THE LEAST DISTRACTING DISTRACTION

MOTORCYCLE RIDERS FINALLY GET A GOOD ALTERNATIVE TO MOUNTING A SMARTPHONE TO THE HANDLEBARS. BY DAVID CURCURITO

Do you know how many obstacles require immediate attention when you’re riding a motorcycle? A lot. The endless wet leaves and gravel waiting in the S- curves. The retiree, eyes barely over the steering wheel, who seems to hunt unsuspecting motorcyclists at intersections. The squirrel, the cat, the dog, porcupine, wild fox – oh, look, is that a kudu? With all of the constant distraction, how am I supposed to check my map, vehicle stats and trip information while skipping songs on my playlist before answering a call from Mom? It’s a challenge. At least it used to be. Most bike manufacturers offer slow, small, and clunky devices that give you directions 50 metres after the turn. It’s like having a Blackberry Playbook taped to the handlebars. But Indian Motorcycle’s new Ride Command is the ipad Pro. It’s simply the best interactive touchscreen display on a bike, and better than those in a lot of cars, too. Fast and easy to use, it becomes part of your ride and not the distraction you’d expect.

Ride Command is stock on the Indian Chieftain and Roadmaster. It’s a 175-mm HD interface that’s intuitive and has a pinch - andzoom touchscreen that actually works with gloves. Man, do I hate taking off my gloves. Look out, that bakie just lost a piece piece of lumberlu The bold graphics display has as many or as few options as you want: engine stats, trip info, time and temperature, compass and navigation, stereo settings. Tap Ride Data (while stopped, of course) and you can see your moving time, stop time, altitude, and altitude change. Switch over to Vehicle Status for tyre pressure, voltage, engine hours, oil change interval, and more. My go-to screen displayed revs, speed, gear indicator, and Van Halen’s second album. You can also browse the options through a control system on the handlebars. That’s very handy when your eyes are busy picking out oil spots from the leaking minivan in front of you.

In terms of the ride itself, the Chieftain is what I can describe only as warm, creamy butter with a side of torque. The bike weighs in at 390 kilograms, but man does this thing fly. Its loud exhaust on a relatively quiet V-twin 1 811-cm3 engine throws a whopping 88 N.m of torque. It’s so heavy and powerful that with your feet flat on the running boards you have to lean in only a bit into the corner and it moves right through with plenty more to go coming out of the turn. n.

Slow down! Garbage truck doing doing a U-turn The large front fairing is designed to l look like a vintage locomotive, and with the extendable/retractable windscreen to keep you safe from the elements and dampen the wind you can turn up the –

A guinea fowl! Flying right out in front of me! Sure, every time you mount your bike you expect a certain am amount of surprise. You’re ready for it. You’ve learn to anticipate ev every centimetre of the kilometre ahead. And thanks to Ride C Command, now you can perfectly navigate, communicate, blast whatever you want from your stereo, and monitor all mechanical aspects of your glorious ride.