VOLUME 57 ISSUE 17 APRIL 28, 2020 P65
SPRINGFIELD
DARK HORSE
The least expensive way to get into
the new 116 is this new stripped
bad boy bagger. It's also the best
way to feel the lively motor at work.
On a heavier bike, it'll mostly just
pass trucks and pull hills more
insistently.
The Springfield Dark Horse is
decidedly different from its base
model. The Springfield is a mid-
century modern nostalgia ma-
chine, with the fully skirted fenders
Indian is known for, old-school
windshield and retro furniture.
Even its nostalgia is old fashioned,
looking very much the part of a
1990s cruiser. The Dark Horse ver-
sion keeps the same basic bones
(a fairingless hard bags bagger) but
turns it on its nose in 21st-century
style: Slick design, blacked out
everything, mag wheels, sleek sad-
dlebags and no windshield at all.
Instead, fists are raised in the air
with a pair of (basically) legal ape
hangers. With the Thunderstroke
116, the Springfield Dark Horse has
six percent more torque and seven
percent (45 pounds) less weight
than the Springfield.
Just due to that light weight
(okay, 758 pounds isn't really light,
but relatively), it's the most fun
you'll have on a Thunderstroke.
The rigid aluminum frame does a
good job keeping everything where
it belongs while looking like a
conventional steel frame. The triple
black paint (gloss, satin and matte)
makes a playground for the eyes.
The tucked in saddlebags give a
good dose of usefulness. For a
company that makes less than five
frames, this is a good departure for
Indian. With a smaller, less ornate
seat, less complicated paint, no
windshield and briefer fenders, it
does create one of those odd situ-
ations where a company seems to
be charging more for less. In the
name of fashion.
Springfield Dark
Horse is easily the
most entertaining of
the Indian Baggers,
and it's got nothing
to do with the (lack
of) audio.
