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T here are many amazing facts surrounding the re-birth of Indian Motorcycle as a substan-tial, for-real marque (as opposed to other doomed attempts) but here are the two most important ones.

The Polaris Group, manufacturer of Victory Motor-cycles, announced the purchase of the Indian brand in April, 2011. It showed off a complete running engine less than 12 months ago. And it unveiled the first production models in August of this year. By my count, that is two years and four months to design and build a brand new motorcycle from scratch. Hell, Harley-Davidson took over four years to complete the update on their Touring range!

Add in the fact that Polaris was dealing with an iconic brand held in reverence by a very twitchy enthusiast group (Indian riders regard themselves as ‘keepers of the flame’) who are completely one-eyed, meant they had to get it right, first time. The world was watching.

The second amazing fact is the most amazing of all. The new Indian is brilliant. It

shines in every area, it gladdens the hearts of everyone who sees

it, even people who don’t ride motorcycles, and it is great

to ride. It has a big, torquey 111 cube motor which sounds like distant cannonfire. It has a brand new chassis that boasts class leading suspension travel and excellent brakes. And it is big techno-credentials, with all the electronic rider aids you expect: ABS, EFI, cruise control, keyless start and, on the top of the range Chieftain, tyre pres-sure monitoring, a power windscreen, remote bag locking and a 100 watt stereo with Bluetooth connectivity for iPod and smartphones.

Exactly 10 days after returning a 2014 Ultra Classic to H-D headquarters in LA, I was headed north to the Tweed Valley to finally ride the new Indians. My heart was full of happy Harley memories after a 4000 kay run across Route 66, but my head was keenly anticipating the new bikes.

After an introduction to the range by Gary Gray, the chief (geddit?) development engineer for Indian, we settled in over a beer to discuss the new bikes.

Their presentation and marketing is remarkable, given this is a brand new project, bearing a very

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indian road test

Indian had to nail the styling first time and they succeeded. This a clay model taking shape.

old name. Polaris is a 3 billion dollar company, best known for off-road recreational and agricultural vehicles and, since 1998, makers of Victory Motor-cycles.

Victory builds solid, well-engineered and rider friendly bikes that are world class in all areas. They have improved over the years to the point where they probably can’t get much better. I have visited the factory where they are built, in Spirit Lake, Iowa. And, between Doc and I, we have put more miles on them than the majority of owners ever will. They are a great bike.

But they haven’t inspired the kind of passion needed to sell in large numbers. Polaris knows this, although you will never hear a quote confirming it.

Enter Indian. The famous marque has been dead on its feet since the early ’50s. Various attempts to keep it alive over the last few years have failed, not for a lack of enthusiasm but more for a lack of money. It takes big bucks, such as Polaris has, to get a project this size on it’s feet.

So, it was mutual love. Indian as a brand needed some financial muscle and Polaris needed a strong name to give it credibility in the marketplace and battle Harley-Davidson on its own turf. Because that is the aim, make no mistake.

The next day was bright, sunny, warm and beautiful and the display of Indians lined up at the entrance to our resort was dazzling. The three models, Classic, Vintage and Chieftain in three colours, red, blue and black, made for a kind of retro heaven. They are a very likeable bike to look at. The design team, headed by Greg Brew, a very clever bloke, have done a kick-ass job. All the famous Indian trademarks are on display: the swooping fenders, warbonnet fender emblem, luxurious, saddle-leather seat and of course, on the Vintage model, fringes. Lots of them and you can add more if you’re so inclined. Just go to the already substantial Accessories catalogue.

My first bike was a black Chief Classic, which is about as good looking as they get and it lifted off the stand nice and easy. Thumbing the start button

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from left below: the leather used in the seat and saddlebags is of furniture quality. the Indian trademark is everywhere along with lashings of chrome (below).

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revealed a sweet, mellow note, with very little in the way of mechanical noise. The motors have double layer rocker box covers to keep heat and cacophony inside and it works well. We headed out onto the beach road at a subdued speed and it was quickly apparent how nicely planted the Chief felt. Low speed roundabouts were a breeze, a result of the sharp steering and perfect throttle response off-idle.

