All Hail The Indian Chief!

It is hard to overlook the significance of the Indian Chief in bringing the American giant back to life. It was the first motorcycle that Polaris sought to begin its ownership stint of Indian in 2013. Even though the clan of Indian Motorcycles has grown since then, the Chief remains an important model. After giving it no updates whatsoever for nearly two years, Indian has revitalised its icon. The 2022 Chief is finally here. It will be available in three distinct flavours: Dark Horse, Dark Horse Bobber, and Super Chief Limited.

Also Read: Speed-Sensitive Cornering Lights On A Motorcycle? Yep, The Future Is Here

All three variants share the same chassis and motor but where they differ is in their appeal to the cruiser buyer. The Chief Dark Horse is a blacked-out barebones neo-retro cruiser in the series, kitted with alloy wheels, a flat handlebar, and neutral-set footpegs. The Bobber takes a more traditional approach with spoke rims, mini ape hangers, and forward-set footpegs.

Then there’s the seemingly large Super Chief Limited, replete with a large windshield, laidback bars, floorboards, and even pillion seating. Since it doesn’t have the words ‘Dark’ and ‘Horse’ in its name, it also gets blingy chrome engine bits.

It isn’t all old school and spartan as it might seem at first glance. It gets LED lighting all around, which looks similar to the ones from the FTR 1200 (know about its 2022 iteration here). It also features a 4-inch round touchscreen info cluster enabled with smartphone connectivity.

Get latest updates on
the automobile community

Login Now

The tubular steel double cradle frame houses the Thunderstroke 116ci engine. This 1,890cc big-bore air-cooled V-twin churns out a gut-wrenching 162Nm at 3200rpm. A six-speed transmission comes mated to this behemoth of an engine with three ride modes: sport, standard and tour. Cruise control and dual-channel ABS is standard.

The foundations of the three Chief trims remain more or less identical. All three are sprung by the same 46mm conventional telescopic fork and gas-charged preload-adjustable twin shocks. Even the braking hardware is common: 300mm rotors at both ends of the bike anchored by a single four-piston caliper at the front and a twin-piston caliper at the rear.

They differ in terms of front wheel sizes. The Dark Horse employs a 19-inch rim while the other two make use of a 16-incher. The rear 16-inch wheel remains standard across the variants. These wheels come wrapped with Pirelli Night Dragon rubber.

We guess the Indian Chief will arrive on our shores by September 2021. Expect prices to start from Rs 22 lakh (ex-showroom India), which would make them quite pricey.