I ride the 2019 Chieftain (since December) and am super happy that I bought it. I did have to add mid rise bars to get the ergonomics right for me, and added a heel shifter. The handling is outstanding and the features are unbeatable for a stock bike. I've put over 5000 miles on it in a few months and it just gets better and I love it more with every mile! (I'm a previous Harley owner for many years)
I just bought a 2019 Chief vintage. I had a Honda Fury before this bike. I test rode some Harleys and test rode the Chief. I like the torque and handling on the Indian much more than Harley. The Harleys feel heavy and the handling feels heavy. The Indian is 850 pounds and feels light and nimble.
You can add heel shift. I did and love it. It also has rear cylinder deactivation to reduce heat in traffic. Suspension is amazing. You pump it with air according to your weight and payload.
Fair review. I used to have Harley and my last Harley was 2018. Sold it and got the same one you tested on this video. I think no body will be completely satisfied with any bike. If we talk about the Indian Chieftain Dark Horse cons you have mentioned, heel shifter Harley removed it from the 2020 models. Is it something to worry about , no. I removed my heel shifter when I had Harley and I don't like them. Also most of the Harley even before they take the bike from the dealership they spend a lot of money to modify it. I remember I spent almost 20k on my bike , new seat , air suspension , upgrade pipe , air intake , upgrade cam etc.. I agree with you that the Indian accessories are expensive but they are really high quality plus one of the main issue you have to work hard to find after market accessories and upgrade parts. I think this is the most well balanced bike I have ever own. Very light and I rod in few twisty road and it felt great. Good video and well done. Thanks
We've got TONS of aftermarket support. Hell Lloydz even makes a super charger kit for our bikes :D, and cams, and air intakes, and big bore kits. Wimmer Custom Cycle makes amazing intakes for hell of a lot cheaper than anyone else on the market.
I don't agree with the salesman when he said the Indian likes 4th gear when cruising, I am on my second Indian (Chieftain & Springfield). When I'm doing 30 mph, I am in 5th. When I hit 40 then I go to 6th. The Indians have enough low-end torque that the bike reacts great at those shift points.
Depends if they’re running stage 2 cams or lloydz cams. If so, you need to stay above 2000 rpm as a minimum. But if we’re talking stock motor then yeah you can log the heck out of it
I have a 2019 Chieftain base model, which I have added stage 1 exhaust, gps, tpms, a heated seat, heated grips, different windscreen, and several blacked features ( mirrors , headress, etc.) to. All for a total price less than the dark horse. Love the handling, suspension, and engine (read sport mode). Currently in the process of swapping out the handlebars for dirty bird apes (short). The adjustable windscreen is just the best. Thanks for your honest review, keep up the good work!
My wife test road the 2018 Chieftain elite. she had a 2016 SGS and hands down loves the Indian. So guess what we now have the Indian in the garage I will never get her back on a Harley. I have a brand new 2019 SGS 114 and I would say the 114 has more torque than the 111. like anything. there are things I like about the Indian and things I like about the Harley. both great touring bikes. I will say the Indian has the better suspension hands down.
Looking to upgrade from Sport Glide to either Street Glide or Chieftain Dark Horse. Everyday commuting and long distance 2 up riding. Such a tough decision!
I went from a couple of gold-wings, to a couple of Harley electra glide classics. Now I have a 2019 Indian Chieftain Dark horse, and just like he said, it doesn’t feel as heavy, it’s well balanced, it’s quick especially in sports mode. I love it, I’ll never buy another Bike
I just test rode a 2019 Cheiftain with the 116, Rinehart 2 into 1 headers and a different cam. This bike makes my Vic Magnum seem like a log wagon but my Vic (stage 3 with Llyods cams but just a 106) would absolutely smoke the Indian. The Indian was a nice ride but I still like to ride like my hair is on fire. The Indian is fun until you run out of power at 3,500 rpms. Long live Victory!
