Don’t knock a big ballsy Bagger until you’ve tried one
A sportsbike-mad MCN reader rides an Indian Chieftain – and loves it!
Wow!” One word says it all and as MCN’s lock-up doors open to reveal the Indian Chieftain Limited in all its smokedwhite glory. MCN reader Graham Newland is rightly impressed. Dwarfing his Aprilia RSV4 RF, the Indian is the epitome of this style of bike and chalk and cheese to his regular sportsbike ride. Graham is about as performancefocused as it gets. Out of the 1600 miles he has ridden since he bought the RF in November last year, only 400 were on the road, the rest were on track. And those 400 were simply to run-in the engine.
“I do about six or seven trackdays a year, including two European trackday trips,” he says. “I’m heading away from road riding, I like the speed too much and love doing 160mph on a track. I get the whole super-naked thing to make you ride slower on the road, but that’s not for me. And cruisers certainly aren’t. I have a mate who has a trackday bike and a big Harley object with panniers and a screen for the road, but I don’t get it. Cruisers for me just say ‘old man’.” Could a tour of Rutland on the Chieftain open his mind to the world of baggers? “That’s almost a car, isn’t it? I’ve never even really been this close to one before, it’s bloody big,” he says. Fairly understandably, Graham’s first introduction to the Indian leaves him a little intimidated by its sheer scale. He’s amused by its features, too. “I don’t think I need to listen to the radio on a ride and while my Aprilia also has cruise control, I have the switch set to operate the anti-wheelie’s level instead.” Putting his rucksack in a pannier (a new experience for Graham) he lifts the Indian off its stand with a grunt and we head up the A1 towards some of the best roads in Rutland. Without any music playing (for now, anyway). “When I first sat on it I felt like I needed to put on a seatbelt, it’s so big and roomy,” are Graham’s first impressions of the Indian. “It’s so comfortable and I can actually see out of the mirrors, which is a new experience for me. “Despite being a bit of a beast when stationary, it’s far more manoeuvrable than I expected at slow speed and as long as you are rolling it doesn’t feel that long or heavy. I’m really surprised. I expected it to be cumbersome, but it isn’t. On the dual carriageway I enjoyed it but the gearbox is so clunky and agricultural compared to my Aprilia with its autoblipper and quickshifter.”
With the dull bit of our ride out of the way, it was time to see if the bagger’s handling and performance would win Graham over on some twisty roads.
“I’m really impressed by how well it pulls when you open it up, it’s not a slow bike and up to 80mph it’s quick. And it stops, the brakes are good, I didn’t expect that at all. Through flowing 60mph corners you can really enjoy it and I’ve now set the stereo to Radio 2 and I’m loving listening to the music as I ride,” he says. “You see the size of the Indian and expect it to be a fight in bends, but it rolls through corners and you can lean it over and enjoy twisty roads. It’s a handful
‘After this, I’d have one in the garage’
stopping at junctions and through town as you can’t filter due to its width, but once moving it’s fun.” So, after a day in the saddle, is Graham tempted to swap his sportsbike for a bagger?
“If I had the money I could now see myself owning a cruiser alongside a sportsbike and that’s something I feel a bit weird saying,” he admits. “Riding one rather than just going on preconceived ideas has been an eye-opener. A sunny evening, kid on the back; they have a place. “While I was happy to get back on my Aprilia, I was certainly surprised by just how good the Indian was. Before today I would never, ever, have considered buying a bagger but while I’d still not give up my RSV4 RF for one, I would happily have a cruiser alongside it in my garage.”