This is one of the best reviews I've seen on the Indian Challenger. I ride a 15 CVO road Glide and I must say that I'm totally impressed with this new bike, I will definitely be taking a test ride in the spring as soon as the weather breaks. Thinking I may be jumping to the Indian!!
Well it’s an ok bike if it’s what you want but I did choose the rg limited... and don’t regret it at all I am pushing 10,000 miles just rode today 12-27... buy what you want but to me the bike doesn’t have nearly as good of lines... not as nice color... the limited has water cooled heads lowers and trunk bag that you can’t get without throwing a lot of money at the polaris... I literally just talked to a Polaris dealer and asked because on another thread a no-it-all troll... tells me how you can buy the lowers for your legs and trunk bag and put it on but the dealer said no not yet... let alone paint match... and when you can I’m sure it’s a very pricy add on... just not even close to an equal match rg definitely comes out on top
@@stevexaxa3619 Okay :) Although you're wrong about the cooling at least - the Indian has full liquid cooling. The Harleys have liquid head cooling only. It is true that the lowers and trunk will likely be introduced with a touring version this coming year (much like the Roadmaster was released after the Chieftain even though it was designed beforehand.) Harleys are probably cheaper in some cases, but in my opinion, the Indians have a higher quality. That's just my opinion. You're welcome to yours, and if you're happier with Harley, ride often and ride safe my friend - we should all be able to ride what we like.
The Victory engine was a technology marvel, It had no pushrods, one oil fill, one oil drain plug, easy access oil filter, and simple clutch pack replacement if needed. The Victory was what most motorcycle riders love which is a nearly maintenance-free motorcycle. Indian has used a lot of the Victory engine tech such as the 6 quarts of oil to keep everything lubricated and cool with its large oil cooler up front in combination with air cooling is a win-win. Secondly, the gear drive primary is the main thing Victory & Indian shined with zero maintenance. Harly Davidson is still using the chain primary drive which is problematic, and why they still use it on their new Milwaukee 8 motor is beyond me.
lol, I don't blame you. Next year I'll see what's out there for pipes, as well as a trunk, and I would like a slightly different design on the tank. The pipes, though - I hope V&H can do with this liquid cooled engine what they did with the Victory Octane and the slightly smaller Scout engine, because the V&H Grenades I had on that Octane were just awesome.
You releasing this review is Merry Christmas to me ! Thank you! Merry Christmas to you! I love this bike . Can't wait for it to be offered in a full touring version (trunk, lowers,etc)
Thanks Jim! I appreciate it. I'm also waiting for a few things like that - trunk, and maybe some different tank badging than the painted logo, but overall this thing is really amazing.
Thankyou for taking me on a ride with this vid. It’s such a beautiful stock note, I’d keep it stock. My chief Darkhorse I’ve kept stock love it just the way it is.
Pretty sweet bike, love the liquid cooled feature. If it was available before may have bought instead of my goldwing. Now if they add dct too that would be really cool. Definitely will buy this bike. Will say you do great job with your videos.
I have been riding bikes 46 yrs mostly HDs I just went from an electraglide to a triglide last summer what an over priced piece of junk !!!! November 27th 2020 I test rode and bought a New Indian Challenger and I b am in love!!! Best motorcycle I have ever ridden hands down. Thanks to reviews like yours!!!
I just demoed one yesterday, i mostly agree with your assessment. Great video! P.S. They had one in the showroom with TAB slip ons (zombie baffles) that sounded awesome.
Sweet. Moms in Foxboro. I'll be buying my Indian from them in March. I was leaning to the Chieftain, but I have to demo the Challenger first. I'm starting to really like it from watching RU-vid reviews.
Great Video, I have the exact bike your tested, yes Blue. As mentioned by others I just rolled the bars up and it made a major difference. In addition, I recently added the Indian Stage 1 intake, and waiting on the big brown truck to deliver my TAB BAM Sticks exhaust. One thing you would not know about is that the Challenger headlight sucks. So far 3,000 miles off insane riding with zero issues.
