Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/498661
2015 INDIAN CHIEF VINTAGE RIDING IMPRESSION P126 door. CN SPECIFICATIONS 2015 INDIAN CHIEF CLASSIC ENGINE: Liquid cooled 4-stroke 2-valve DOHC V-twin DISPLACEMENT: ............................. 1811cc Bore x stroke: 65 mm x 42.5 mm HORSEPOWER: N/A TORQUE: ................ 119 ft-lbs @ 3000rpm COMPRESSION RATIO: ..................... 9.5:1 FUEL SYSTEM: ..............EFI, twin 54 mm throttle bodies IGNITION: ............................................ Key TRANSMISSION: .......................Six-speed FRAME TYPE: ........................Steel cradle FRONT SUSPENSION: .....46mm inverted forks. Non-adjustable REAR SUSPENSION: ............ Monoshock, preload adjustable FRONT WHEEL TRAVEL: ................. 4.7 in. REAR WHEEL TRAVEL: .................... 3.7 in. FRONT BRAKE: ........Twin 300mm discs, four-piston calipers REAR BRAKE: ......... Single 300mm disc, twin-piston caliper FRONT TIRE: ............... Dunlop American Elite 130/90B16 67H. REAR TIRE: .........Dunlop American Elite 180/65B16 81H. WHEELBASE: ................................. 68.1 in. RAKE: .................................................. 29° TRAIL: ..................................................N/A SEAT HEIGHT: ..................................26 in. WET WEIGHT, NO FUEL: ..............801 lbs. FUEL CAPACITY: .......................... 5.5 gal. COLOR: ........ Thunder black, Indian red, willow green/ivory cream, Indian red/ ivory cream, Indian red/thunder black MSRP: .......................................... $20,999 looking) across the machine. It's like the designers just want to make 37 times sure you and everyone around you know what you're riding. Yet somehow this extreme branding doesn't feel overpowering, just very notice- able. If they put the word Indian on the underside of the panniers then that's it, too far. But on the other side that branding makes the Indian proud to be what it is. This is a bike with its own personality, it's a bike that looks and feels like it has been here all along and yet we've somehow missed it. For me, my two-week date with the Indian Chief Vintage highlighted both the good and annoying side of a cruiser. Sadly, Annabelle's critique of the passenger seat is best left unmentioned so if I were to buy this machine it'd be one for me, rather than the two of us. That's really where this bike excels—as a single rider cruiser with a cou- ple of full saddlebags. There are plenty of other bikes out there that accompany a pillion better than an Indian Chief Vintage. I can't help but feel a certain subjective passion for this bike— probably more than anything as it served as our introduction to this incredible country—but also because the more I ride it, the more I get this style. I'm probably a few years off from owning an Indian myself, but I can certainly see the appeal in having that famous war bonnet staring back at me when I open the garage