You test rode an Indian that has their stock fuel/air mapping that they neuter the bike to make it seem like their performance upgrades like intake and exhaust actually do anything. Run a fuel mapping from Jamie at Fuel Motto and you'll see what the bike is actually made up. Cubic inches more or less don't mean the bike it going to be faster, but you're comparing a bike with beefy cams to a bike that doesn't and that's just ignorant.
I live in the UK and considering going for a Chieftain. The only concern I have is with my local HD group we have weekly organised ride events which I value but not sure about Indian
Like you I also ride a 19 SGS. I love my Bike. I think Indian has a good product here, with great technology. Its just not for me. I like the style and look of my SGS better. I do wish mine had some of the features like tire press sensor. Have you done any mods to your bike Hegshot?
Just watched your review. Thanks a lot. I'm picking a 2019 up tomorrow in Los Angeles. I like different was looking at Street Glides as well. Recently sold my 2016 Victory Cross Country. Looking forward to owning a Chiefton.
Excellent, honest review by a Harley rider. Later in the year they are coming out with a new water cooled Power Plus motor mated to a fixed fairing tourer. I am a dedicated orphan Victory rider so I just suffer in silence. Again, great review.
And that over-expensive rear sissy bar you mentioned... is just effin' UGLY! If I was looking to get a sissy bar on ANY of the Indian cruisers/baggers, I'd DEFINITELY be going aftermarket.
Dale Kidd I got a nice back rest and pad with luggage rack (both removable) via VicBagger.com for my 2019 Indian Chieftain Darkhorse thunder smoke black. Reasonably priced.
Thanks for the video, really considering a 2020 Indian Chieftain Ltd, I currently ride a 2014 HD Roadking, I agree the handling on the Indian is incredible considering the weight! I'm fairly confident the mono-shock suspension has a lot to do with handling characteristics.
Great dictation of your test ride! I am not big on Indian styling either but they are nice bikes and a lot of people like them. Keep the vids coming...
They kinda sound like the Rineharts. A lot of Indian dealers sell those directly in the shop because they just work with the bike stock without needing to flash the computer.
American Bikerr meh. Rob is cool af. Everyone else lives on a different planet. After buying 3 bikes from them you can call me stupid, but never again.
I’m looking to pick one up this summer. I really like the color on this one. I took a 2018 model out for a test ride but it didn’t have the riding modes. So I guess that starting 2019 and up?
Looking to make a first time purchase of the 2019 Dark horse in 2020.Had a bike in '71,a Norton,but never had much time to ride.Now I got the rest of my life to do nothing but...................this seems to be the best for the ride.Great granddaughter of Alphonso Merkel it's time to get my hair in the air.Next, I start hunting down those who can do a few modifications to this baby.Think I'm nuts? I was thinkin' of returning to the Yukon River ,probably get 'et ,by a bear.LOL.............Thank you for the review and your insight on some options..............leave comments, thanks..........lolly
I like looking at reviews of the Indians but I noticed right away is the import look . Front fairing, bags short and rounded at the back and the trim is just odd looking . I ride harleys and own an r1 rocket but as far as looks and quality and detail , harley has it . Harley davidson doesn't have mercy on customers when it's time to pay up so they need to watch themselves before the big hurt comes back
This was refreshing! We really enjoyed your honest review. We are getting a Springfield Dark Horse to replace our '05 Kawi VN2K. We struggled to imagined that we'd find something to replace the visceral snarl and torque-y adrenaline rush of our modded VN2K. Hubby tested several cruiser/baggers to get to that decision. We will mod performance on the Springfield, but otherwise no fairing, no electronic stuff for us. Just a windscreen, a few comforts for 2-up treks and the road. The two of us agree that the Indian rider culture and the no pressure, genuine and friendly response of Showroom staff is what COMPLETELY CEMENTED this choice. We were treated incredibly well at the showroom locations up here. We were offered several bikes to try on our own. The Owner at C & E in Auburn California generously offered us his Roadmaster to test. Big shout out to Carlo and Emma Lujan at C&E Indian in Auburn California.
