#ChieftainLimited

A week after announcing its 2020 Scout lineup, Indian announces its updated air-cooled cruiser and touring model lineup, including an upgrade to a larger Thunder Stroke 116 engine for select models, a new Ride Command infotainment system, a redesigned Springfield Dark Horse. a new Roadmaster Dark Horse and the return of the Chieftain Elite.

Today, Indian Motorcycle took the wraps off of the updated 2019 Chieftain line, which will consist of four models: Chieftain Limited, Chieftain Dark Horse, Chieftain, and Chieftain Classic (for riders who prefer the previous Chieftain’s design).

The big news is the new FTR1200 Indian revealed last week; the bigger news is how close to production-ready it looks, complete with lights and carbon-fiber bodywork, which may have to give way to plastic on a real production version. Indian’s Gary Gray says they built it to see what the public reaction would be, but I think the public had already reacted as soon as they built the FTR750 race bike, which was wildly successful. The Wrecking Crew was on hand to pull the cover off the “concept” bike.

Indian continues to bring the battle to Milwaukee with a pair of new baggers: the 2017 Chieftain Elite and Chieftain Limited – baggers being such a big deal they’ve spawned their own magazines and websites, and why not? They’re a great balance of form and function, combining the ability to cruise the dirty boulevard in style, then hightail it out of town without having to leave all one’s worldly goods behind. We could call them “American Sport Tourers,” really.