If your only negative is the handlebars to low, they can be adjusted upwards as far as a mini ape position in just a few minutes, and nothing has to be removed. Enjoyed you review. Will be looking and demoing one come this spring.
Great job Ev, love the intro. Haven't ridden it yet, but from what i hear, this bike is amazing. Noticed you kept it in standard mode, if i'm not mistaken, and you were still quite impressed with the power. From what i hear from other vlogs, if you would've went to sport mode, it would've blew your mind.
Thank you, Charlie! Somewhere I do have a clip of me going to Sport mode. I did two rides that day and this was the first. I knew my battery died so I went out and did a second, but decided to use the first clip as it was my true first impression. I didn't keep it in Sport mode for long, because it was really cold that day (in the 30's) and frankly it just felt way too easy to lose traction on such cold roads, but Sport mode's fun! You can, however, achieve the same thing in Standard mode by simply putting some gusto into the throttle twist. Sport mode just makes it easier to motivate the bike with less of a wrist twist :)
I purchased the challenger right off the truck at my dealer, I can’t even ride my chieftain anymore , which sucks... but I did add Indians pipes , which add a nice sound note, and the stage 1 air box , I have over 1000 miles on it, and it’s a really great bike.
i enjoyed you Challenger review and have agree with you on almost everything, I'm a tattooed biker and bought one. I've been riding a 2010 Cross Country for 9 years so I really liked how you noticed the Victory DNA in the Challenger. I can't find a negative thing about the Challenger except maybe accessory pricing, ouch. When Polaris pulled the plug on Victory I started shopping and there wasn't anything out there that could match what Polaris did with the Cross Country, the Indian Challenger was good enough that I have a bike payment again.
Shifting is all about timing your shift with the engine rpm. After riding Harleys I had the same problem when I switched to Victory but now I shift the Victory smoothly with no clunk.
I just did a test ride 2 days ago. Because you placed it in Standard mode the throttle is affected. Sport mode gives you close to instant , If not instant, response. Standard and Rain mode detunes the throttle a little more but doing so really smooths out the acceleration. Rain mode and the clutch combination makes for perfect stop and go traffic situations.
1901 to 1953 , Springfield Massachusetts , the museum is in the old factory. sold to Royal Enfield in England. You should check it out. Some of the most beautiful iron is there. I owned a 1949 scout with a magneto designed by Thomas Edison. Some history there. Also the old Springfield Arm's museum is close by. Go have fun,see what the original Indians looked like.
Merci pour tes commentaires éclairés, cette semaine je vais tester une challenger. Je pense que cela sera ma prochaine moto. Tu as pris des petites routes de campagne, elle a l'air de bien se comporter. Je pense que c'est son moteur qui fait la différence avec la concurrence HD. Bonjour de France.
Excellent video as usual. Assuming you have a cable throttle, it only needs adjusting to take out the play. (Most bikes seem to be delivered with this slack) If the potentiometer is built into the twistgrip, you'll need to ask Indian if there is an adjustment.
Here's a question for you Night.... would you buy the challenger or the chieftain? We don't get the challenger in Aus till March, I have not long ago test ridden an '18 chieftain limited with the 116 big bore kit and wow makes a huge difference. Let me know your thoughts, I'm yet to hear from anyone on the difference
Are the handlebars full chrome tubular? If so, you should be able to loosen the clamps and roll them forward a touch, same as I've done with my Valkyries. World of difference from the way they were set from the previous owners. Due to the fact that all four bars were set the same, I feel they were in the position set up from the dealer. Too low for me. Moved them up about 3-4" and they are perfect.
I demo rode the Challenger last November when it was debuted at the motorcycle show in Long Beach. It’s one hell of a bike and probably what Victory would have made if they still existed. I just wish it wasn’t $30k for the version I would want. The $23k base model is more my price range, but I want the IMU. Need to ride it again. I wouldn’t even consider the Road Glide against this, but for less money I would consider the Road King or Electra Glide Standard. Btw, who does the jazzy intro Christmas song?
