When one thinks of baggers or cruisers, one does not generally think of motorcycles on which they’d attack corners or ride hard. The idea has been touring and to that, the motorcycles before this one have complied or kept up with that but that also made them sort of one-trick ponies. The Indian Challenger Dark Horse that we rode recently has something to say about that. 

American V-twins have always followed a tradition but Indian Motorcycle go out of their way to break the tradition every once in a while. They did that with the FTR 1200, a motorcycle so different from the rest of the stable that it did not feel like an Indian Motorcycle product at all. Now, there’s the Challenger which has a new PowerPlus engine which is… liquid-cooled! It makes a lot of torque like all Indian motorcycles do. Where it differs is that it can be revved hard and high if you want and you have a lot of power as well. 

The venerable Axor Apex gets a carbon fibre shot in the arm with the Axor Apex Gloss Carbon helmet. Bonus… it goes well with this Dark Horse too!

Let us detail the motorcycle for you first. It debuted in 2020 as the brand’s first fixed-fairing bagger. It has a cast-aluminium frame, chassis-mounted fairing, dual discs with four-piston Brembo callipers, and a new 1,768cc PowerPlus engine that makes 122 hp of power and a massive 178 Nm of torque and has rear-cylinder deactivation for added comfort in traffic snarls. 

It is also loaded with tons of touring bits including riding modes, cruise control, keyless ignition, adjustable windscreen, weatherproof saddlebags, all-LED lighting, and the gorgeous 7” RideCommand display. 

The Challenger Dark Horse that we rode is even more bestowed. There’s premium paint and badging, contrast-cut wheels, blacked-out finishing; stuff that is standard with the Dark Horse trim if you have read our reviews of other Dark Horse models. What matters is that it also adds a 6-axis IMU which enables cornering ABS, cornering traction control, drag torque control, and more. Furthermore, in the Dark Horse trim, the RideCommand system gets even more features such as navigation, weather, and traffic overlays. 

Now that was a long introduction but without further ado, we’ll jump right onto the hands-on experience. We have been riding motorcycles from Indian’s stable for a while now but we have not had as much fun… maybe since the first ride of the FTR 1200. In terms of looks, the Challenger is just the right kinda bagger. It exudes dominance with its size, it is oozing presence with its class, and it is just a very well-designed motorcycle. 

The fixed-fairing looks beautiful especially in the Dark Horse trim because it gives more prominence to the headlights. The matte finish really makes those fantastic DRLs pop. Since the engine is liquid-cooled, the radiator has been done nicely as well and those of you who are used to seeing massive fins in the air-cooled models are not going to miss them. The overall silhouette flows nicely. 

Overall, the Indian Challenger Dark Horse is a very handsome and photogenic motorcycle as you can see and we’d say that the touches that come with the Dark Horse trim are worth it. The wheels alone make up for the extra mollah that one has to shell out for it but then again, you get much more than just wheels and a nice paint job. 

Then there’s performance and we have nothing but praise for the new PowerPlus mill. This engine is a gem and there’s no two ways about it. It has that relaxed burble and you can just cruise along all day sitting below 2,000 rpm within open city roads. The heat seemed well-contained for the season but with rear-cylinder deactivation (which works wonderfully), it should not be a problem even in the hotter months of the year. 

The real difference the new engine brings to the fore is when you rev it. Take it to a winding road and just hear and feel it pump power and torque to the rear wheel with gusto. Unlike other similar motorcycles that offer a certain resistance when revved over 3.5-4,000 rpm, this engine lets you cruise to the 6,500 rpm redline like it’s just another day. Considering it is still a near 1.8L V-twin, we’d say that is high praise. 

Coming out of corners, you can grab a handful of gas and the Challenger Dark Horse surges ahead like a motorcycle that does not weigh nearly 400 kilos (381 kg). The electronics help too. The lean-sensitive traction control (thanks to the 6-axis IMU on the Dark Horse) works wonders. Whether you admit it or not, 178 Nm is a lot of torque and no matter how good the Metzeler Cruisetecs are, that kind of torque does make things difficult. 

The traction control intrudes so subtly that you don’t even know that it is working in the background. That can also be because even if it cuts some power, there’s still tons of it being transmitted. The transmission has just the right amount of reassuring clunk to it. The Indian Challenger Dark Horse is also deceptively fast. As you skim through the gearbox, you won’t notice when you get north of 100 kays an hour and further. 

We have been caught off-guard by big burly motorcycles not behaving like big burly motorcycles. A fair chunk of those surprises have come from Indian Motorcycle. But with the Challenger Dark Horse, these folks have outdone a lot of those motorcycles along with themselves. Now, we talked about winding roads, did we not? So let us move on to handling. 

Right off the bat, this is a low-slung and heavily set bagger. Standing still and alone, it weighs more than most motorcycles weigh with a rider and a pillion so let us not be too rowdy. That is how any normal person would approach the Indian Challenger Dark Horse. Fortunately, we have seen the racing series featuring the Indian Challenger and despite it being a racebike, it is still based on this one. So we had to see for ourselves how well it does when pushed a little. 

Now we know that this motorcycle is not aimed at carving corners but we’re just saying that… it can. You can feel that the folks at Indian Motorcycle had a sportier intent for this one. The lean angles you can carry are not astronomical but whatever it manages, it manages them well. In simple terms, it feels confident and not like a drunk hellraiser after a Friday night. The brakes do a stellar job considering the inertia resulting from the weight and the speeds it is capable of. 

The suspension too is nice and progressive. It is compliant enough for bad roads as the Challenger Dark Horse simply glides over those. Yet, the system has enough firmness to support some spirited riding. We love Indian Motorcycle for giving this one more cornering clearance than some other of their motorcycles because this chassis deserves it! It is a fantastic tourer but if you find the right kind of road, it does not inhibit some degree of fast fun either. 

Ergonomically, there is not much to talk about when it comes to motorcycles like the Challenger Dark Horse. The seat feels like a beautiful plush recliner and there’s ample room for you to lay back like you’re watching TV. While you cannot do that, the music system is punchy enough if you want the company of R L Burnside or Johnny Cash during a solitary run up a mountain road. Just picturing that lowers one’s anxiety. 

If I absolutely have to point something out, it is the reach to the handlebars. Not a problem for everyone but shorter riders may feel a little stretched out or have to scoot up the long seat a little. The windshield works fantastically and the luggage space you have with the hard saddlebags is enough for a week-long holiday (if you do not plan to do your laundry). 

The RideCommand system is loaded to the brim and there aren’t a lot of things missing here. Please take a look at all that when you are speccing your own. We had it for not too long and we wanted to enjoy riding it more than fiddling around with the wizardry it is capable of. We have been fans of Indian Motorcycle for a long time now. We had the Chief Vintage in our garage for a long time. Then there was the FTR 1200. 

With the Challenger Dark Horse, Indian Motorcycle are absolutely quashing the notion that baggers and big cruisers can’t turn or they have wooden brakes or they feel like driving a truck with a handlebar. This is a proper motorcycle. A proper modern, capable, and loaded motorcycle. Most importantly though, in being modern, it has not lost the old-school charm that we love these big V-twins for.

Following are some photos from our shoot with the Indian Challenger Dark Horse at the MotoVilla…