TEST: PETE VORST PHOTOGRAPHY: JOSH EVANS

Looks are subjective, but I’ll put it out there and say that Indian’s Chieftain Limited is one of the coolest stock-standard sleds I’ve seen. Yes, the marque’s awesome Challenger that we tested back in Vol 69 No 22 will outperform it in most regards, but I reckon it just doesn’t sit with as much attitude as the Chieftain. It’s a real head turner, and to back my claims, I’ll cite the Chieftain’s recent, unseasonably hot, twilight photoshoot in the Northern Sydney suburb of Manly as evidence. I have never had so many people come up and say, “that’s an awesome-looking bike”, as I did that evening, never!

They are right, I thought, as I admired the Chieftain while it sat illuminated by a neon sign that hung over the entrance to a shady-looking establishment. An establishment, I’m told, had once been one of the most violent pubs in Sydney until the lockout laws sorted that out.

It’s a badass-looking bit of kit and gained the attention of everyone from a dodgy gangster-looking bloke, a sharply-dressed well-to-do dude, to prostitutes and kebab-shop owners.

The Chieftain’s size can be intimidating when you first see it, but somehow the big black beast feels instantly less massive as you sink into the low 650mm seat. Make no mistake; it’s still a big sucker but as I found out on my first outing, the Chieftain hides its weight well at rest and at play. The quality of finish as you take it all in is exceptional and the subtle metal flake paint looks awesome, especially in the sun. Pictures simply don’t to the bodywork justice.

As handsome, aggressive and badass looking as the Chieftain is, it’s all pretty pointless if it goes like an ’84 Holden Camira that’s dropped a cylinder. But the crafty buggers at Indian have taken sweet care of this and slotted a stinking big 116 cubic inch Thunder Stroke powerplant in it – that’s 1890cc to you and me. The Thunder Stroke 116 is new for 2020 and is fitted to selected models in the range including the Chieftain Limited’s brother the Chieftain Dark Horse.

The air-cooled powerplant produces brawny 168Nm of torque at a paltry 2800rpm, which is absolutely ideal for lighting up the rear tyre when leaving the traffic lights and grunting away from all four-wheeled wannabes. Indian doesn’t provide power figures, only torque – Harley is the same and it’s really all that matters on big-bore V-twins. Considering the size of the pistons thrusting up and down in its cylinders, it feels relatively smooth and refined no matter at what revs you happen to be burbling along.

The engine isn’t just all go and no show though. The Thunder Stroke nails the traditional look with its contrast-cut finned heads and uniquely finned rocker covers – I reckon it’s as sexy as all get up.

The Chieftain rumbles along accompanied by a pleasingly audible exhaust note that gives a nice throaty roar when you blip the throttle, all while being quiet enough at idle as to not offend the neighbours early in the morning. The noise level from the exhaust is more noticeable to the rider than it is spectators, though, with the photographer complaining he never knew when I was about to pop around a corner because he couldn’t hear it coming.

The six-speed box doesn’t suffer from the agricultural clunk you get with some American-made cruisers when working your way up and down the ’box, and the lever throw is short and the action smooth and precise.

But the Chieftain’s real jewel in its crown is the way that it absolutely does not handle like a 373kg bike should. You could scratch on a twisty back road with this bad boy and have a whole tonne of fun. You’re not going to be rounding up a decent rider on a sportsbike, but with the ease with which it turns and the generous ground clearance for this style of bike, a competent rider could certainly give a touring bike a hurry up. As would be expected from a bike of the Chieftain’s size, it is infinitely stable through a turn while still feeling surprisingly agile.

The Chieftain runs a very un-American-cruiser-like cast aluminium chassis with a KYB non-adjustable fork up front and a preload adjustable Fox shock out back. In almost all circumstances, the suspension works perfectly well if you’re using the Chieftain how Indian intended it to be used. My small and only gripe is the harshness in the initial stroke of the fork, which caused a noticeable whack through the bars and rattle of the dash over New South Wales’ lunar-style roads.