Of all the utube videos with people doing test rides or just talking about Indian Motorcycles, this is the guy I listen to and trust. P.S. Adam Sandoval also.
I got to ride the challenger and roadmaster limited at a demo event. I was surprised at the smoothness of the challenger. I did expect it to be faster after watching reviews like this one. Also felt out of tune. Same for the roadmaster, they were fine until higher speeds. Then they felt unsettled to me. But my stock ultra limited was the same way. Stage 2 kit with alot of tuning solved that, as it would for these two. Just don't want to have to add all the parts to these all over again. The roadmaster surprised me at how light it felt. Loved the cooled seat feature and it has a nice rumble to it. That fairing on the challenger takes getting used to. Actually fit me well I even liked the bars. Both are great bikes just not enough for me to trade up yet.
I didn't have any issues with the brakes. On my Chieftain Limited, they can at times feel a little wooden. But these Brembos are awesome. Unfortunately I have no experience with the headlight at night. I was lucky to get through a couple of daytime rides in the low 30's and still be able to form cohesive sentences... lol (if I did...)
Happy New Year! A great way to enter 2020 having watched this video. Last summer, I had.an opportunity to test ride a Gold Wing and I loved everything about it, except the foot position and it was too high for me. I can't wait to take this beauty out for a run next spring! Oh, and thank God I'm not a college drinker anymore. If I did a shot for every time you said "wow" or "this is really nice" I'd have to be admitted to a hospital for alcohol poisoning! 🤣🤣
What mode are you riding in? From my experience any rain or touring modes dumb the throttles way down I haven’t ridden Indians but fjr touring mode or bmw road/rain modes will react exactly as your showing
Interesting. I was in Standard mode here. On other Indians I've ridden, as well as on the FJR I owned, the mode I was in never introduced play at the beginning of the throttle - it only affected the ratio of turn to throttle. But not where the throttle actually began to engage. I'm going to test out other Challengers and see if it's the same across the board.
I thought I loved Victory Motorcycles, until the fuel pump goes out on my 2009 Kingpin. The vic-shop tried to get me to spend, $800 for a newly rebuilt one! Because Victory stopped making parts,way way earlier than they supposed to.
This is in Foxboro, MA. I also have a video called "The Lush Motorcycle Roads of Foxboro, Massachusetts " that you might enjoy, too. It's a trip down these roads with no talking :)
I've owned four Indians and ridden about 40 more. I have always felt maybe 1/8" of play there, but nothing quite like this was. Hopefully it's just a mechanical or software adjustment that can be made. Otherwise I'm sure I'd get used to it over time. Was just odd coming from my Chieftain Limited to this and feeling it being so pronounced.
@@NightcruiserMA I rode my friends and felt the same way. coming from a Harley that has no throttle lag. I think it can be tuned out with a tuner once they come available.
I don't understand why you guys want to make your bikes louder. You're not going to get more horsepower, just noise. I think the factory mufflers are great.
When good pipes are available, when a trunk is available, when the tank badging changes, and when I stop loving my Chieftain Limited :) ...or earlier. Never know with me.
@@NightcruiserMA Any slip on that fits the Chieftain and Roadmaster will also fit the Challenger. Also the Roadmaster trunk will also fit on the Challenger. I think Indian will have the full tour package model out this year, would be stupid to not do so with these things selling really well.
I didn't say it was the fastest bike I've been on. It's not the fastest bike I've been on - it's not even the fastest bike I own (the Aprilia Tuono would take that title.) I owned a Raider for a couple of years. This is faster. I owned an Indian 116 and a Harley 114 - this is faster. I owned a Triumph Rocket III - that was faster... lol. But no - I said this was the smoothest power I'd ever felt, and it is. But I would love to know what other V-twins you can think of that are faster than this 108.