Once out on the open road we opened up the taps and the big Chief thundered ahead. Indian claims 119ft/lbs of torque which is ballpark for a 111ci motor but it’s available everywhere, from an 800rpm

“The momenT I TIpped The bIg ChIefTaIn InTo

a Corner I loved IT. IT sTeers wICked fasT

for suCh a bIg bIke and IT hangs on lIke a kId

To a sTICky lolly ...”

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idle to the 5500 redline. Sheer grunt. Nice.The 49 degree V-twin is a brand new unit construc-

tion design using a tri-cam set-up. That is, three camshafts with the central one driven from the crank which, in turn, operates the two outside cams . This was intended not simply as a more efficient way to operate the cams but to enable a straight pushrod path to the rockers. Integral to the Indian ‘look’ are the parallel pushrod tubes that were a part of the original sidevalve design. A tri-cam setup allows that to happen.

The engine also features exhaust headers that exit on a straight path down from the exhaust valves. (It actually doesn’t, but you wouldn’t know from a casual glance.) Clever design again.

Meanwhile power is transmitted to the gears by a direct drive clutch basket and the oil tank is at the back of the engine. Very efficient and compact.

Now, there are no common parts between Victory and Indian but it’s not hard to work out why the Chief is such a sweet handler. The frame is manu-factured from cast alloy with an integrated airbox, the same as Victory touring models.

Polaris has a lot of experience building this style of frame and that shows in the most excellent suspen-sion which soaked up some big hits on the gnarly backroads outside Murwillumbah. We stopped for photography and a bike swap and that’s where I got a bit gobsmacked.

Because I hadn’t paid much attention to the Chief-tain to that point. No reason really, I guess I was a little enchanted with the unfaired Chief. That soon changed.

The moment I tipped the big Chieftain into a corner I loved it. It steers wicked fast for such a big bike and it hangs on like a kid to a sticky lolly. Such a surprise and it instantly leaped to number one spot in my mind. I came back to the group grinning like I was in love.

The Chieftain frame runs 25 degrees of rake as opposed the Chief’s 29 degrees and 150mm of trail compared to the Chief’s 155mm. It also has a 42mm

The pannieres are simplicity itself to remove and hold plenty of gear.

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shorter wheelbase. It doesn’t sound like a big change but it makes a big difference in the handling. The Chieftain also boasts another winning feature: the power adjustable screen. It’s easy to scoff, as they are not too common on motorcycles. BMW has one on its big tourers, and so does Honda, and there are probably others. But the thing is, it works. Remark-ably well, actually. Simply sit on a steady speed and play with the height until it sits where you want it. Fully lowered, it sat just below my eyeline which was perfect. Fully raised was like sitting behind a car windscreen. We didn’t strike rain but it would be very good in bad weather.

As the miles progressed it became clear that this is an astonishingly good bike from a mechanical viewpoint alone. It steers, handles, brakes and accel-erates with the authority and assurance that would normally come with several years of development. And it looks every inch an Indian, with all the sophis-ticated appeal that the brand is famous for.

The diehard Indian guys will love it because they have waited for 60 years for a new one. And bagger riders will be drawn to the Chieftain, with its hard bags, screen and high-spec audio.

The Indian range comes with a two year/unlimited kilometre warranty with roadside assistance. They are available in three colours: Thunder Black, Indian Red and Springfield Blue, the latter two being tradi-tional Indian colours.

The Chief Classic retails for $28,995, the Chief Vintage, with leather saddlebags and screen for $31,495 and the Chieftain is $35,995. All prices are rideaway.

I loved my time on the new Indians and I’m looking forward to another ride soon. Indian makes no bones about whose backyard it is playing in and its marketing model is almost identical to the well-established Milwaukee one. I doubt Indian will knock H-D off its long-held perch but, like a good welterweight boxer, it will land some telling punches on the heavyweight Harley. In the end we, the riders, are the winners.

Let the battle begin anew! HD