Indian Chieftain Dark Horse 2017 First Ride

Design, Styling and features of the Indian Chieftain Dark Horse

 This bike is really huge; it’s almost eight and a half feet in length and has a dry weight of around 362 kilograms. Once you pour in the liquids--your petrol and your oils---this weight could easily go close several kilograms. Add your own weight to that and that of your pillion rider if he or she is riding with you, this could take you well past the 500 kilogram level.  To handle this bike, you not only should have good strength in your arms and legs, but also the rest of your body too.

The Indian Chieftain Dark Horse is really a black stallion. Similar in its appearance to its cousin, the Indian Chief Dark Horse, this one’s also born black and sexy. The Chieftain is a tad heavier than the Chief and has a lot more features too. But what makes this Indian Chieftain Dark Horse quite appealing in its looks is its large front fairing on which is mounted the instrument cluster.

This fairing mounted instrument cluster features an electronic speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge with odometer, dual trip meters with distance and time, average as well as current fuel economy; fuel range; real-time clock; ambient air temperature; gear position display; front and rear tyre pressure and radio information display, among others. For purpose of perfect symmetry, on the petrol tank are two lids, one a dummy and the other on the right hand, the real one.  Apart from the main DRL headlight, there are two more lamps on either side which can be switched on. With all three lights on, the Indian Chieftain Dark Horse surely looks imposing. The motorcycle has 15 LED telltale indicators.

Since it’s an Indian Motorcycle, you cannot miss the images and motif of the Red Indian Chief of yore. The Indian warhead motif is mounted on the front fender of the bike. The acoustically engineered dual exhausts eliminate high-pitched sound. The smart valenced fenders add a lot of charm and utility to the bike. The side saddles can be locked and unlocked through the remote attached to your key. Once you have manually locked the bike, you can use the remote lock to secure it further against any theft. This motorcycle comes with a 100 watt stereo system with two speakers attached on either sides of the front fairing that can play your FM and AM channels as well as stream the music from your smart phone through Bluetooth. .  

Controls on either side of the handle bar help you with audio volumes, radio station search, electronic control of windshield height, high and low beam switch, cruise control and of course your start stop button for the engine. The bike has a horn button too, which once pressed gently can command a lot of respect from those around to give you the right of way which you so rightly deserve!

Performance, ride and handling of the Indian Chieftain Dark Horse

Once you have unlocked the handle bar, all you need to do is put your key in your pocket and start this motorcycle by pressing the tank mounted power button, press down the kill switch, depress the clutch lever and press the start button. The engine roars to life. Before engaging the first gear, you need to pull back your side stand with your foot or else the engine would simply cutoff, a very important safety measure that needs to be there in every bike, big or small. The seating position for the rider in this bike is very comfortable with a seat height of 660mm. The one I rode even had a smart back rest that could be adjusted in two different ways to support your lumber region.

The Indian Chieftain Dark Horse is powered by the trusted Thunder Stroke 111 engine with a displacement of 1811cc, producing enough peak power and torque, so much so that even on 2^nd gear you can pull yourself from a stationery position and get going. The engine produces a peak power of 73 hp at around 5000 rpm while peak torque of 138.9 Nm kicks in as early as 2600rpm.

The Indian Chieftain Dark Horse has a length of 2571mm, width of 1000mm and a height of 1388mm. And because of its large girth, turning the bike does not come easy at all. On a highway, this bike purrs like a tamed cat and leans in corners like a trained athlete, but in crowded streets, it becomes quite irritable. The air cooled engine of this motorcycle does not like crowded streets and bad traffic. The moment the bike encounters that, it heats up like a furious cooker, singeing your legs. It becomes even difficult for the pillion rider in such conditions to enjoy the ride.  

The bike comes with standard ABS, with Dual, 300mm Floating Rotor, 4 Piston Caliper brakes in front and a single, 300mm Floating Rotor, 2 Piston Caliper brakes in the rear which are capable enough to bring this large bike to a halt within reasonable time.

Verdict 

The Indian Chieftain Dark Horse may be quite intimidating to look at, but once it gets on the highway, it’s like a mighty black stallion that goes on galloping without any care in the world. Once you tame it, the world is yours to explore on this mighty cruiser!