The Indian Challenger is powered by the new PowerPlus engine which produces a whopping 178 Nm of torque, making this the most powerful cruiser in Indian’s lineup.
Indian motorcycles recently launched the all-new Challenger in the USA. This new bagger from the American motorcycle manufacturer is meant to take on the Harley Davidson Road Glide special and it sure packs in a formidable engine for that purpose. It is powered by Indian Motorcycle’s latest and most powerful engine yet – the PowerPlus. Let’s look at the motorcycle in a little more detail.
The Powertrain
The Indian Challenger is powered by the Powerplus engine which is a 1769cc liquid-cooled unit and churns out 122.5PS of power at 5500rpm and 178Nm of torque at 3800rpm. Indian motorcycles are already known for their high torquey engines and this Powerplus engine is now makes the Challenger the most powerful cruiser in Indian’s lineup. In comparison, Harley Davidson’s most powerful V-twin in the CVO churns out 169.4Nm. Indian claims that they have tested thing engine for over 4 lakh kilometers on the road.
Electronic Nannies
This kind of a motorcycle does need electronic goodies for better usability and Indian has taken good acre of that. This new bagger comes in three variants – Standard, Dark Horse and Limited. The Standard is the base spec and while it comes equipped with ABS, traction control and three riding modes, it is the Dark Horse and the Limited variants that come with the fancier goodies. Both the variants get Drag Torque Control (DTC) and a Bosch six-axis IMU for cornering traction control and ABS. Indian has also equipped the bagger with a seven-inch screen for navigation.
Cycle Parts
Taking care of suspension duties on the Indian Challenger are 43mm inverted forks at the front and a hydraulically adjustable Fox monoshock at the rear. The Challenger is literally your living room couch on two wheels and this rather massive things on the road uses a twin 320mm discs with radially-mounted Brembo 4-piston calipers up front and a 298mm disc at the rear with a 2-piston caliper to bring it to a stop. The motorcycle comes with 19-inch alloy wheel up front and the 16-incher at the rear, shod with Metzeler Cruisetec rubber.
Also Read : New Yamaha YZF R3 India Launch To Happen In December 2019 – Report
Optional Extras
When buying such a motorcycle, your accessories are as important as the motorcycle itself. Fortunately, Indian offers an expansive list of optional extras to deck up your motorcycle with. That includes a 16-inch windshield, a passenger backrest, passenger floorboards, a heel shifter and much more. Indian is also offering its new PowerBand Audio Plus system for on-road entertainment. Indian claims the optional audio system is 50 per cent louder than the standard one.
Also Read : More Cruisers Incoming From Benelli; Will Be Based On Imperiale 400
But most importantly, is it coming to India?
Absolutely yes. Just like the Chieftain, the Challenger is also available in three variants – Standard, Dark Horse and Limited – and all three variants will be coming to India. However, this bagger will come to our shores via the CBU route and it will naturally attract hefty taxes. It is expected to have a starting price of Rs. 25 lakhs, ex-showroom and the higher variants will cost even more.
