2022 Indian Chief Dark Horse road trip review

It’s fascinating to me that 100 years later our modern landscape has been completely reshaped by this innovation. But there was one road in particular that helped define what the future of travel would look like and helped to develop the idea of a “road trip” as a term that conjures up a sense of adventure in all of us.

Originally laid out in 1913, the Lincoln Highway connected San Francisco to New York City and became the first cross-continental highway in the United States. Unlike the modern interstate highway system, which bypasses small towns in the name of efficiency, the Lincoln Highway went right through them. In fact, the route often ran along main street, thus earning it the nickname “The Main Street Across America.”

It revolutionized travel and laid the first nail in the coffin of America's dependence on the railroad. As more roads were created to support the growing automobile and motorcycle industries, they would completely reshape the landscape of not only America, but the entire world.

So what better way to review the brand new 2022 Indian Chief, and celebrate its 100th birthday, than with a road trip across the Lincoln Highway? So sit back, crank some Tom Petty (who provided the soundtrack for this review), and follow along as we discover Indian's newest Chief on America’s oldest highway.

The 2022 Indian Chief lineup

The new Indian Chief lineup features three different models, the Chief, the Chief Bobber, and the Super Chief.

The Chief is defined by its solo seat, mag wheels, mid-controls, and low-slung handlebar for a relatively upright seating position. The Chief Bobber has a chopped Bobber styling with a solo seat, wide spoked wheels, forward controls, and a mini-ape style handlebar for a feet-forward, hands-high position. And last but not least, the Super Chief is aimed at touring riders with a windscreen, saddlebags, floorboards, and comfortable accommodations for riders and a passenger as standard fare.

All three of these models feature Indian’s 111-cubic-inch, 49-degree, air-cooled Thunderstroke V-Twin laying down an impressive 108 foot-pounds of torque. If that’s not enough grunt for you, there are upspec Dark Horse versions for the Chief and Bobber and a Limited version for the Super Chief that use Indian’s massive 116-cubic-inch, air-cooled, Thunderstoke V-twin, pumping out a class-leading 120 foot-pounds of torque. Both engines feature rear cylinder deactivation when at idle.

Each of these top-of-the-line versions will also come equipped with a four-inch touchscreen dash with Indian’s Ride Command. Ride Command is an app you can use to map out a ride, track a ride, or share rides with others in the community. If you don’t want to fuss with the app, you can still navigate via built-in GPS.

All of the new bikes in the line are designated as model year 2022, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Indian Chief going into production in 1922.

The Indian Chief Dark Horse

For this review, Indian gave me my pick of the Chief lineup and I opted for the Chief Dark Horse. I prefer mid-controls, as I don’t find the feet-forward approach to be comfortable. Plus, I wanted to try out the 116 engine and I like the idea of mag wheels for their ease of tire repair on a road trip (you can just plug a tire for a temporary fix). It’s one thing to repair a flat with a tube on a light dirt bike on the side of a trail, but this Chief weighs 670 pounds (claimed wet weight by Indian) and features no center stand. While this is normal for the cruiser segment, it doesn’t lend itself to easy roadside flat-tire repair for spoked wheels, which require inner tubes.

The Chief came with premium rubber, Pirelli Night Dragon tires, a 130/60B19 at the front and a 180/65B16 at the rear. I was surprised to find that the front wheel wasn’t sporting a dual-rotor braking system. Instead, there is a single, four-piston caliper clamping down on a single 300 mm, semi-floating rotor. Stopping duties are assisted by a single, two-piston caliper with a 300 mm floating rotor at the back wheel. Overall, slowing the bike down requires a strong two-finger pull and a little help from your right foot.

ABS is standard and I felt it kick on more than once on this trip. It has a soft pulse that you can feel, but it isn’t distracting or unsettling. Other rider aids include electronic cruise control and three varied Ride Modes, but there are no options for traction control.

Like the brake lever, the cable clutch requires a strong two-finger pull before shifting through the six-speed gearbox. Peak torque is on hand at 2,900 rpm, which is 300 rpm lower in the rev range than peak torque on the 111 engine. Power reaches the back wheel via a belt drive.

Suspension up front is a 46 mm telescopic fork with 5.2 inches of travel and out back you’ll find dual gas-charged monotube shocks with three inches of travel. The only adjustment is for preload on the rear shocks. While the solo seat is the standard trim, there is an option for passenger accommodations if you want to bring along a traveling companion.

