Indian Chieftain V-Twin

Indian is a motorcycle manufacturing company of America which was founded in 1901 by 'George M. Hendee' and 'Carl Oscar Headstrom' and had their headquarters in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. Initially, the company was known as the 'Hendee Manufacturing Company' but the name was changed to 'Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company' in 1928. The company remained quite successful and popular in its early years but manufactured two famous motorcycles of that age, 'Scout' and 'Chief'. But, the company went bankrupt in 1953 and since then many companies tried to perpetuate the name but had little or no success. Polaris Industries purchased it in 2011and relocated the headquarters to merge with their existing facilities in Minnesota and Iowa. By August 2013, they successfully manufactured three bikes following the legacy of Indian motorcycles and their design. Indian Chieftain is one of these motorcycles with the DNA of the original Indians and first ever motorcycle to have a hard fairing, hard saddlebags and many other exciting features to take your breath away.

Exterior

Indian Chieftain has many standard and iconic features which are specially designed to give an exquisite look. It has keyless starting system with a Push button start, maximum parts covered in chrome, power adjustable windshield which can be raised or lowered with the push of a button, spacious and hard saddlebags mounted on quick-release anchors with remote electronic locks which can be controlled with a console mounted button or a key fob, bright headlights, a quality audio system with dual high-output speakers and aerodynamic fairing to give a clean and clear sound, an integrated Bluetooth smartphone connection helps in playing music of your phone through bike's audio system with the playlist info on multi-function display and audio controls on the switches near the hand-grip, a 40-spoke 16-inch alloy wheels with DUNLOP ELITE tubeless tires, its classic vintage badging, an iconic War Bonnet mounted atop the front fender in a chrome frame for clear lighting, its stylish, elegant and functional valence fenders with brake callipers covers, a Stage 1 Slip-On exhaust for better throttle response and power with stylish Six Shooter Exhaust Tips, a Saddlebag audio kit with color matched concert audio lids to deliver quality audio and a standard height quick release passenger backrest which can be installed or removed instantly.

It also has Cruise control, premium leather seats, a Tire Pressure Monitoring System, a cast aluminium frame with integrated Air-box and an illuminated fairing mounted instrument console consisting of an electronic speedometer, tachometer and fuel gauge with odometer, dual trip meters with distance and time, instantaneous and average fuel economy, fuel range, real-time clock, ambient air temperature, gear position display, front and rear tire pressure, engine hours of operation, engine oil life percentage, average speed, battery voltage, radio information display, vehicle trouble code readout, heated grip level and a total 15 LED indicators.

Dimensions

It has a length of 2570mm, width of 1021mm and height of 1529mm as its dimensions and has a large wheelbase of 1669mm for a stable ride. It has a rake and trail of 25degrees and 150mm respectively and has a seat height of 660mm. It has a ground clearance of 139mm and a fuel tank capacity of 20.82 litres. It has a gross vehicle mass of 628kgs and an empty tank weight of 370kgs.

Engine and Gearbox

Indian Chieftain has a 1811cc, Liquid-cooled, Wet Multi-plate Clutch, Closed Loop Fuel Injection, 9.5:1 compression ratio, Thunder Stroke 111 engine with a bore and stroke of 101mm and 113mm respectively to provide a maximum torque of 138.9 Nm at 2600 rpm and has a six speed gearbox transmission. Indian Chieftain has a floating rotor type, dual disk brakes with 4-piston callipers at front and floating rotor type, single disk brakes with 2-piston callipers at rear. The suspension system consists of 119mm Telescopic Forks at front and 114mm Single Shocks with air adjustment at rear. It also has the important feature of ABS.

Shades and Warranty

Indian Chieftain will be available in a single variant. It has three beautiful shades to choose which includes Thunder Black, Springfield Blue and Indian Motorcycle Red. It has 5 years coverage with one year limited warranty plus five years extended service contract and no mileage limitations.

Verdict

Overall, it is a competitive motorcycle with a great legacy, performance, rigidness, class, comfort, luxury, speed and innovation.