2016 INDIAN SPRINGFIELD
FIRST RIDE
P72
W
hen Polaris reincarnated Indian
Motorcycle at Sturgis a couple
of years ago, much of the talk
among those of us lucky enough to
test ride all three of the then-new
Chiefs—the standard Classic, the
bagged and shielded Vintage, and the
faired Chieftain—centered around the
irony that the Chieftain, the largest and
heaviest of the three, was actually the
best-handling bike in the line, due to
its sharper rake and shorter wheel-
base. Where the Classic behaved
just as most of us anticipated—strong,
long, and solid—the hard-bagged
Chieftain defied expectations by being
surprisingly nimble and maneuverable,
and far more fun to twist through the
Black Hills curves than its brethren. If
there were ever a bagger that de-
served to be called "flickable," surely
the Indian Chieftain was it.
BY JON LANGSTON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BARRY HATHAWAY AND BRIAN J. NELSON
You might
think that the
Springfield is just
a Chief Vintage
with molded
bags and a
windshield,
think again.
U N M I S T A K A B L Y
