2016 Indian Chieftain Dark Horse
CW FIRST RIDE 2016 INDIAN CHIEFTAIN DARK HORSE
IGNITION
A blacked-out bagger that stands out
Brian Catterson
Indian’s Chieftain Dark Horse is a blacked-out, solo-seat version of the Chieftain, a bike we’ve already come to love. It’s also designed to be one of the most customizable machines in Indian’s lineup, with roughly half of the 300 parts in the company’s accessory catalog said to fit it.
That’s not to say the CDH is short on bells and whistles as it sits on showroom floors. It comes with a handlebar-mounted fairing that does a fine job of protecting the rider’s torso, as well as a cut-down tinted windshield that is electrically adjustable, rising from 9 to 12 inches in height. A Bluetooth-compatible and smartphone-compatible 100watt stereo system and speakers are housed in the fairing (but is not to be confused with the Ride Command System featured on the following page), plus cruise control and a keyless ignition come standard too.
But how does the Chieftain Dark Horse work? After rendezvousing at the Port of Los Angeles, we went for a lap around the nearby Palos Verdes Peninsula before being sent home with a testbike. And in the ensuing days we came to the conclusion that this is one very fine motorcycle.
First things first, the Indian’s
2016 INDIAN CHIEFTAIN DARK HORSE
ENGINE TYPE
Air-/oil-cooled, 49° V-twin
DISPLACEMENT
1811cc
SEAT HEIGHT
26.0 in.
FUEL CAPACITY
5.5 gal.
CLAIMED CURB WT.
831 lb.
PRICE
$ 21,999
air-/oil-cooled, OHV Thunderstroke in engine is a tractor. With a claimed 119.2 pound-feet of torque at 3,000 rpm, it doesn’t much care which of its six gears the transmission is in. Lug it down to a near-standstill in third then whack open the throttle and the big V-twin smoothly accelerates. And smooth is the operative word because there’s very little vibration. The cableactuated clutch has a relatively light pull, and the gearbox shifts positively. The brakes work very well also and are equipped with ABS but are not linked.
The seating position is typical for a bagger, with a low (26-inch-high) saddle resulting in a short reach to the floorboards and the ground. Our only comfort-related complaint
had to do with excessive engine heat broiling the back of our upper thighs. Cooler climes are your friend.
The Chieftain Dark Horse’s chassis is solid. It feels very much “of one piece,” and the suspension is nicely calibrated. The shock is air-adjustable via the included hand pump and a Schrader valve located behind the left side cover. While there’s no arguing the CDH is big and heavy, its heft seemingly disappears in motion, and it has generous cornering clearance cruiser standards.
The Chieftain Dark Horse exudes quality and, at the moment, could pose the most serious threat yet to HarleyDavidson’s domination of the custom bagger market. ETMJ
INDIAN MOTORCYCLE’S NEW RIDE COMMAND SYSTEM
Indian owners now have one less reason to get lost and one more reason to be bobbing their heads as they cruise the open road. Well, at least 2017 Chieftain and 2017 Roadmaster owners do, as those are the two models that will come standard with Indian Motorcycle's new Ride Command System, which is built around a massive, 7-inch touchscreen and features everything from maps and navigation to vehicle information, trip information, plus radio, text notification, Bluetooth phone and headset pairing, and much more.
The MSRPs for the Ride Command System-equipped Chieftains vary, depending on color, between $23,999 and $25,199, while the prices for the Roadmaster range from $28,999 to $30,399, motorcycles included.
