Indian Announces 2019 Heavyweight Models

2019 Indian Chief Dark Horse in Thunder Black Smoke.
2019 Indian Chief Dark Horse in Thunder Black Smoke.

Fresh on the heels of its 2019 Scout lineup announcement, Indian has released new information on the 2019 Chief, Springfield and Roadmaster models.

All three heavyweights will benefit from new technology that includes:

Selectable Ride Modes – Riders can choose between three Ride Modes (Tour, Standard or Sport) on the fly.

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Rear Cylinder Deactivation – All Thunder Stroke 111 models are now equipped with Rear Cylinder Deactivation. When the engine reaches operating temperature and the ambient temperature exceeds 59 degrees F, the rear cylinder will deactivate when the bike is at a standstill, resulting in less engine heat. The rear cylinder automatically reactivates when throttle is applied.

2019 Indian Roadmaster.
2019 Indian Roadmaster.

Improved Airflow on Roadmaster Lower Fairings – The lower fairings on the 2019 Roadmaster have been redesigned to offer more airflow to the rider. The vent can be adjusted from all the way open to fully closed. The new lowers can be retrofitted to bikes from past model years with the addition of new highway bars.

Enhanced Audio System – The tweeters have been separated from the midrange drivers to optimize sound clarity, and a fully customizable equalizer automatically adjusts each frequency to the optimal level to compensate for road, wind and engine noise.

2019 Indian Springfield.
2019 Indian Springfield.

In addition to the new technology, new paint and styling details have been added to the 2019 Dark Horse lineup.

The 2019 Chief Dark Horse and Springfield Dark Horse now have premium gloss black finishes on the primary, valve and cam covers, push-rod tubes, exhaust and saddlebag hinges.

2019 Indian Springfield Dark Horse in new White Smoke.
2019 Indian Springfield Dark Horse in new White Smoke.

The Springfield Dark Horse is now offered in two colors: Thunder Black Smoke and White Smoke. It also gets the iconic Indian headdress on the front fender and a contrast-cut 19-inch front wheel. Meanwhile, the front highway bars and windshield have been removed to create a more streamlined look.

Pricing for the 2019 Indian Chief Dark Horse starts at $17,999; the Chief Vintage starts at $19,999; the Springfield starts at $20,999; the Springfield Dark Horse starts at $21,499; the Roadmaster starts at $28,999.

14 COMMENTS

  1. Something wrong with the Indian cooling and they need this strategy? Other manufactures have used this strategy when their air cooled engines ran too hot under high load conditions, thus reducing power and its associated heat generated. Water cooling or air/oil cooling should be fine to keep an engine temperature under control.

    Some cars use ignition stop at stop lights to reduce emissions (Jeep Cherokee for one). Is this an emissions related issue for the EPA test cycle on an emissions dyno? Reduce emissions when at idle on the test schedule?

  2. WOW! How exciting is that?! NOT!
    C’Mon Indian. Polaris pulled the plug on Victory so that it could spend $$ on R&D of exciting new Indians. Hope that happens sometime soon… Still really like my King Pin.

  3. Can’t understand the 59° thing either. Design wise, isn’t that like closing the door after the horse has left the barn? Anyway, the Roadmaster starts at $28,999: total cost of ownership is over five years = yikes! That’s a lot of disposable income for a fashion accessory. Not that I wouldn’t want one if I could afford a dozen bikes . . .

  4. Loved Victory bikes. Rode across country 4 times on my Vision model, but I can’t like the Indians, try as I might. Now this stuff, where’s the progress?

  5. The rear cylinder deactivation is so the rider does not over heat when you are stopped at a long light of stuck in traffic.
    Or you could just install one of those great looking leather crotch protectors.

  6. Changes are improvements. The rear cylinder exhaust gets really hot when caught in traffic so deactivation will help. Ride modes are great if they are properly calibrated (we’ll see), and improved speakers are o.k. given the current ones seem fine.

  7. My old Suzuki Cavalcade got over 50 mpg, never made me hot (from engine heat) or overheated. Didn’t need valve adjustments, and Went over 100K miles before I sold it. (Kind of sorry I did!)

    The suspension was something current bikes should look into. Push button to pump up rear suspension. ( Automatically leveled to a sensor.) Worked great. More load, bike leveled, and rode great. Less load, bike leveled, and rode great.
    Had almost as much pulling power as a 6 cyl Gold Wing.

    Best of all, it wasn’t packed with all these computer goodies of today.

  8. Air cooled v-twins are inherently prone to rear cylinder overheating. Manufacturers are constantly trying to compensate with technology that over complicates our machines,Rider modes and such. These are meant to be simple machines!
    .

  9. Now I’ve been researching my next bike and I had narrowed it down between the Harley Roadglide vs the Indian Chieftain Darkhorse, and now I’m hearing of this possible problem with the engine getting too hot on the latter of the two? I was going to dare to be different and choose other than a Harley but if my research proves this to be true with the Indian, I will not be going out on the limb knowing about this heating issue before purchase.

    • I have an M8 Harley Roadglide Special, I also bought a new Indian Chief classic back in 2016. I loved my Indian, ran great, looked great. I decided I needed bags and wanted or tried to trade it in on a Springfield. I couldn’t get a reasonable trade in offer from any Indian dealer ? Wound up with a new Road King to replace the Indian. I never noticed the heat on either the Harley or the Indian ? I like both bikes, I think Polaris did a good job on the Indian.

  10. $30K starting price for a Roadmaster…… I paid half that for my new Vision which is way more lengthy and more comfortable, and not one mechanical issue to date….. Polaris really screwed up, I will NEVER spend another penny on them!!!!

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