A twin disc Nissin front brake package does a mighty job of hauling the big girl up, and joins the rear setup in providing what I think is a better than average braking performance compared to other bikes in this space, with plenty of power and feel on tap.

Despite the obvious heritage styling points, there is a decent amount of tech under the hood, with ABS, three ride modes, rear cylinder deactivation, LED lighting all round and a tyre-pressure monitoring system.

The big-arse, fork-mounted batwing-style fairing holds Indian’s seven-inch touchscreen Ride Command system in the centre and it features every bit of bike info you could want, plus navigation, AM/FM radio, Bluetooth connectivity and Apple CarPlay. And it can all be controlled from the left-hand switch assembly or via the touchscreen which works flawlessly – even with a stout set of winter gloves on. There is a neat glovebox that sits below the adjustable screen, too, where you can bung your device and hook up to the stereo system either via Bluetooth or by cable.

The Ride Command screen is surrounded by an analogue speedo on the left and tacho on the right which in turn are flanked by a couple of 100-watt stereo speakers that pump tunes at you. Volume increases as vehicle speed increases and the system works perfectly, unlike the system on the Challenger we tested.

Indian’s Ride Command system is one of the best going. It offers so much functionality at your gloved fingertips, but its software is prone to glitches such as the music not turning down when you flick the switch, or the navigation screen having a temporary meltdown. Startup is bloody slow, and I reckon the music should be muted when you start the bike until you decide to turn it on or up, instead it comes blaring on when you hit the keyless start.

The fairing provides good protection from the wind and features an electronically adjustable screen that’s controlled by a switch on the right-hand switchblock. At 186cm tall and with the screen elevated to its highest position, it threw a fierce blast of wind at my helmet at highway speeds, to a point where I just ended up riding with the thing down or rode along tucked in like a GP racer. There’s also a lot of wind turbulence blasted up from underneath the fairing, and if I wasn’t riding with my knees pressed against the tank, my splayed legs directed a wind blast up my body and into the base of my helmet creating a hell of a racket.

While I’m having a whinge, and there’s only a few minor things; a slight but persistent rattle from the instrument area is just noticeable enough to be annoying when you’re thundering down some boring freeway. And Indian still insists on putting its cruise-control switches on the throttle-side switchblock, and are just far enough away to require finger gymnastics to operate even for my rather large meat hooks.

SPECS

ENGINE

Capacity 1890cc

Type V-twin, pushrod, 4 valves

Bore & stroke 113 x 103mm

Compression ratio 9.5:1

Cooling Air

Fueling EFI, 54mm Bosch throttle bodies Transmission Six-speed

Clutch Wet, multi-plate

Final drive Belt

PERFORMANCE

Power Not given

Torque 168Nm @ 2800rpm (claimed)

Top speed 180km/h (est)

Fuel consumption 5.8L/100km (measured)

ELECTRONICS

Type Bosch ECU,

Nissin ABS

CHASSIS

Frame Aluminium

Frame type Cradle

Rake 25 degrees

Trail 150mm

Wheelbase 1668mm

SUSPENSION

Type KYB/Fox

Front: Telescopic fork, 119mm travel

Rear: Monoshock with Air Adjust, 114mm travel

WHEELS & BRAKES

Wheels Aluminium alloy

Front: 19 x 3.5 Rear: 16 x 5.0 Tyres Metzeler Cruistec

Front: 130/60B19 61H

Rear: 180/60R16 80H Brakes Nissin, ABS

Front: Twin 300mm discs, four piston caliper

Rear: Single 300mm disc, dual-piston caliper

DIMENSIONS

Weight 361kg (dry, claimed)

Seat height 650mm

Width 1000mm

Height 1385mm

Length 2506mm

Ground clearance 130mm

Fuel capacity 20.8L

SERVICING & WARRANTY

Servicing First: 800km

Minor: 8000km

Major: 16,000km

Warranty Two years, unlimited km

BUSINESS END

Price $38,995 (ride away)

Colour options Thunder Black Pearl w/ Graphics, Thunder Black Pearl and Radar Blue

Contact indianmotorcycle.com.au