Indian Motorcycle cashes in on its deep design roots with the Springfield model that hit the market in '16 and carries over to the 2022 model year with nary but a few adjustments to the color palette. Power comes from what was Indian's largest production engine prior to 2020, along with ABS and keyless ignition on board, but it's the classic, old-school bagger looks that drive sales of this particular unit. Best of all, it's among the least expensive of the available baggers, and that positions it well within the boulevard-bruiser/light-tour categories.

2022 Indian Springfield Performance and Capability

Indian's Thunder Stroke 111 delivers the goods on the Springfield with a whopping 119 pound-feet of torque that tops out at a low 3,000 rpm. The factory gives you complete control over that power with the new-in-2019 Ride Modes feature that delivers a trio of performance profiles so you can dial in for conditions and preference.

It's a thoroughly modern engine, but Indian took significant steps to make it look like something much older in the way of an old-fashioned side-valve engine. The parallel pushrod tubes help to sell the look, but it's the faux cooling fins on the rocker boxes that really seal the deal since they mimic the cooling fins on the old flatheads.

We find another bit of engine fandanglery in the Rear Cylinder Deactivation feature added for 2019. RCD kills the rear jug when idling at a stop to reduce the heat wash from the engine.

The 101 mm bore and 113 mm stroke gives it a 1,811 cc displacement with a relatively mild compression ratio of 9.5-to-1, and induction control falls entirely to the 54 mm throttle body, and arguably, the stock cruise control. A standard clutch couples engine power to the six-speed transmission with a belt final drive to carry it to the rear wheel. All this together produces an Indian Springfield top speed governed at about 110 mph.

Design

Indian delivers a healthy dose of nostalgia with its Springfield model, and of the choices within the genre, the retro-tastic look of the Springfield is outdone only by the antique-looking Chief Vintage. The valenced fender leads the way with a chrome brow and iconic, lighted war-bonnet crest. Chrome beercan fork skirts beef up the stems, as does the headlight nacelle and whisker bar, and the latter supports a pair of passing lamps along with the front turn signals to wrap up the forward lighting.

Much like the early American tourbikes, the Springfield pushes a large, quick-release windshield. It punches a hole in the weather for the rider in lieu of a proper fairing, and this leaves you with almost the same level of protection but with much greater visibility forward and down.

A chrome instrument panel rides on the 5.5-gallon fuel tank with the on/off button, a round fuel gauge, and large analog gauge for the speedometer. A host of indicator lights are set in the face of the speedo, and there's a small LED screen to handle the remaining metrics and act as an interface for the Ride Modes feature.

A deep-scoop seat pulls you down into the machine with pullback bars and forward footboards to define the relaxed windsock rider's triangle. The pillion perch comes paired with fold-up footboards of its own to pamper your passenger. Hard bags are paint-matched to the rest of the sheet metal, and they feature a remote-locking feature that'll keep you from fumbling with your keys in the parking lot.

In the rear, an LED taillight and turn signals complete the lights with a tag mount at the bottom of the rear fender; nothing special, but it does maintain a clean profile. Overall, the look of the Springfield displays features from as far back as the '30s, and before the advent of the fiberglass fairing, this setup was the pinnacle of comfort for long distance rides.

When comparing the Springfield to the Chief, the ThunderStroke 111 powers both of them, but style-wise the two bikes are different. The Chief comes with a solo seat, no windscreen, no bags, and little, if any, bling. which reflects in the price with the Chief's MSRP coming in $8k less than the Springfield.

In the stable with the Springfield is the Springfield Dark Horse. As part of the Dark Horse family, bling is noticeably absent and the mini-ape bars add to its sinister, boulevard bruiser attitude.

Chassis

A cast-aluminum skeleton on the Indian Springfield holds it all together. While that undoubtedly removes some weight, it still tips the scales at 835 pounds wet. It's not at all what you'd call a “light” bike.

Rake and trail measure in at 25-degrees and 5.2-inches respectively for good tracking with a maximum lean angle of 31 degrees to each side. That should be plenty to take care of business and give you a little fun in the curves.

Cast-aluminum, 16-inch wheels round out the rolling chassis on 67-inch centers, and the rims come set up to network with the stock tire pressure-monitoring system. That's nifty, but I think a set of laced chrome wheels would be even better. Dunlop Elite 3 hoops make the connection to the tarmac with a 130/90 up front opposite a 180/60.

All-around 300 mm discs work with dual, four-pot anchors to slow the front wheel and deliver about 70 percent of the total stopping power. The two-piston caliper in the rear mainly helps to keep the rear end where it belongs, behind you.

ABS protection comes as part of the standard equipment no matter which colorway you choose, and that'll help you keep it dirty-side down as well. The 46 mm forks come with fixed damping values, as does the monoshock out back, but the latter has air-adjustable preload for a cushy ride and stepless adjustment.

2022 Indian Springfield Price

If basic black is your thing, you'll have to pick up a 2020 Indian Springfield. Starting in 2021, the Indian Springfield comes in two-tone colorways with an MSRP of $22,499 for 2022.

Indian Springfield Competitors

Since the Springfield mainly targets the U.S. market, I thought it would be fair to stick to the domestic competition, and the Road King from Harley-Davidson fits the bill quite nicely.

Harley-Davidson Road King / Road King Special

Indian's longtime domestic foe, the MoCo arrives at much the same place with design references that go back to at least the 1940s. Harley runs with chrome trim and skirting on the full-length front fender, but cuts the sides back to make it the opposite of the Indian's valenced fender.

The headlight nacelle, whisker bar, and pimp lights are constant across the board, and while the Road King comes with non-adjustable forks, the stems are Showa's Dual Bending Valve units that deliver a superior ride to straight-up vanilla. Harley is catching up with the electronics, though. Starting for 2020, the Road King comes stock with linked brakes and ABS, and Harley does offer their excellent electronics suite – Reflex™ Defensive Rider Systems (RDRS) – as an option.

Harley powers the Road King with its Milwaukee-Eight 107 mill with 111 pound-feet of torque for a difference that won't even budge the needle on the most well-tuned heinie dyno, so neither gain anything significant in the power department. H-D delivers its Road King in Vivid Black for $19,499, priced close the $20,999 for the Springfield. If you add $995 for the RDRS system, you're right there.

He Said

“If you ever thought about jumping the fence over to the Indian side of things, this may be a good one to do it for. Indian hit the nail on the head looks-wise, and performance-wise as well 'cause the Thunder Stroke is as grunty as a locomotive, and it really pulls the bulk of the bike out of the hole quite nicely. Relatively speaking, price is neck-and-neck between the Road King and the Springfield. A test ride will have to decide it for you.”

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “The saddlebags and the windscreen come off easily, which is nice for washing the bike. Not surprisingly, the Springfield has stump-pulling torque way down low. The seat is very comfortable and riding position is perfectly upright, so you can seriously ride this bike to the low-fuel warning as long as your bladder lets you. The ride is incredibly smooth and your passenger has adjustable footboards, which is another big comfort point. Comparing the ride quality of the Springfield to the Road King, I'd have to go with the Springfield. I love the Road King, don't get me wrong, but the Springfield just feels more put-together.”

Further Reading

Read more Indian Motorcycle news.