Indian Motorcycle, America’s first motorcycle company founded in 1901, today announced a redesigned Chieftain lineup. Since its debut in 2013, the Chieftain has consistently won high marks for handling, power and comfort. Now, for 2019, the Indian Chieftain, Chieftain Dark Horse and Chieftain Limited feature more streamlined, aggressive styling that reflects the bike’s well-established performance capabilities. For those loyal to Indian’s classic designs, the 2019 Indian Chieftain Classic will continue to feature its traditional fairing and iconic valanced front fender.
The redesigned Chieftain lineup continues an evolution that started in 2017 with the introduction of the 10-spoke, 19-inch contrast-cut front wheel and open fender on the Chieftain Limited and Chieftain Elite. The response from customers was overwhelmingly positive, paving the way for this lineup expansion.
“As we continue to evolve the Indian Motorcycle brand, we want to expand our lineup with more aggressive style options, while still maintaining the availability of our more classic style options,” said Reid Wilson, Senior Director for Indian Motorcycle. “What’s most important to us is developing motorcycles that meet a wide variety of customer style preferences, and Chieftain’s new look does just that.”
At first glance of the new Chieftain, riders will notice a restyled fairing and saddlebags with sharper lines and harder edges that give the bike a commanding presence and more streamlined look. A trimmed and slimmed fairing, paired with new fork guards, delivers a streamlined front-end package that’s indicative of the bike’s impressive performance capabilities. The Chieftain’s new, slammed saddlebags with colour-matched fender closeouts also provide the custom-inspired look. While the new Rogue gunfighter seat gives the bike a sleek profile to match the Chieftain’s superior handling and comfort. New badging on the tank and saddlebags and the iconic Indian headdress on the front fender completes the package.
In addition to the styling and design enhancements, the 2019 Chieftain lineup features new ride-enhancing technology for increased performance customisation and rider comfort. For a more customised ride experience, riders can now choose between three Ride Modes – Tour, Standard or Sport. The throttle map for each Ride Mode was designed with a specific application in mind, resulting in one bike with three distinct personalities. All 2019 Chieftains are also equipped with Rear Cylinder Deactivation for increased rider comfort when the bike is stationary.
Also new for 2019, the Chieftain Dark Horse lineup expands with new paint options, including White Smoke, Bronze Smoke and Thunder Black Smoke. More than just matte-finish body paint, the 2019 Chieftain Dark Horse now features premium black ceramic exhaust and gloss black finishes on the primary cover, valve covers, push-rod tubes, cam cover, and saddlebag hinges for a custom, blacked-out look.
Several enhancements have also been made to Indian Motorcycle’s stock audio system to significantly improve sound quality. First, the tweeters have been separated from the mid-range speakers to optimise sound output and clarity. Second, a dynamic equaliser that’s fully customisable now adjusts specific frequencies at different vehicle speeds to provide peak system performance at all times. As speed increases, the equaliser automatically adjusts each frequency to the optimal level to compensate for road, wind and engine noise. The result is crystal-clear, 100-watts of premium audio at all speeds.
In summary, the 2019 Chieftain lineup packs a host of new features, including:
- A restyled fairing and saddlebags that reflect Chieftain’s performance capabilities
- A new Rogue gunfighter seat that enhances the bike’s sleek profile
- New front and rear turn signals and new badging
- New ride-enhancing technology that provides a customisable ride experience with three Ride Modes and Rear Cylinder Deactivation for improved rider comfort
- Enhanced stock, 100-watt premium audio system for crystal-clear sound at all speeds
Also new for 2019, Indian Motorcycle introduces its loudest audio system to date. With PowerBand Audio, riders can choose from audio configurations that are up to 50 percent louder than stock audio. The system is engineered with an integrated amp on speaker and does not require additional amps. The premium audio package is fully integrated with Indian Motorcycle Ride Command so that when PowerBand Audio speakers are installed, Ride Command automatically recognises the upgrade and takes the equaliser from five bands to nine bands with additional pre-set options and volume control. Riders can choose from three kits – PowerBand Audio (fairing upgrade), PowerBand Audio Plus (fairing and saddlebag upgrade) and PowerBand Audio Plus with accessory trunk (fairing, saddlebag and accessory trunk upgrade).
Riders can further customise their Chieftain with a variety of accessories, including custom fit options like extended and reduced reach seats, mid-rise handlebars and reduced reach handlebars. Also available are colour-matched accessories such as Hard Lower Fairings, Saddlebag Audio Lids, a Quick Release Trunk, and for the Chieftain Classic owners, a 10-spoke 19-inch contrast-cut wheel with an open fender can be added to give your bike a custom look.
