Indian Motorcycle's famous “Chief” branding first saw light of day way back in 1921, so the factory put together an all-new, 100-year-anniversary model Chief to mark the occasion. A post-war panache joins classic-custom chops and contemporary technology to complete the antique-looking package and ensure modern performance parameters. Indian powers this platform with its powerful Thunder Stroke 111 engine.

2022 Indian Chief Design

As a rolling tribute piece, the Chief has to fit a fairly narrow design plan, and it seems like the factory has indeed done it. The ground-up blackout treatment begins right away with monochromatic rims, fork sliders, and shocks. It bleeds over into the drivetrain and exhaust to cover almost the whole engine with the exception of the polished cooling-fin edges, pushrod tubes, and a handful assorted bits and bobs as the only bling to be found. That's OK though, 'cause at the end of the day, chrome doesn't get you home, and I kinda' like the understated looks of this newest Chief platform.

Both the front and rear fenders are heavily bobbed to reinforce the homegrown-classic chops, though the lack of laced wheels is something of a letdown, to be honest. The headlight serves as a microcosm of the overall design. It rides in a round, old-school, single headlight housing but sports multiple LED projectors to split the night and ensure two-way visibility during the day. All-around LED lighting comes stock to make your intentions known to the surrounding traffic.

Behind the blackout headlight can, handlebar, and mirrors, the four-gallon fuel tank carries a classic teardrop profile ahead of the solo saddle that slings your butt at 26 inches off the deck. That's fairly low in the overall scheme of things, and is sure to boost confidence at stops and when padding around the parking lot, even for shorter riders.

If you're into sharing the fun with a friend you'll have to spring for a pillion-pad of some sort, but the factory offers a line of accessory equipment that covers that particular base along with oodles of custom goodies that let you make your new Chief all your own.

2022 Indian Chief Chassis

Tubular-steel frame members on the new Chief make up the double-downtube/double-cradle structure sporting an open-type steering head that reduces the visual weight up front and even adds a bit of a chopper vibe to the mix. Out back, the layout of the aluminum subframe suggests the geometry of the old rigid bikes. Although Indian doesn't go as far as Harley-Davidson and Triumph with a proper faux-rigid swing cage structure, the rear shocks carry the angle of the backbone similar to how a hardtail would do.

Rake and trail measure at 29-degrees from the vertical and 5.2-inches long respectively to make the Chief stable in crosswinds with solid tracking at speed. Cast aluminum wheels round out the rolling chassis in a 19-inch diameter ahead of a 16 out back, and they come shod with super-sticky Pirelli Night Dragon hoops with a 130/60 and 180/65 in an “H” rating that will tolerate speeds up to 130 mph.

Rwu forks float the front end on 5.2 inches of travel but with nothing in the way of adjustments. Out back, the coil-over shocks sport the obligatory spring-preload tweak and turn in 3 inches of travel to meet the bare requirements. All-around 300 mm discs work with a four-bore front caliper and single-pot rear to haul the Chief down, and here you have a choice to go with ABS protection or pick one of the two models that roll without electronic brake management.

2022 Indian Chief Drivetrain

Faux cooling fins on the rocker-box-covers of the new Chief steer the look toward the flathead engines of old, and like many of those old sidevalves, the pushrod tubes run externally in parallel pairs to sell the look. It's an air-cooled engine, so the cooling fins on the jugs are not just for looks and there's no clunky radiator to busy up the front of the machine, just a clean classy panache.

The mill has 101 mm bores with a 113 mm stroke to give it its 111 cubic-inch (1,811 cc) displacement and mild, 9.5-to-1 compression ratio that will extend the life of the bottom end and make shopping for fuel easy. Induction control falls to a single 54 mm throttle body, and the only ride-quality control on the Chief is the trio of ride modes that lets you dial in the power delivery to suit.

A low-maintenance and quiet carbon-reinforced belt-and-pulley system acts as the final drive behind a six-speed transmission and standard wet clutch for a top speed around the 115 mph mark. As for power output, the TS-111 generates an impressive 108 pound-feet of torque at a low 3,200 rpm to make a considerable portion of that grunt available just over idle for a deep torque well indeed.

2022 Indian Chief Price

Color, price, and ABS all have an impact on the final price. At the bottom of the foodchain is the non-ABS Black Metallic for $14,499 and non-ABS White Smoke for another five Benjamins. If you'd prefer ABS protection, the black and white packages roll for $15,299 and $15,799 respectively, and the factory adds a Ruby Smoke finish with ABS for $15,799 if monochromatic sheet metal ain't your thing.

2022 Indian Chief Competitors

There's just no way around it, being an American-made machine destined to compete in the domestic market, the Chief is going to come up against Harley-Davidson and its Softail Slim.

Harley-Davidson Softail Slim

The “Slim” moniker doesn't exactly bear out in actual looks as it rocks fat hoops and skirted front forks that add quite a bit of visual heft up front. Credit to the MoCo, it managed to capture the look of yesteryear to an even greater degree than the Chief, even without a camouflaged powerplant. I reckon some of that is due to the laced rims and chubby tires, but this second-generation Softail maintains the special swingarm that has long set the Softails apart from its stablemates with appropriate frame geometry to take the mind back to the mid-Forties.

The H-D runs a Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine that, in spite of surrendering a handful of cubes to the Indian, still comes out on top with 110 pounds o' grunt on tap at 3,000 rpm, which is also lower in the rev range than the TS-111. Suspension is a wash and ABS is optional on the H-D with a $795 pricetag. That's on top of the $15,999 Vivid Black base model, $16,399 color package, and $16,749 two-tone color scheme.

Read our full review of the Harley-Davidson Softail Slim.

He Said

“It's an interesting machine to be sure, and I think it's worthy of the “Chief” name. That engine, those fenders, and the overall geometry certainly brings to mind the Chiefs of old, just with a decidedly modern finish. This is probably the most direct competitor for H-D's Softail line after Triumph's own Bobber and Speedmaster, and the only homegrown competition at that, so it will be interesting who will wind up on top of the soft-hardtail design category.”

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “If long, curvy roads are in your sights, the new Indian Chief should be on your list of possibles. It's a step up from the Scout, so if you want more than the Scout offers as far as ride comfort, but you don't want to go full-on big bagger, the new Chief sits right in that sweet spot. Standard ride mode is very linear in power delivery, and Sport mode, while it offers a measure of fun, is a little jerky. The Chief is a very comfortable ride and stable at speed while handling the curves with aplomb.”

2022 Indian Chief Specifications

Further Reading

Indian Motorcycle

Read more Indian Motorcycle news.