Review: Indian Roadmaster Dark Horse is a beautiful roaring beast

Indian Roadmaster Dark Horse.

It’s nice to have friends, especially those who are automotive nuts and are kind enough to lend you their prized possessions. One such generous soul called me and wondered if I wanted to ride his brand new Indian Roadmaster Dark Horse. I was pretty much putting on my riding gear even as we talked. And, not even 15 minutes had gone by when an almighty roar on the street below my home announced him.

My first reaction when I saw the bike—frankly, “bike” is an inadequate description—was a big laugh; it felt like he was riding a motorised Burj Khalifa or some such.

The Dark Horse seemed to stretch from one end of the street to the other and the explosive burbles had roused the neighbourhood strays, who were barking their heads off.

I imagined the bike’s designers asking the higher-ups: “How long, wide, loud, heavy and intimidating should we make the Dark Horse?” I’m sure the answer was “As you like it.”

Big, bold and beautiful 

There is no way you will miss this motorcycle on the road. It’s simply enormous, and if it’s old-school American muscle and metal you’re looking for, I can’t think of a better example (yes, even from Harley-Davidson).

The fairing is massive, and just below it is Indian’s iconic war-bonnet ornament (you can order one that lights up). The plastic bodywork surrounding the front leg guard has vents that let in air to cool the engine and footboard (more on this later).

Move around to the side and you’ll likely laugh as I did – the sheer length of this machine (2593mm from fender to fender) is ludicrous.

It’s quite beautiful though. The huge tank is nicely made and integrates neatly into the seats, which look larger than some couches. The V-twin engine is the centre of attention, of course, and the panniers and top box round off the quintessential full-fat cruiser look.

You get 137 litres of storage volume in all, and I was able to store my full-face helmet in the top box with room left over for another one.

The wheels add to the flash factor, with a great contrast finish on the spokes. The rear is as imposing as the rest of the bike, with superbly curved fenders, large tail lights and twin exhaust pipes with a black finish on them.

That’s the street-cred section well taken care of– you’ll stop traffic pretty much anywhere you go on the Dark Horse.

In the features and finish departments, the Dark Horse knocks it out of the park as well. Want a 200W audio system on your motorcycle? Check. It’s loud and clear, enough to listen to music at over 120 kph, with your helmet on, and in dynamic mode, the volume will fall and rise automatically depending on the speed.

A touchscreen entertainment system? Check. The 7-inch unit can be used with a gloved hand, has Apple CarPlay (but no Android Auto) and displays different kinds of information.

Fancy heated and cooled seats as well as heated grips? Check. You can adjust the height of the windshield using a dedicated button plus you have keyless ignition and remote-lockable panniers for added convenience.

Oh, and the dials are analogue—none of that digital tomfoolery here.

It rides smooth 

I’ve ridden a few Harley-Davidsons and a couple of Indians before and have always been struck by just how much more refined Indian’s engines are.

It’s no different with the Dark Horse–the 1900cc V-twin is butter smooth. It puts out around 79 bhp a tremendous 171 Nm of peak torque, which is both a staggering figure as well as a necessity.

This bike weighs 403 kg, and if fully loaded up with passengers and luggage, a gargantuan amount of torque is what you need to make rapid progress—which you will.

The torque’s peak kicks in at around 3000 rpm, and once it does you would be forgiven for thinking you’re astride a Shatabdi Express. The Dark Horse pulls cleanly, relentlessly and smoothly to high triple-digit speeds (it is easy-mannered at speeds below 60 kph).

To reiterate, the refinement on offer is amazing—you barely feel any vibrations in the footboard or the handlebars.

You get three riding modes to play with—Standard, Tour and Sport—and each gives the Dark Horse a distinct character, with power delivery modulated accordingly.

The not so good

There’s one big problem with the engine, though. It’s designed to keep you at cruising speed on US-style highways and US-style traffic.

This means that when confronted with Indian traffic conditions, the Dark Horse is rather unhappy and fiery hot. I would not use it as an everyday machine in this country if I lived in a big city because when you’re crawling along, the heat coming off the engine is close to unbearable–and this engine is air-cooled.

It does have cylinder deactivation tech, which turns off the rear cylinder below a certain speed but even that isn’t enough to combat our traffic and weather.

My advice is to have another bike as a daily runner, and press this one into action when you feel like crossing continents.

It would be natural for anyone to think twice before clambering aboard the Dark Horse, given its dimensions and weight, but it’s so well balanced and so easy to ride that it’s almost shocking.

Sure, executing a tight U-turn will set your nerves on edge a bit but other than that, you’ll be absolutely fine even at 10 kph, with no fear of toppling over unless you do something really stupid.

It’s equally stable when you’re tackling a corner at triple-digit speeds–just select the correct line, lean the bike over and you’re done.

The suspension is wonderful, soaking up bumps effortlessly and allowing you to change direction much more quickly than anything this big has the right to.

Mind the gap

You do have to be careful when you’re cornering about one thing—there’s not much clearance between the floorboards and the road, so you’ll end up scraping them if you’re overenthusiastic.

You’ll also have to be careful over speed breakers since the 140mm ground clearance sometimes isn’t adequate for bigger ones. The brakes are adequate for the bike’s heft, but I couldn’t help but feel that bigger discs would have been much better.

The Roadmaster Dark Horse is a unique motorcycle, and you’ll find nothing else like it in India. It’s an absolute brute but also civilised, which is a great combination for a machine to have; there’s an old-world charm about it that’s irresistible and you'll have plenty of laughs on it.

What will also make you laugh is the price—over Rs 50 lakh, on-road. Bystanders who asked me what it cost certainly did (and some also let loose a few choice swear words). Still, the fact is that if you’re considering this bike, money hardly matters—lucky you.