But for this trip, I was riding solo. Well, if you don’t count the film crew traveling in the minivan behind me for the video portion of this review. I guess I should say I was riding sans passenger as I headed West.

Planning the Route

My first road trip on the Lincoln Highway was 13 years ago. It was my first year teaching high school in Los Angeles and I spent four weeks of my summer break riding the Lincoln Highway from San Francisco to New Jersey, and back. While certain stretches of the road have morphed into larger interstate highways, a large portion of the route is still available to ride.

While route planning for my original trip consisted of studying maps from the early 1900s and spending about two weeks planning the route, this trip was much easier. A lot of those maps have been digitized by the Lincoln Highway Association and laid out on modern mapping software. Thus, I was able to map out my route in a few hours with my Rever app.

For this trip, I didn’t have the luxury of four weeks. Rather, I had four days. So instead of trying to cover the entire stretch, I opted for the 346-mile portion across Pennsylvania. I rode from Philadelphia to East Liverpool, Ohio. I picked this final location because there was a scenic bridge crossing into town and Lance Oliver was willing to travel the three hours from his home to meet me there. And considering I hadn’t seen the Silver Fox face to face in over a year, it seemed like a good deal to me!

For any of you who want to ride the route for yourself, I included my Rever route in this article. Just make sure you give yourself enough time to explore all of the little towns as I made sure to have the route follow the original 1913 route as closely as possible. The only exception to this is the final stretch from Pittsburgh to East Liverpool. For this stretch I opted for a later route from the 1920s, as it includes some great winding two-lane country blacktop.

Riding the Lincoln Highway

I started the trip in Philadelphia riding from RevZilla’s offices in the Navy Yard up Broad Street to City Hall. I spent the ride out to Downingtown dodging potholes and dealing with a lot of stop-and-go traffic. If you want to follow the route to the letter, this is necessary, but it’s not ideal. I’d recommend cheating your way to Downingtown on the highway and starting there.

The Chief did not like city living. The stop lights had me working the clutch and its heavier pull was a real workout for the index and middle fingers on my left hand. The one positive note is that the Chief features one of the easiest transmissions to find neutral on that I’ve ever ridden. So even though my norm is to keep the bike in gear at a stop light to make a quick getaway if necessary, I found myself using neutral and taking advantage of the mirrors to keep an eye on cars coming up behind me.

In addition to the traffic, the suspension was no match for Philadelphia’s bombed-out, pothole-laden city streets. In spite of my best efforts to dodge the bumps and bruises of my tax dollars at work, I couldn’t miss ‘em all.

This is part of the reason for my love of mid-controls on a motorcycle, hence my reason for choosing this Chief model. I like mid-controls because they allow you to easily stand up, stretch your legs and allow your legs to act as shock absorbers over large bumps in the road.

While the Indian Chief has mid-controls by cruiser standards, they were still a bit forward for my personal preference, thus making it hard to easily stand up on the pegs. All of this is to say that when those three inches of rear suspension travel run out, bigger bumps in the road translate rather abruptly to your spine. The Indian Chief is much more comfortable on a smooth country road.

By the time I reached Lancaster, the Chief and I were both much happier. The suspension was surprisingly compliant through the winding country roads. With a rather firm suspension preload setting there was a surprising amount of lean angle available before I started scraping the pegs. The preload adjusters require a spanner wrench and you need to measure their position to make sure both sides match. Therefore, I’d recommend making your adjustments in your garage prior to your road trip.

The big ol’ honkin V-twin was the star of the show. This thing pulls like a freight train. However, it’s easily tamed via the Ride Modes. Unlike some bikes that have you swapping between modes trying to figure out the difference, the Chief's are distinctly different from one another.

Touring Mode is the most subdued. Throttle response is soft and the power is very manageable, especially at low speeds. I’d recommend this setting for stop-and-go scenarios and riding in the rain. At the opposite end is Sport Mode. This might as well be labeled as the “pull your arms out of their sockets” setting. It’s ideal for maximizing power but it’s extremely difficult to ride in low-speed scenarios, as it has a very on/off throttle feel that requires a lot of clutch control to keep from going all herky jerky.

The Standard setting is where I spent the majority of my time. It’s the "Goldilocks" setting. It’s easier to ride at all speeds than Sport Mode and it’s got more bite and grunt off the start than the Touring Mode.

