An astonishing 1,811cc engine!LOW MILES

The Indian Chieftain was given a more modern look for 2019, leaving its heritage styling in the past and introducing brand-new features, many of which are best appreciated on the open road. A completely redesigned fairing with an ­electronically ­adjustable windshield ditches the integrated driving lights and chrome faceplate from previous years and incorporates an LED headlamp, a ventilation port to combat buffeting, and bullet-style LED turn signals. The locking backswept saddlebags are new too, giving the Chieftain an edge in storage capacity over earlier models.

All that, combined with fat handgrips, a voluminous fuel tank, and size-16 floorboards, adds up to a claimed dry weight nearing 800 pounds.  An astonishing 1,811cc engine, which requires a 49-degree vee to separate the cylinders adequately. Keeping with tradition, two valves fill and exhaust each combustion chamber, and the wind whistling past keeps everything cool, helped further now at idle speeds by a rear-cylinder deactivation mode. Highway or two-lane twisties, three modes—Tour, Standard, and Sport—put the rider in even greater command.