2020-01-01_Motorcycle_Trader

SPECS

INDIAN CHALLENGER

LIMITED/DARK HORSE

ENGINE

TYPE: Liquid-cooled, SOHC,

60-degree V-twin

CAPACITY: 1768cc (108ci)

BORE & STROKE: 108 x 96.5mm

COMPRESSION RATIO: 11.0:1

FUEL SYSTEM: EFI

PERFORMANCE

POWER: 90kW (122hp) at 5500rpm

TORQUE: 178Nm at 3800rpm

TRANSMISSION

TYPE: Six-speed

FINAL DRIVE: Belt

CLUTCH: Wet, multi-plate with

assistance

CHASSIS & RUNNING GEAR

FRAME TYPE: Twin-spar alloy

FRONT SUSPENSION: 43mm upside-

down telescopic fork, non-adjustable,

130mm travel

REAR SUSPENSION: Fox monoshock,

hydraulically adjustable, 114mm travel

FRONT BRAKES: Twin 320mm

floating discs with Brembo four-piston

calipers, ABS

REAR BRAKE: 298mm disc with twin-

piston caliper, ABS

WHEELS & TYRES

WHEELS: 19x3.5 (f), 16x5.0 (r)

cast alloys

TYRES: 130-60-19 front, 180/60-16

rear, Metzeler Cruisetec

DIMENSIONS & CAPACITIES

DRY WEIGHT: 365kg/361kg

SEAT HEIGHT: 672mm

WHEELBASE: 1668mm

FUEL CAPACITY: 22.7L

OTHER STUFF

PRICE: $39,995 Limited

($39,590 Dark Horse) rideaway

COLOURS:

Limited: Thunder Black Pearl, Ruby

Metallic, Deep water metallic.

Dark Horse: Thunder Black Smoke,

Smoke White, Sandstone Smoke

WARRANTY: 24 months/unlimited

kilometres

http://www.IndianMotorcycle.com.au

EngineEngine

HandlingHandling

BrakesBrakes

PricePrice

CouldCouldeasilyeasily

taketakemoremore

power,power,butbutnotnot

underpoweredunderpowered

CurrentlyCurrentlylimitedlimited

tuningtuning accessaccess

UNCLEWO

It’stakenaw
toreplaceth
VictoryMagn
andIcan’tsayI’mentirely
convinceditlooksbetter.

ARRIS

veagood

llengerto

keupthe

statusquo,buttheRoad

Glidecopycatstyling...

Still,I’mkeentorideit.

GUIDO

Indiandespera

neededanew

flagshipengine.

Assuminghistoryrepeats,

itwillgiveHarley-Davidson

awholelottoworryabout.

GROFF

Thisshows

Indian’s

commitment

tokeepingthe

brandcompetitive

initsnativemarket.

Second ops

I left the big Challenger in fourth and

surfed the PowerPlus’ wave of bottom-

end torque and meaty mid-range. There

was no need to downchange, just pin

the throttle and hang on. It didn’t

seem to matter how tight the

traffic gap was, the 1768cc

V-twin hooked up and hit its

straps very impressively. And

althoughit’sa touringbike,

asdefinedbya fixed

full-coveragefairing,the

motorcertainlyhasa high-

performanceedgethat

promisesmuchmoreto

comeinthefuture.

WhilethePowerPlus

engineindeeddefines

theChallenger,it handles

very,verywell;stopslikea

muchsmallerbike;shields

youfromtheelementsandhasa suite

ofelectronicrideraidsandprogramsto

makeyoufeellikeyou’rea betterrider

thanyoumightactuallybe.Cornering

clearanceis prettygoodtoo.

I haven’teventouchedonthe

updatedRideCommandDisplay,

whichissaidtobesmarterandfaster

thankstomuchmoreprocessing

power.I’mnotanaviduserofany

motorcycle connectivity system but

other testers, those who are more

familiar with such things, assured

me it was one of the best they’d used.

Given they were aged under 35,

I bow to their expertise.

Late on the last day I was

diverted off the 101 South due

to a fire ahead and all traffic

wasdirected the back way into

Santa Barbara. However, the

entrance to the deserted 101

North interstate was still

open and too tempting. No

traffic at all. I entered the

on-ramp and rode the next

30 miles making full use

ofthe overdrive sixth gear

and 6500rpm redline. You

can’t do that in Australia

and I won’t say what speed it

reached,but it was mighty.

TheChallenger is a great bike and

a seriousstatement from Indian

Motorcycle. Now to sit back and watch

howthecompetition, Harley-Davidson

inparticular, respond to the challenge

oftheChallenger. If you’re buying a

baggerforits ability rather than the

nameonthe tank, inthe Challenger,

thereis nocontest.

34 MOTORCYCLE TRADER

There was

no need to

downchange,

just pin the

throttle and

hang on

IINNDDII AANN

LAUNCH

REPORT

CH

ALLENGER

CH

ALLENGER