Ride modes can be changed on the fly without pulling over. Just pull up the screen on the dash and tap the ride mode you’re interested in. You’ll see a little spinning wheel like when your computer or phone is “thinking.” Simply close the throttle and you’ll see the wheel disappear with your preferred mode highlighted. You’re now in that mode.

To see what I mean, I recommend starting off in Touring Mode. Find an open stretch of road, tap Sport Mode, roll off the throttle, and slowly roll back on. The power increase is very noticeable. And remember, the only traction control on this bike is in the form of your right wrist.

I do want to take a moment here and address the dash and electronics in general. First of all, the touch screen dash is very intuitive. If you’re familiar with using a smartphone you can figure it out. You can swipe to change the screen layout or push a button to open the map for GPS or listen to music. Everything is clearly laid out and understandable and it worked well with my Rev’It! gloves, which have connective fingertips.

That being said, I had two main issues.

First, whenever I plugged my phone into the USB port (super weird location at the front of the engine) to charge it, it automatically disconnected my phone from my com system on my helmet. I had to go into the dash, and switch it back from USB to Bluetooth and then reconnect it… every time I shut the bike off. This was a pain in the ass.

I get what Indian is trying to do. They want you to pair your com system to the dash, plug your phone in, and then use the dash as the master controller for your music. This is then controlled by a joystick and switch on the left side hand control. The problem here is that most of the modern com systems have sophisticated voice controls which are a lot easier than fumbling with the joystick or scrolling through the dash.  

Secondly, the Ride Control app allows riders to build routes, track routes, and share routes. You can then load them directly into the dash. You can also just type in an address and use the on-board GPS to offer up directions that will get you to your destination. My problem here was I had already built my entire route in Rever. I didn’t realize the system wouldn’t allow me to link outside apps.

This reminds me of what we’re seeing with streaming services for television. If I want to watch "The Office," I can no longer watch it on Netflix. Now I have to get Peacock. It’s annoying. Who wants to have to manage that many accounts?

We’re seeing an influx of motorcycle manufacturers introducing their own proprietary apps, and that’s great, if folks buying these bikes don’t already have a preferred app. But if you’re like me with multiple bikes in the garage, I don’t want to have to manage multiple interfaces. I would love to see Indian remedy this with a firmware update to let the system allow outside navigation systems.

If all of this sounds confusing, the best part about the electronics are that you don’t have to use them. If you’re looking for the simplicity of a bare-bones motorcycle, the basic controls are all you need. That being said, the electronic cruise control is great for longer rides.

Even with cruise control, you’re going to need to stop at least once every 157 miles. That's how far I got before running out of gas in the small town of Breezewood, Pennsylvania. I was trying to make it to the Big Coffeepot in Everett, Pennsylvania, before filling up. While I did fall short, luckily it happened less than a mile from a gas station.

Ergonomics and comfort are one of the most subjective pieces to reviewing a motorcycle, but for me, the seat on the Chief was too short and it held me in one specific position with little ability to move around. While I usually prefer a taller seat, I'm also six feet, three inches tall. My Uncle Bob's friend Steve sat on it and loved it. Steve's a Road King owner and he was eyeing up the Chief mighty hard. He's also a shorter rider than myself and appreciates the easy reach to the ground. 

That being said, after about 75 miles I found it was a good idea to get off and stretch my legs. Personally, I like to plan a road trip to include time for more frequent stops, anyway, so I used this opportunity to fill the tank or explore local roadside attractions.

The Lincoln Highway is littered with fun historical artifacts from the Golden Age of road tripping. My favorite thing to look for are the cement markers from 1928. It was around this time that the Highway started to get split up into numbered highways. In an effort to preserve the route, the Boy Scouts of America posted close to 3,000 cement markers, one per mile, along the side of the road. While most of these have disappeared to the sands of time, a few still exist.

They’re fun to keep an eye out for, and I found one new one on this trip. If you’re ever passing through Greensburg, Pennsylvania, look in front of Barnhart Funeral Home. While I’m sure most people who live in Greensburg pass by every day, none the wiser, this chunk of cement has survived nearly 100 years of “progress.” And I think that’s kinda cool.

