Long Termer: Indian Pursuit

After super-fast tourers and a charismatic Italian, Dave settles down with a big American.

Rider: Dave Manning, 53, 5’ 11”
Cost new: £27,695
Engine: 1769cc, SOHC, 8 valve, water-cooled vee win
Spec: 120bhp (89.5kW) / 131lb-ft (177.6Nm)
Kerb weight: 416kg
Tank: 22.7 litres (5 gallons)
Seat height: 672mm (26.9in)
Miles this month: 396
Miles on clock: 3046
Fuel consumption: 50.4mpg/17.85km/l (claimed)
Current tyres: Dunlop Sportmax Roadsport 2
Modifications: None

After last year’s supercharged Kawasaki, and the previous year’s Hayabusa, I was rather keen to have something rather different as a long-termer for 2023. Having the Morini X-Cape over winter was a great change, and I was considering an adventure bike of some sort, but then reminded myself that I keep telling everyone that you can have an adventure on any kind of bike, and I kept having pleasurable flashbacks to the great couple of days I spent around Chamonix just over a year ago, playing on some big Indians…

So I opted for a Pursuit version of the Iowa-built big twin, complete with the huge (no less than 1769cc!) PowerPlus liquid-cooled 60-degree V-twin powerplant and enough luggage carrying capacity to enable me to travel anywhere and everywhere with my entire wardrobe…

Some big numbers

Yes, that spec box is correct, with perhaps the most astounding figure outside of the engine’s capacity being the 416kg stated as the bike’s weight. Yes, it is correct. It is a behemoth. Okay, so that weight nigh on disappears beneath you as soon as the bike is rolling, but be very careful when pottering around town and it’s perhaps best if you don’t try and stay feet up at all times as, if you have to take a quick dab at a set of lights you’ll not be able to stop the leviathan from falling if it starts to tip… I like to try and keep my feet on the pegs/boards at all times, so it’s something of a step-change in my approach to filtering/ slow speed bumbling – dragging your feet at walking pace may look a little amateur but it will help to prevent an embarrassing scenario when you have to find several bystanders to help you lift the bike back up!

Talking of big numbers, I have to mention not only the horsepower figure, of 120bhp, but particularly the torque – 131lb-ft is mightily impressive, and is exactly what you’d expect and hope for from a big vee twin albeit not always being the case. But the Indian doesn’t disappoint, with that fat torque delivery giving a sprightly acceleration that is not only a surprise but also a delight. Even with that mass, overtaking is easy, swift and immediate.

Like a few other models of vee twin and vee four, the rear cylinder cuts out at tickover to prevent overheating (of both bike and rider), and that heat reduction can be increased with the option of a cooling seat… yes, I’m also bewildered by the fact that that is an option! If you’re a hot-footed individual, there are a pair of neat little flaps in the lower fairings that can be opened with the nudge of a toe to give a lovely fresh breeze over the tootsies when the weather is especially warm. And yes, I have already taken that option this year, and it’s only June! Mind you, I’ve also used the heated grips…

Revision time

Despite piling on nearly 400 miles this month (including rides to Elvington for Speed Week, and Donington for BSB), as usual, I’ve not delved into the electronic doodads just yet – there’s the 200-watt stereo; heated seats and grips; cruise control; tyre pressure sensors; a 12V charger and LEDs; and more, and I’ve not yet explored the abilities of the 7-inch touchscreen with its Bluetooth connectivity, sat nav and Apple CarPlay (although, not being a fan of Mr Jobs’ fruit-based products, I’m unlikely to use the latter). And, as I don’t find any of the tech on modern motorcycles to be particularly intuitive, I’m going to have to do my homework to find out how to operate them. I have sussed the cruise control, but am totally flummoxed as to how I can make the stereo system play the music that I have on my phone, or even search for an FM radio station. Maybe the Indian just doesn’t like my somewhat noisy musical taste…

I can see clearly, no I can’t…

After an evening editorial meeting in Horncastle, I headed the 12 miles home after dusk. It’s not a bad time to ride at the start of June – not light but not pitch dark either, and a great piece of road that I really enjoy. Normally. The headlight on the Indian isn’t great. Okay, so it’s not 6-volt BSA Bantam bad, but is perhaps the worst headlight I’ve experienced for quite some time. I’m happy to accept that bike lights aren’t ever going to be as good as car headlights – there’re not as many of them for starters, and they have the issue of being tilted over with every bend and corner – but this was shocking. And made even worse by the ridiculously bright 7-inch TFT screen that lit up the entre dash, and me, too.

To be fair, I was able to turn down the brightness of the TFT, which helped a bit, but the headlight’s beam pattern (a thin, horizontal line on dip, and a pinpoint blob on high beam), and the way that the top of the screen interferes with my line of sight when on its lowest setting (and splattered flies making it rubbish on the higher setting) means that speeds over about 50mph become something of a guessing game…

More on the screen next month, along with a look at the wheels, tyres, brakes and the impressive fuel range…

Stay tuned to see what Dave thinks with another month under his belt!