Indian has officially taken the wraps of its new touring bike, the Pursuit, a full-dress version of the Challenger bagger

Meet The Indian Pursuit

With a name like 'Pursuit' you could be forgiven for thinking the latest Indian motorcycle model is a police bike. Rather it is a development of the Challenger model, bringing it up to full touring spec with a host of luxurious features, adding a large top-box with integrated passenger backrest, heated grips and larger touring seat to the chassis-mounted fairing.

In line with other Indian models, there will be two distinct models, the Limited and the Dark Horse and both are also available with a Premium Package, which adds more riding tech and comfort features.

In reality, the only differences between the Limited and Dark Horse are different colour options and graphics and a distinct lack of chrome embellishment on the DH, although the Pursuit is longer and heavier than the Challenger. Wheel sizes remain the same - 19-inch at the front, 16-inch at the back - and so does the engine, being the Power Plus, liquid-cooled unit measuring 108cu.in. (1768cc) and pushing out just over 100bhp and 113lb.ft. of torque.

The emphasis of the Pursuit is on long-distance comfort. The large fairing features a larger screen - electrically adjustable - and there are vented lower fairing elements to offer even more wind protection. The fairing also houses the 7-inch touchscreen dash as the interface to the Indian Ride Command system.

The top box (or, as Indian call it, the premium cargo trunk) is large enough to fit two full-face helmets, at the very least and, with the panniers, offers a huge 35 gallons of storage space.

On the Premium-equipped models, electronically-adjustable preload for the rear shock is available, while this feature is an upgrade on the standard Pursuit models and the Challenger. Additionally, on the Premium models, Indian's Smart Lean package is included, which is Indian's own name for Bosch's internal measurement unit technology that allows lean-sensitive traction control and ABS.

Finally, the Premium package gives you extra driving lights integrated into the lower fairing elements and a three level heated seat. The Premium package costs an additional $3000 on top of the base models.

Talking of price, the Pursuit Limited will cost $29,999 and the Pursuit Dark Horse starts at $30,999. Expect to see all models in dealerships very soon.

The Pursuit obviously has Harley Davidson's Ultra Limited firmly in its sights and, in terms of spec and pricing, it seems to be right on the money. With this new bike, Indian is proving itself to be perfectly capable of offering a strong challenge to the Harley domination of the large touring/cruiser market.