THE WILD AND METICULOUS
BUILDING BIKES, DOING WHEELIES, AND MAKING VIDEOS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON ROMO AND SEAN MACDONALD
Aaron Colton has been a professional Red Bull athlete since he was 15 years old. The man can do standup wheelies in a 10x10 room. But equally impressive as his stunt riding is his bike knowledge and meticulous nature. Watching Aaron work on a motorcycle is like watching Beethoven play piano (probably). His shop is perfectly organized. Every tub, bin, or tray is labeled and exactly where it should be.
“I’ve been working with Indian for quite some time and I did a lot of fun stuff with the FTR 1200,” says Aaron, sitting in his garage workshop on the Westside of Los Angeles. “We’ve been looking for another opportunity to work together the past couple of years. When they let me know about the new Scout platform, it kind of seemed like a perfect-fitting opportunity for the Bike Build series, which has been something I’ve been doing for a number of years now. But in recent history, it’s just absolutely exploded.”
Aaron has a full-blown content-creation system built into his garage. Lights in the corners, mics on the stand — he knows all the angles and how to shoot what he’s working on. Some of his recent videos have gotten as many as 56 million views, most often focusing on building bikes with a bit of an ASMR twist. His latest project: a 2025 Indian Scout, which he has completely taken apart and reassembled with Nikasil hardware and Cerakoted cases, on top of all the other major custom work he’s done.
The build requires a quick turnaround, but being in Southern California, Aaron is close to some incredible resources like Saddlemen Seats and the team at Roland Sands Design®, who have spent countless hours working on the Scout platform and were happy to lend some knowledge.
The goal for this build was to make something enjoyable to cruise on, not the fire-breathing race-only stunt bikes for which he is so well known. No, this bike is one that he’ll be able to ride around town, take to events — but of course, still hoon, drift, and wheelie when the time comes. The 17-inch wheels fit his preferred rubber. A taller tail section picks the rider up and moves the shock mounts a bit, and a new Öhlins suspension increases overall ground clearance.
“It’s definitely a prime candidate for customization,” Aaron says, referring to the stock Scout platform when he first picked it up. “It’s simple cause-and-effect. There’s not a plethora of wiring for creature comforts and amenities; it has the tech package, the gauge cluster, pretty straight up with everything, but it’s not overkill with non-necessary items that some different touring bikes have.”
Aaron has now finished the project and plans to whip the custom bike around Southern California. Hit some local V-twin events and you may be lucky enough to see him doin’ his thing, riding wheelies and drifting around like a madman. If you want to follow along with upcoming projects or see how he can whip a bike, check out his instagram @AaronColton.
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