Small world! I test rode a 2019 Indian Chieftain Ltd at C&E in Auburn two weeks ago! You are so right, great friendly staff and the loop was perfect for a test ride. Through some twisties then a nice stretch of open road really let you feel what the bike can do. I am almost sold, was hoping to get more on my trade (2014 HD RK) we'll see. Thanks for sharing your experience.
One of the things you mentioned that's kept me away from the brand is the cost of accessories, the small aftermarket and virtually nonexistent used parts market via Craig's list, FB marketplace etc., where your HD choices are virtually limitless. A lot of HD owners will pull all their aftermarket "farkels" before selling or trading and list for sale in like new condition at tremendous savings. And you're right for $27K we get passenger pegs? C'mon Polaris, do better.
Small aftermarket? We've got a literal shit ton of aftermarket support. Lloydz alone makes everything performance related from cams to a supercharger kit. Dirty Bird, we've got like 15 different exhaust companies. Wheels, fairings, seats, sissybars, intakes, lights, you name it we have aftermarket for it, even the windshields, hell we got a guy that basically makes a semi truck horn for it too. Here's our master list we've been building over the years: www.indianmotorcycles.net/threads/indian-links-master-list.269308/
As an Indian owner you are spot on about accessories from Indian. They are RIDICULOUS. The aftermarket is also expensive and real limited. The other negative you didn't mention (I'm sure you didn't notice in your test ride) is the HEAT. Even with rear cylinder deactivation it STILL runs hot in traffic. On highway it's irrelevant but in stop and go it can be horrible. Those are my only negatives. I also HATE the new bags but I have the previous style so I'm good. Lol. Fair good review.
Aftermarket is not limited. Anything you could possibly need aftermarket for we have. Hell, Lloydz even makes a supercharger kit for us. Expensive? Hardly. Hell I replaced all 3 front lights on my springfield with awesome LEDs for 200 bucks. www.indianmotorcycles.net/threads/indian-links-master-list.269308/
Lloydz makes stuff for a reasonable price. The stuff from Indian is over priced. That is because they aren’t making a killing off of their bikes like Harley does. The internals of the Indians are much better then what Harley uses.
Thanks Heg, how are the gear ratios compared to your HOG ? Does it get comparable gas mileage ? Does it have air-ride adjustable suspension on the rear ? J K
The SGS and the Chieftain get comparable mileage. One note is that the SGS has a 6 gallon tank and the Chieftain only has a 5.5 gallon tank so the range is about 35 to 40 miles less per tank on the Indian. You have 3" of suspension travel on the SGS and about 5ish " on the Indian stock bike to stock bike.
Great review! I really love the looks of 3 bikes. This one here, the new street glides and the victory Magnum X1, too bad only used options available now. Next year is going to be a fun year test riding these. Also Indian Challenger fixed fairing coming out...
Nice review. I'm just not into the looks of the indian. The bobber is probably the nicest looking indian but for me I just prefer the styling of the Harley. Take care and ride safe!
Nice review I have a question I have a 2018 Road Glide special with a stage 3 kit 114. You have a 19 sgs with a 114 performance wise what do you think with the Indian torque wise and performance I know Indian has a 111 but stock to stock 114 does it feel the same or you say Harley is better
I did a test ride on a Springfield a couple of years ago. One con was it was a short shifter, in other words. The revs was quick and you shifted alot . Compared to a hd roadking with a 107. Did you find the same on this? In sport mode, was the power delivery equal to the streeglide? Great review comparison on it & the hd. Enjoyed the video.
I had a 2015 Indian roadmaster. It had a 5.5 gallon tank. I did the Indian stage 2 cams. From what I remember I got around 40 mpg. Not bad for a 930 pound bike.
What highschool did you drop out of that you come up with that bullshit number? Even at an almost high of 10% sales tax you're still under 30K. Indian doesn't have that much for Dealer fees.
