A surfer-meets-biker festival in Biarritz, France, was an unlikely backdrop for America’s oldest motorcycle maker to showcase its latest handiwork.

But that is where, in June, Indian Motorcycle made the announcement that a one-off design concept, inspired by county-fairgrounds racing machines, would become a production model.

It was a sign of just how profound a departure in strategy this new model, the FTR 1200, would be.

The bike, the road-going derivation of a machine trouncing all comers on the dirt ovals of the American Flat Track racing circuit — and revealed in showroom-ready form on Monday at the Intermot industry show in Germany — is an acute change of course for Indian, whose retro-flavored cruisers and Deco-kissed touring machines have revived the company.

Indian, based in Minnesota, is not alone among motorcycle makers in taking a daring, and perhaps unexpected, leap with its designs. Ducati, based in Italy, has hit pay dirt with its out-of-character Scrambler, introduced in 2015 (and now stretched to a subbrand), which expanded the company’s portfolio beyond muscular sport machines.