This was an excellent review of the 2020 Challenger. I feel this is one of the best bikes available today. HOWEVER, I would recommend NOT buying a 2020 Challenger until Polaris resolves the issue with misfires in the engine. If you go to indianmotorcycles.net, you will see there are multiple owners that are having issues with the engine (Mainly at idle) shutting off a cylinder and creating misfire codes. After 3 codes are established, the bike will disable itself and can't be started. I hate to sound negative on such a beautiful machine but Polaris is aware of the problem and has yet to resolve it. I'm on my 2nd Challenger now. The dealer took back the first bike at my request. I thought it may be a one off instance but now the 2nd bike has less than 40 miles on it and is doing the same thing. At this point Polaris really needs to do a STOP SALE until this is sorted out. I don't want anyone else spending over $30K only to have your bike sit idle in your garage or at a dealers work bench. Again , just stating facts. I'm confident once they determine if this is software or ECM related, it will one of the best baggers ever !
@@NightcruiserMA - I spoke with Hunter today @ Polaris CS and he confirms since they received 3 bikes back from various dealers, they were able to source the problem and a software update is being developed by their engineers. I'm sure once this update is completed we will be able to enjoy this fine machine from Indian. Again, not all machines had a problem. Only a small percentage but I would give it some time to make sure the fix is permanent.
bbgmarine I went through this issue on my challenger, it was an issue that was taken care of in a few days, it seemed a programming issue, but I haven’t had anymore problems once it was taken care of, and I’ve got over 1000 miles on it now, I purchased the first one off the truck.
@@scottphillips5388 -That is reassuring sir. I hope they get that update out soon. My bike is identical to the one in the video. I was the first to purchase in the state of Georgia. Can't wait to get it on the road again !
It’s been addressed. The bikes were coming off the line with throttle bodies out of sync. Indian is not different than any other manufacturer they have issues from time to time, but they do address them.
Wait a min. Aren’t you in rain mode this whole ride? If you’re praising the bike this much while in rain mode then Oh boy I can’t wait. And I agree with the bars. Stock is way to low and the high reach bars are way to high. Need something right in between.
lol, nope, I was in Standard mode, which is in between Rain and Sport. The bars are certainly an issue, yes. For me, the Road Glide gets that right with bar height and with the sweep back angle.
It is almost funny with a normally metric rider type acts Amazed with the power. Riding a Big Dog since '01, 117 hp and 127 lbs of torque, power is NORMAL.
I wasn't familiar with Big Dog so I looked them up. They look really cool (though I don't think the suspension and handling would quite work for me.. lol.) Nice bikes! Yeah, in the world of non-custom American cruisers/baggers/tourers, this bike is exceptional in it power.
While i enjoyed the description of the power- The description of all the electronic traction control crap and the electronic touch control screen was so repulsive. I would prolly never buy something like that because i personally enjoy an old school experience riding a bike
Put Indian bags (round tops) and the Trunk from the Roadmaster, and I would be interested. The technology doesn't make up for the unforgiveable HD looks!
ONE INDIAN WOMAN SHE MAY REMAIN REMOVE HER WOMBAT GERSHOM ELIZAR A grateful Jethro gives Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage, despite their religious differences. They marry and have two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. A few years later, after God speaks to Moses through a burning bush, Moses sets out with his family to return to Egypt to free his people from slavery.Jan 25, 2008 U.S. News & World Report › articles Zipporah May be Obscure, but the Wife of Moses Mattered | Politics | US News
A bike should never have a screen like that.At least for me..Takes away the freedom and metal and gas feeling.I liked the review but I’m not a fan of the bike it’s bulky and very unattractive..especially the front end it looks like a fat moped.
@@NightcruiserMA oh I most certainly understand, LOL. I think you may be mistaken. I have ridden all of them and understand them. Thanks for your input though.
The good news for us is that it's no Road Glide. The good news for you is that from a red light, you'll only see the back of this Indian, and briefly at that :)
@@frankmc5112 Well, you made your thoughts known, so I thought I'd give you the win-win situation. Silly me for thinking that things like weight, torque and horsepower would effect performance :) Anyway, thanks for watching/commenting!
