I was eye balling a Road King Special. Test road it a few times, even rented one from a guy for a weekend. I test rode this SDH back in November and bought it immediately. It handles SO much smoother and it is 30 lbs. lighter! For me (at 5'8") the footboards are just fine. It has more then enough STOCK power, that I don't need to do a stage this that or the other. ABS, ride modes, remote locking bags are all standard on this Indian SDH. The only thing that the Road King had over this was the headlight, so it was my first upgrade (Hogworkz). LOVE THIS BIKE!
I was blown away at the overall package, that's why I said if I'd taken the Springfield DH for a test ride before I'd bought my Road King that I'd have bought it instead. Indian has come a long way & I think they make great bikes. Enjoy that SDH!
The Springfield is a sweet bike. Indian has the torque monster engine with the Thunder Stroke. They feel lighter due to the weight displacement of the entire bike. I think many are afraid of test riding Indians cause they know they will love it and buy one. Your foot placement is different than your road king yes but once you get use to the Indian you will feel the need to have one in your collection.
Congratulations! The Chieftain DH was a favorite of mine as far as Indians I've ridden & very comfortable. I still say Indian makes the best OE seats in the industry. Honestly, I'm not sure if I bought an Indian with a Thunderstroke that I'd even need to swap out the exhaust, just pleasant bikes all the way around and they've only become better over the years!
Yeah, they didn't have a regular Springfield available or I'd have ridden that instead. I've ridden my cousin's Low Rider S with the 114 so I know the engines will be comparable. The Road King Special however comes with less suspension travel, which causes many to swap it out/upgrade it immediately. I've yet to ride an Indian with a suspension that didn't feel "nice". Of course, I'm a Harley guy, so I'll continue to suffer out of love for the MoCo.
Not gonna lie, I liked the normal springfield better than the dark horse and both of them better than harleys. if i hadnt just bought a scout rogue i would have been on a springfield.
I had the 2020 and instead of that power port on the gas tank it was a power button. The longest ride I took from Whittier California to Idaho 15 hours straight and on the way back 18 hours straight and not a problem. I just hate the digital fuel gauge and really liked the analog fuel gauge because the digital goes to low mode and you don't know how much you have. I did have the quick release windshields different sizes and always hated the way it looked on it. I did trade it in at $37,000 mi in 2 years for a 2023 chieftain limited which is almost exact same bike but with the entertainment system that is pretty cool but I do ride with the full face helmet. And the biggest gripe I do have with this new bike is it only has the digital fuel gauge so when I fill up for that 5.5 gallon tank it tells me I have 209 mi range but then at about 180 mi I will go get fuel and I'll be almost at 5.2 gallons is the most I've done. That's at 35 plus miles per gallon I do live in California and take freeways and streets so I'm hard on the throttle. I used to touring mode in the rain and I really never touch the sport mode. I just wish I had a 6 gallon tank and a analog fuel gauge. But for the futures the one that makes me happiest is when I'm on the street and I have the cylinder shut down mode keeps my legs nice and cool while sitting at a light. I do wish they had forward controls cuz I do not like the floorboards because I have a size 13 and I wear boots and I'm 6'3.
It sounds like it was a dependable bike to live with. It seems every bike with a digital fuel gauge never gets it quite right, so I can't really fault Indian for that. I wonder what others are getting fuel economy wise on Indian baggers?
It's a great bike to ride though, very well sorted. It handles great, the engine is comparable, and it'll do everything the Road King will. The suspension was better, the SDH wins that category. My only real complaint was the foot positioning, but yeah, I didn't like looking at it as much either. Something about how the neck connects to the frame and how much is showing in front of the tank. Thank you for watching!
