INDIAN MOTORCYCLE REVEALS
POWERPLUS ENGINE
I
f you’re a fan of America’s oldest name in
motorcycling, Indian Motorcycle, you’ll be aware
that the company has been rumoured to be
working on a water-cooled engine for some time now. The all-new powertrain features a six-
speed transmission, assist clutch to reduce
clutch effort, and three rider modes which
adjust the engine’s throttle mapping.
After what feels like years of rumours,
the company has finally revealed the long-
anticipated engine to the public, and it certainly
has the right specification to impress. Reliability was also top of Indian’s mind when
developing the new powerplant, and as such the
company says the PowerPlus was tested and
refined over one million miles of simulated riding,
including state-of-the-art dyno testing, and more
than 250,000 on-road miles (400,000km).
The new engine’s PowerPlus moniker is a
nod to Indian Motorcycle’s iconic history,
paying homage to the Indian PowerPlus
motorcycle produced from 1916 to 1924.
“We challenged our engineers with the notion
that anything less than best-in-class design and
performance will simply not get it done, and it’s clear
with this new engine that they have delivered on that
high standard,” said Steve Menneto, Indian Motorcycle
President. “Countless hours were spent in design,
development and testing to ensure this is the best
liquid-cooled V-twin ever developed, and I could not
be prouder of our team and this incredible motor.”
The PowerPlus takes design and performance
inspiration from Indian’s first liquid-cooled engine
which debuted in the Indian Scout, including an
overhead camshaft design utilising four valves
per cylinder, and then goes even further.
Developing a class-leading 121 horsepower (90.1
kW) and 178 Nm of torque from a displacement
of 1769cc, the PowerPlus engine is, at this
stage, not going to replace Indian’s ageing-yet-
characterful Thunderstroke 111 in the Chief line.
Instead, the PowerPlus is destined to be the heart
of an all-new bagger to be dubbed the Indian
Challenger, which Indian claims will be the highest-
performing American V-twin ever developed.
Going by the fact Indian has shown off both a chrome
finished and blacked out version of the PowerPlus
so far, we believe the new Indian Challenger will also
be made available in a Dark Horse specification.
Kiwi Rider is awaiting further details on when we can
expect to see the new bike arrive on our shores.
KIWI RIDER 17