748: Indian Chief Dark Horse

2009 Indian Chief Dark Horse presented by Indian Motorcycle of Pittsburgh "Are you open today?" Sure enough, the closest Indian Motorcycle dealership was open the day after Christmas. About two hours away from my old stomping grounds in Ohio. So we drove over. At 34 degrees, we took the car. The sun was actually out in force for like the fourth day this month. After years of speculation, I actually did not think the investors would pull it off. The relaunch (once again!) of the brand. But I witnessed about twenty brand new Indian bikes on the dealership floor. Mostly 2009, but a few of the 2010 models had started to arrive. The crew at the dealership were most helpful and obviously passionate about the brand. On January 9th, they will celebrate their first full year of operations with a big Open House. One of the brave soul's test riding a Chief remarked he was pleasantly surprised. A number of magazine articles claim there is a lot of vibration from the 105ci motor. The rider said, "Some vibration? Sure. But nothing more than a traditional VTwin engine would produce." So much for the printed word The only model that really caught my eye was the Dark Horse. The one on the showroom floor also happened to be lowered, and so it felt very inviting. And the flat paint treatment worked really well. They do expect to reintroduce the Scout model later in the 2010 production year. The 2003 Scout was basically an American custom Pro-street with an S&S Engine. Rumor has it the new Scout will feature a decidedly more Indian powerplant. Bottom line: If you have a lot of money to throw at a new motorcycle (50% more than a similar Harley), then check out the Indian brand. You might be surprised. Unlike "the other guys", Indian knows less is more. I heard they only produced about 450 bikes for 2009. Law of supply and demand. Less bikes should equate to better margins and also better resale if the bikes prove mechanically sound. And from the fit and finish I experienced today, I would expect the bike to hold up well. Semper Fi Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey www.throughput.us/contactSKI (c)2009, Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey. All rights reserved.