Neil Murray
New Indian gets a whopper engine plus loads of new tech
‘Serious speed for less money? Bag a ZZR600’’
‘It takes the Chieftain and turns it up to 11’
Indian have unveiled a host of updates for their ‘heavyweight’ models including the massive new Thunder Stroke 116 engine. The real star of the show is the new Roadmaster Dark Horse. The firm have had huge success giving their Dark Horse treatment to other models, dropping the chrome and tassels for something a bit more toned-down for us Europeans. Continuing this theme is the new Roadmaster that effectively takes the Chieftain and turns it up to 11. This means that it has the new angular look with streamlined style, tapered panniers, 19in front wheel, a ‘gunfighter’ seat (we have no idea either) and a blacked out finish with a subtle hint of chrome. What differentiates the Roadmaster from the Chieftain is the addition of the ‘touring trunk’ (a top box to you and me), lower fairings to protect the rider’s legs, a taller electronically adjustable windscreen and heated grips as standard. Naturally, to keep something like this moving it needs a big motor, which is fortunate because Indian have got a new one of those too.
The Dark Horse is powered by Indian’s new air-cooled 1901cc V-twin, helping it to push torque up to 126ftlb. There’s no power figure, American big twin makers often hold this back, but assuming a similar rev limit to the old model we’d expect power to hover just shy of 90bhp. The engine also features in other models including the Springfield and Chieftain. The Roadmaster, as well as the other big tourers, will get a brand new Ride Command satnav system which features both traffic and weather overlays on the map, and can also plan the ride to avoid both. The new Roadmasterwill be available from Feb/March.