When I first made my cross-country trek on the Highway back in 2008, I spent some time in Pittsburgh visiting one of my oldest friends, Pat Lenahan. On that trip, Pat took me for my first Primanti Brothers sandwich. And while he calls San Francisco home these days, I wanted to honor the memory by picking up some sandwiches for Lance and me. Meeting him on the banks of the Ohio River, in the small town of East Liverpool, I learned that Lance had never had a Primanti Brothers sandwich before. Thus starting a new tradition of having someone experience this Pittsburgh treat whenever road tripping the Lincoln Highway.

Competition

The only motorcycle I’ve ever ridden with more torque than this Indian Chief Dark Horse was the Triumph Rocket III. That massive beast is in a league of its own, and at a starting MSRP of $22,500, the current Rocket 3 is arguably not competition for this particular Indian.

So who is Indian going after? Harley-Davidson.

More specifically, it’s taking aim at Harley’s cruiser lineup: the Low Rider S, Fat Bob, and Fat Boy. And those bikes feature Harley’s 114, air-cooled V-twin laying down 119 foot-pounds of torque. Which is damn close to Indian’s 120 foot-pounds.

But the Chief Dark Horse starts at $16,999, with the Alumina Jade color I was riding bumping the price to $17,499. Harley’s Low Rider S starts at $17,999 and the Fat Boy’s MSRP is $19,999.

Now to be fair, the Indian Super Chief Limited will run you between $21,000 and $21,500, depending on the color. I would argue that the Super Chief is probably aimed more at the Harley Heritage Classic or even a Road King, both of which feature MSRPs that are a bit more affordable than the Super Chief.

But at the end of the day, Indian’s got 'em beat when it comes to torque. Which seems to be the biggest point Indian is driving home with this beast of an engine.

Conclusion

People sometimes accuse me of “not liking cruisers.” Frankly, that’s not true. While I don’t necessarily gravitate towards the cruiser style because I prefer a more upright seating position, I completely understand the cruiser ethos.

The cruiser ethos is not about tackling a gnarly off-road trek, or dragging a knee on a snake-like mountain road. Rather, it’s about escape. It’s about shutting your laptop, planning an adventure and hitting the road. And the Indian Chief has all of that in spades.

I mentioned at the start of this article that Tom Petty was my soundtrack for this review. At the end of my trip, the song “Have Love Will Travel” came on. My favorite line in the song is:

“How about a cheer for all those bad girls,
And all those boys that play that Rock ‘N' Roll,
They love it like you love Jesus,
It does the same thing to their souls.”

I think you could substitute “ride motorcycles” for “play that Rock ‘N’ Roll” and it would still work. For a lot of us, a motorcycle is a way to hit the road and remember what makes us tick. There’s a sense of freedom in rolling down an old road that hits home with us, and the Indian Chief helped me remind me of that.

Indian has introduced a hell of a machine in their continued efforts to give the established cruiser segment a shot in the arm. The Chief has a variety of options to match your style, a torque-monster of an engine, excellent handling, and easy-to-use electronics interface. For those of you out there considering a bike in the cruiser segment, Indian is making an effort to get your attention.

2022 Indian Chief line
Price (MSRP)	$14,499 (base Chief), $15,999 (base Chief Bobber), $18,499 (base Super Chief)
Engine	1,811 cc (Thunderstroke 111), 1,890 cc (Thunderstroke 116), air-cooled, 49-degree V-twin
Transmission, final drive	Six-speed, belt
Claimed horsepower	N/A
Claimed torque	112 foot-pounds (Thunderstroke 111), 120 foot-pounds (Thunderstroke 116)
Frame	Steel tube with cast aluminum rear subframe
Front suspension	46 mm fork; 5.2 inches of travel
Rear suspension	Dual gas-charged shocks, adjustable preload; 3.0 inches of travel
Front brake	Single four-piston caliper, 300 mm disc, ABS
Rear brake	Single two-piston caliper, 300 mm disc, ABS
Rake, trail	29 degrees, 5.2 inches
Wheelbase	64 inches
Seat height	26 inches
Fuel capacity	Four gallons plus reserve
Tires	Pirelli Night Dragon, 130/60R19 front (Chief), 130/90/R16 front (Chief Bobber, Super Chief), 180/65R16 rear
Claimed weight	670 pounds (Chief), 694 pounds (Chief Bobber), 739 pounds (Super Chief)
Available	April 2021
Warranty	24 months, unlimited miles
More info	indianmotorcycle.com