Indian Motorcycle adds the Roadmaster Limited to the lineup ahead of MY2021 as an alternative to the vanilla Roadmaster at the bottom of the fully dressed tour-bike price range. The standard electronic suite and Ride Command infotainment system supports long trips as is, but new equipment really adds comfort through the ClimaCommand Rogue saddle that can heat or cool your nethers underway. Front fairing protection and a trio of hard bags round out the touring package to make it ready for the highway right off the showroom floor.

2021 Indian Roadmaster Limited Design

Indian sticks to the tried-and-true classic American tourbike design in the Roadmaster Limited, but without any pretense as to its vintage since the bodywork is thoroughly modern. It starts with the front fender that favors cut-down sides over the old-school valence, though the iconic war bonnet fender ornament persists to this day and I imagine that will continue into the foreseeable future.

The front end bulks up behind the fender with fat front forks complete with beer can skirts up top. A modern, batwing-esque fairing fairing}} splits the wind and extends out to cover your hands, plus the push button-adjustable windscreen lets you dial in the top of the rider's pocket to suit. Stock engine guards mount the fairing lowers that shunt the weather away from your legs and include adjustable air vents that lets cooling air through as needed.

The Roadmaster Limited debuts Indian's new ClimaCommand Rogue seat that, interestingly enough, can both heat and cool, just dial it in as you like. Both you and your passenger feel the benefits of temperature control butt-comfort.

Inside the fairing are dual round gauges for the speedo and tach, both with a built-in LED screen to complete the mundane instrumentation. But, the star of the show here is the seven-inch color touchscreen for the infotainment center that bundles navigation, traffic, and weather info along with Apple CarPlay support for your music and a Bluetooth connection for hands-free phone calls. Share your music with everyone around you through a 200 Watt system that pumps up the volume via drivers in both the trunk and the front fairing for that surround-sound effect.

The top case doubles as a wrap-around backrest for your passenger and secure, dry storage. Add that to the slammed sidebags and you have just over 36 gallons of stow-space that can be remote locked and unlocked via key fob}.

2021 Indian Roadmaster Limited Chassis

A cast-aluminum frame takes care of the main structure and keeps weight down, though at 890 pounds wet the Roadmaster Limited is definitely not a light bike by anyone's standards. That said, the 25-degree rake angle and 5.9 inches of trail turns in a fairly responsive performance in the corners with solid tracking on the straights, even at speed.

The 46 mm front forks ride on fixed values to leave the rear shock alone with any sort of adjustability in the form of an air-pressure preload, but nothing in the way of variable damping adjusters. Suspension travel is plush for the genre with 4.7 inches of travel up front opposite 4.5 inches out back, though the lack of fork adjustment is disappointing.

This is a heavy bike – it's true – but the factory gives you the anchors you need to keep it under control with dual, four-piston calipers up front that bite 300 mm discs for a tremendous amount of brakeage. Out back, find another 300 mm disc with a twin-piston binder, and brakes at both ends benefit from the stock ABS feature so you can count on safely getting the most out of the system.

As for the rubber, cast-alloy rims mount Metzeler Cruisetec hoops in a 130/60-19 ahead of a 180/60-16, the latter of which is mostly hidden under the bodywork in keeping with longstanding Indian tradition.

2021 Indian Roadmaster Limited Drivetrain

As with the rest of the Roadmaster line, the new “Limited” packs the largest production Thunder Stroke powerplant, the Thunder Stroke 116. This lump follows the usual classic design that includes faux cooling fins on the rocker-box covers and two pairs of parallel pushrod tubes cooling fins on the rocker-box covers and two pairs of parallel pushrod tubes}} to capture the look of the flathead/sidevalve engines of old.

Blackout treatment on the engine cases and cylinder is offset by a chrome nosecone, rocker-box lid, and pushrod tubes along with polished cooling-fin edges to make this a mill of monochromatic contrasts. If you're into big V-Twins, you'll appreciate both the looks and the performance as the TS 116 churns out a whopping and}.

The Limited comes stock with a 126 pound-feet of torque at 2,900 rpm with 92 ponies at the redline – Standard, Sport and Tour – so you can dial in the power-delivery personality to suit. Plus, it sports the trio of Ride Mode profiles feature that helps reduce the apparent waste heat by killing the rear jug at stops. All you have to do is roll on, even just a skosh, and the system switches back to normal operation.

Power flows through a Rear Cylinder Deactivation (instead of chain-type like H-D) and gear-type primary to turn in a top speed around 115 mph.

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No matter whether you pick the Crimson Metallic or the Thunder Black Azure Crystal paint package, you can expect to shell out $30,749 to get on a 2021 Roadmaster Limited. Both colors come with stock ABS with no option for a non-ABS model.

2021 Indian Roadmaster Limited Competitors

No doubt about it, Harley-Davidson has to be the go-to competitor here, and the MoCo even has a Limited of its own with the fully-dressed Ultra Limited.

Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited

Like Indian, Harley-Davidson helped shape the American motorcycle scene, but it went with a thoroughly modern look that includes many of the same high points. A similar cut-down front fender, Batwing front fairing, and fairing lowers lead the way, though the windshield is fixed in the fairing to leave the Roadmaster alone in the adjustable windshield category.

Both brands boast top-shelf infotainment systems, but H-D arguably gets a win in the safety department with its Reflex Defensive Rider System that adds Vehicle Hold Control, Drag-Torque Mitigation, corner-sensitive ABS, and traction control. Yeah, I don't get to say that very often about H-D, but it looks like the brand finally leapt feetfirst into the 21st century.

The engine is special, too. The Twin-Cooled Milwaukee-Eight 114 runs the show, but falls behind a tad with 122 pounds o' grunt on tap versus 126 pound-feet from the Thunder Stroke 116, but not even the most carefully calibrated heinie-dyno will tell the difference.

Harley scores a minor win at the checkout with its $28,699 starting price for the Vivid Black package. However, the price goes as high as $32,799 when looking at the 19 paint selections and include Fire Department, Law Enforcement, and Shriner packages.

Read our full review of the Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited and Ultra Limited Low.

He Said

“These bikes are similar, no doubt, but unfortunately for Indian I feel like the electronics package H-D brings to the table is a dealbreaker for America's oldest motorcycle marque. Yeah, I'm picking a model based mainly on its safety equipment. Perhaps I wouldn't if it were a smaller model, but a full dresser can be a handful to manage and personally I would want as much help as I could get.”

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “Oh, what a nice bike! This new Roadmsater Limited has upgraded features like gloss paint, chrome finishes, a modern fairing design, open front fender, and slammed saddlebags. Apple CarPlay® is standard now, as it is across the lineup for 2021. The Thunder Stroke engine is so grunty way down low and the performance is surprisingly agile for a big bike. It's a very comfortable tourer. Consider that the old engine map is now the 'Tour' Ride Mode, the Thunder Stroke engine in 'Sport' will having you smiling for the whole trip.”

2021 Indian Roadmaster Limited Specifications

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