Indian Announces 2020 Thunder Stroke 116 Heavyweight Motorcycle Lineup

Indian have just announced their new range of Thunderstroke 116 bikes for 2020 so in this video we'll take a look at some of the details. The 116 cubic inch motor was available previous to this week's news but only as a $2,749 big bore kit for the Thunderstroke 111 cubic inch motor but as of 2020 it'll be standard across a whole bunch of their big tourers. The Springfield Dark Horse, Roadmaster Dark Horse, Roadmaster, Chieftain Dark Horse, Chieftain Limited and Chieftain Elite will all come with the new motor whereas the Chief Dark Horse, Chief Vintage, Springfield and Chieftain Classic will retain the 111 and only the Chieftain as a choice of either. For those of you who work in metric 116 cubic inches is just shy of 1.9 litres whereas the previous 111 motor is just over 1.8 litres so essentially they're both massive. The increase in displacement has been achieved by increasing the bore by a couple of millimetres just like the big bore kit we've already mentioned. In practice this means that the new larger motor will put out a 168 newton metres or 126 foot pounds of peak torque which is up from the 161 newton metres or 119 foot pounds of the 111. These are pretty big figures when you consider that a sports bike like a Ducati Panigale v4 produces 112 newton metres but how do they stack up to other big cruisers? The 114 cubic inch twin-cooled Milwaukee 8 v-twin used on Harley's touring models like the Ultra Limited or the Road Glide Limited claims a similar 164 newton metres and a little less power at just under 90 horses. Triumph's new Rocket 3 however which has a far bigger capacity triple of 2.5 litres or 152 cubic inches will be the torquiest production bike ever capable of a whopping 221 newton metres and it has far more power too at 167 PS peak but the Rocket has a performance orientated feel whereas much of the Thunderstroke range focuses on comfort and big miles. That said although the 116 motor looks like a big old-school lump it retains some modern features from the 111 like the ride-by-wire throttle and riding modes as well as rear cylinder deactivation which shuts off when the bikes at a standstill to stop the rider from cooking in warm weather whilst the front cylinder keeps firing to keep the engine going. As soon as you even look at the throttle the rear cylinder starts firing again so that's pretty smart. Indian's Vice President Reed Wilson said that they've been listening to rider feedback that they wanted power and technology in an aggressive looking package so as well as the improved motor they've developed their tech for 2020 as well. Indian's Ride Command infotainment system is widely regarded as pretty damn good already but there are updates to the 7-inch touchscreen with a new quad-core processor to speed things up a little and cope with the software updates. Connected to your phone Ride Command can now overlay traffic and weather data to help you avoid two of motorcycling's most prolific vibe killers. Predictive destination searching has also been added as well as better customizable ride screens. In a bid to produce more aggressive modern looking bikes Indian have rolled out the Dark Horse treatment to a couple more models following the success of the Chieftain Dark Horse, a bike I'm particularly fond of the looks of especially in the Storm Trooper-esque white finish. But I've got to say the new Roadmaster Dark Horse looks pretty tasty too. Indian lists features including a streamlined fairing, slammed saddlebags, a 19-inch front wheel with open fender, an extended reach rogue gunfighter seat, blacked-out engine and matte paint color schemes as well as touring comforts such as a touring trunk, I think that's what we call a top box, lower fairings, heated grips and a mid adjustable windscreen. It's not currently listed on the UK Indian website but it's never going to be cheap for so much bike. $28,999 for black and $29,749 for white or red put it firmly at the premium end of the spectrum. The Springfield has previously appeared as a Dark Horse model in the form of a limited edition bike for 2019 launched at Daytona Bike Week. But a full production Dark Horse makes it into the lineup for 2020 also packing the slammed saddlebags, rogue seat, blacked-out finish and some 12-inch mini ape handlebars. In the UK this bike starts at £22,349 or $22,499 in the US. But if you think that's pricey take a moment to consider the Chieftain Elite which returns to the Indian lineup after a year-long absence. This bike is hand-painted and features Indians premium power band audio system which includes speakers in both the fairing and saddlebags. With an electric adjustable windscreen, remote locking saddlebags, premium wheels, mirrors and floorboards you're looking at a starting price of $34,999. It's a lot but I certainly wouldn't mind some long miles in the saddle of such a luxurious machine. It's like a two-wheeled Rolls Royce. I'm looking forward to seeing some of these bikes and the new Scouts when they arrive at Crazy Horse but what do you guys think of them? Let me know in the comments below and if you're new here and you want to see more videos like this hit subscribe and I'll see you next time.