpm, in the Sportster S at $15,999. It is the strongest of the three on the published figures and it is priced accordingly.
A closing caution. Neither company publishes model level unit sales, and neither publishes an independent dyno chart, so any ranking you read that goes beyond the numbers above has been supplied by somebody with a view rather than a measurement. Ride all three if you can.
Related reading on MotoGearRater: PowerPlus vs Thunderstroke, the Harley Milwaukee-Eight engine guide, and Indian Scout review and rating.
