“There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat.” So says Jeremy Irons in the underrated 2011 film Margin Call as John Tuld, CEO of a fictional Wall Street investment bank. Medina, Minnesota is a long way from New York City’s financial district, but I couldn’t help but think of that line as I reflected on the 110 miles I just rode on Indian’s brand new Sport Chief motorcycle.
The Polaris-owned brand might not have been first when it came to the new generation of pumped-up performance cruisers – Harley-Davidson’s refreshed Low Rider S and ST models, which I tested quite favorably last year, lay claim to this one Label – but perhaps through a combination of Tuld’s other two approaches, the athletic director made quite an impression on me.
See, I was fortunate enough to join a small group of moto journalists in Austin, Texas as part of a press ride that represented the first chance someone not affiliated with Indian could get the bike revved up . I haven’t had too much time to think, but I’m thrilled to share my almost breathless early thoughts on a bike that I’ve generally loved.
Is the Indian sporting director new?
Very. Indian just announced it on Tuesday February 22nd and it will start shipping to dealers in early March.
Garth Milan
What makes the Indian sports director special?
I pretty much had a front row seat to answering that question as various Indian big shots took us through the bike’s trademarks at a barbecue the night before the ride. The Chief nameplate in general is pretty exciting for them: reborn in 2021, it fills the gap between the smaller Scout and bigger bikes like the Chieftain – and has boosted Indian’s share of the cruiser market from 1% to 11%.
Having happily ridden and reviewed the Chief’s Dark Horse Edition two years ago, I am not surprised. Like most Indians I’ve tried, this new model is a fantastic combination of performance, retro style and modern touches. The head of sport, the Indian team told us, promises all that and more. The well-researched target group is interesting: West Coast males aged 25-40 who want a bike that looks badass, rides hard and is easy to customize. (In other words, “Dyna Bros,” another journalist informs me.)
Garth Milan
Garth Milan
To that end, the bike has a host of eye-catching features, including machined 6.5-inch risers with moto-style bars, inverted KYB front forks and that distinctively sculpted Solo Gunfighter saddle. Perhaps most notable is a unique geometry: Fox piggyback shocks increase rear suspension travel with a side effect of increased lean angle. Along with a little more rake, your whole body gets a subtle shift into a more aggressive riding position.
Garth Milan
Garth Milan
In addition, Indian offers a range of distinctive accessories, many of which can be retrofitted to other editions of the Chief. Three that stand out are larger and smaller windshields, 10-inch risers (not my jam, but each in their own right), and Fox performance-adjustable piggyback rear shocks—a $1,600 opportunity to tune the rear suspension exactly how you want it.
Compared to the Low Rider, the Sport Chief’s performance figures are a little less ostentatious: 1,890cc displacement versus 1,923 and 120 ft-lbs of torque at 2,900 rpm versus 125 ft-lbs at 3500 rpm. But those differences aren’t that big, and I found my mouth watering at the prospect of leaving Austin with that thing. (Of course, that could just have been the grilling.)
How does this bike ride?
Garth Milan
Indian’s reps planned a pretty sweet route for us: To get us beyond the city limits quickly, they sent us northwest to Lake Travis, where we’d find some nice turns (and a few surprising uppy-downies) to do to keep us cool under the bright Texas sun for February.
Chasing down some fairly experienced fellow riders, I quickly developed an appreciation for the sporting director’s accomplishments. The bike shifts smoothly and accelerates effortlessly, punching above its weight to make it easy to pick up pace on the freeway and dart in and out of traffic to keep up with a fast-moving group. While I didn’t get a chance to spin the throttle all the way back, I kissed 90 mph a couple of times with no issues, suggesting the easy triple-digit speed that’s possible in other circumstances.
Once we started zipping through some tree-lined, slightly twisty two-lane tracks, I began to love what I call the Sport Chief’s “super-forgiving nature.” Take a corner too fast and a steady squeeze of the front brake lever allows the ultra-responsive Brembo dual brakes to get you back on course. Accelerate out of a tight corner in too high a gear and the engine snarls but doesn’t lag behind, while abrupt, steady throttle application will redeem you from your mistake. Roll on gravel—as we often did at stops—and the 27-inch seat makes foot paddling at low speeds a relative breeze.
However, there are limits to the sporting activity with this bike. I learned this firsthand when leaning deep into a tight uphill corner early in the ride. That scraping sound as my left peg bit into the asphalt quickly reminded me that this isn’t a YZF-R&7. At least it has center controls.
Still, the overall effect is a ride that feels a lot lighter than 685 pounds might suggest. The Native Americans said a big goal of bike design was “flickability” — a sense of being fluffy rather than, say, sluggish. The ease with which I was able to maneuver even in tricky situations suggests that the goal was achieved all round.
Is there anything else that stands out about this bike?
I’d be remiss not to mention a couple of small beefs – one unsurprising and one very surprising.
First, Indian continues to put nice twin exhaust pipes on the right side of their bikes—and they continue to practically set my right calf on fire if I’m not careful while parking in tight spaces.
Garth Milan
Second, and this is weird: This solo gunslinger isn’t exactly “safe.” Halfway through the ride I noticed mine was slightly off, went to adjust it… and it came right into my hand. It’s easy enough to reposition – slipping under some tabs in the front and popping onto a knot in the back, but later I hit a bump while standing for a bit and sat back down on a crooked saddle. If I owned this bike I’d probably try super glue so one day I wouldn’t end up sitting on an exposed frame again.
Garth Milan
That being said, I’ll end on a couple of big bright spots. First, I’ve complained about Indian’s Ride Command system in the past. As much as I love the concept of a circular 4.0-inch digital touchscreen that resembles an old-school analog gauge, I found it to be more of a hassle to actually use than it’s worth. The Sport Chief has a similar gauge to the Dark Horse Chief I rode two years ago. When we tried it on the drive back to our hotel, the navigation seemed a little sharper, and when our cruise leader took a slightly different route, it adjusted quickly and smoothly. You must have updated the software because that feels like progress.
Second, in case it hasn’t come across already… not only is this bike fun as hell to ride, but like many Indian bikes, it looks pretty damn awesome straight from the factory. Not sure if that makes it any smarter or if this is cheating, but if you’re looking for a performance cruiser it’s definitely worth checking out.
Ps People seemed to like 30 seconds of powder so here is 30 seconds of Sport Chief, courtesy of the Insta360 ONE X2.
How much is the Indian Sport Chief?
The base price of the Black Smoke version is $18,999. The Ruby Smoke and Stealth Gray editions start at $19,499 and the Spirit Blue Smoke Icon version starts at $19,999.
2023 Indian Sports Director
Indian motorcycle
Engine: Air-cooled Thunderstroke 116
Shift: 1,890cc
Transmission: Six-speed manual transmission
Torque: 120 ft-lbs at 2,900 rpm
curb weight: 685 pounds
seat height: 27 inches
LEARN MORE
Comments are closed.