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2026 Indian Chief Vintage Review
Indian goes back to the future with its 2026 Chief Vintage, which draws inspiration from 1940s-era Chiefs. Nearly all of the trim is black, and it’s powered by the air-cooled Thunderstroke 116. (Photos by Garth Milan)
Few motorcycles are as instantly identifiable as a classic Indian Chief. From a block away or up close, you know exactly what you’re looking at. Although Chiefs were built from 1922 until the Springfield, Massachusetts‑based manufacturer ceased production in 1953, it’s the 1940 Chief that introduced the skirted fenders that are so iconic and recognizable.
Revivals of Indian, including motorcycles built in Gilroy, California, from 1999‑2003 and Kings Mountain, North Carolina, from 2006‑2011, leaned heavily on traditional Chief styling: skirted fenders, an illuminated Indian headdress ornament on the front fender, spoked wheels, and liberal uses of leather fringe, chrome conchos, and Indian script badging.
The third and most significant revival of Indian started in 2011, when Minnesota‑based Polaris Inc. bought the rights to the brand. When Indian Motorcycle was relaunched at the Sturgis Rally in August 2013, three models were unveiled: Chief Classic, Chief Vintage, and Chieftain. All were powered by the air‑cooled Thunderstroke 111, which had been shown at Daytona Bike Week earlier that year, and all shared a styling throughline that went back to the 1940 Chief.
The look and stance of the new Chief Vintage closely resembles 1940s-era Chiefs.
Fast forward to the present. Indian Motorcycle is kicking off 2026 – the 125th anniversary of the brand – under new ownership and with a new CEO. Over the past 13 years, Indian has expanded its lineup from those first three Chiefs to more than two dozen models across its Cruiser, Bagger, and Touring families. It has also moved away from the traditional styling that defined earlier iterations of the brand. To better compete head‑to‑head with Harley‑Davidson, Indian has adopted design language that is more modern, muscular, and inspired by the custom scene.
As Indian charts its new path forward as a company, it’s also celebrating its history and the legacy that has kept the brand alive (even when the company wasn’t) for over a century. Which brings us to the 2026 Chief Vintage. Unlike the model of the same name that debuted in 2013 and stayed in the lineup until 2022, the new version more closely resembles the Chiefs of the 1940s. It’s darker, with no chrome, and minimalist, with less ostentatious styling and fewer baubles.
Silver-painted cylinder heads pay homage to aluminum heads from the past.
During the unveiling of the Chief Vintage at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, Ola Stenegärd, design director for Indian Motorcycle, showed a photograph of a ’40s‑era Chief that he saw as a young boy in Sweden. That Chief inspired Stenegärd’s lifelong love of cruisers and led him to become a motorcycle designer. His career includes stints at Gilroy‑based Indian, designing cars for Saab, and 15 years as a designer for BMW Motorrad before joining Indian again in 2018. His first assignment: redesign the Chief.
Riding the Chief Vintage is like taking a trip back in time, minus the headaches of owning and operating a classic Chief.
The new Chief platform, introduced for 2022 and the basis for the Chief Vintage, took after its smaller stablemate, the Scout. It was more stripped‑down and elemental, with a shortened wheelbase, a tubular‑steel frame replacing the previous modular aluminum backbone, and exposed twin laydown rear shocks rather than a single shock hidden behind bodywork. It was also more than 100 lb lighter than its predecessor.
Stenegärd said that his team had this new Vintage in mind when they redesigned the Chief. They wanted to move away from the previous model’s heavy use of chrome and do away with its whitewall tires and brown leather two‑up seat and saddlebags accented with fringe and conchos. In Stenegärd’s words, they wanted it to be “less retro and more classic.”
Hand shaping the fenders in clay.
Rather than just slapping some valanced fenders on the standard Chief and calling it day, Stenegärd and his team put a lot of work into getting the stance and proportions right. Even in the current era of computer‑aided design and rapid prototyping, that meant long hours in the studio shaping the fenders using modeling clay, a technique that has been around since the 1930s and is preferred when dealing with complex, organic curves. In terms of proportions, the standard Chief has a 180mm rear tire, but it didn’t look right on the Chief Vintage. The designers went with a narrower 150mm rear, which allowed the rear fender to be narrower, reducing its visual mass and hewing closer to the period aesthetic.
Grace notes.
Other classic touches abound. Fender tips. Footboards. An illuminated headdress ornament. Covers on the forks and rear shocks. A vintage‑style pullback handlebar. A solo seat. Black finishes on the engine with silver‑painted pushrod tubes and cylinder heads, the latter resembling the aluminum heads used on early Chiefs. Although I would have loved to see the Chief Vintage offered in Tangerine like the 1953 Chief, color options are limited to Black Metallic and Indian Motorcycle Red.
It was a cool but sunny morning when our eclectic group of journalists, YouTubers, and influencers filed out of the hotel to find a line of Chief Vintages waiting for us. From a distance and up close, the bike looks sharp. Apart from silver on the pushrod tubes, cylinder heads, wheel spokes, and a few badges and fasteners, everything is finished in gloss or matte black. The frame, fork and shocks, exhaust pipes, headlight bucket, handlebar, seat, and even the fender tips, headdress ornament, and Indian badges on the tank are black, black, black.
A round 4-inch color touchscreen display includes Ride Command with GPS navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, and more.
Discreetly hidden on the bikes were the electronic key fobs. All we had to do was tap the power button, which brought to life the round 4‑inch color touchscreen display. Hiding in plain sight are modern features and conveniences today’s riders want: ride modes (Sport, Standard, and Tour), antilock brakes, infotainment, and a charging port.
Pressing the ignition button fired up the Thunderstroke 116, an air‑cooled 49‑degree V‑Twin that churns out 120 lb‑ft of torque at 2,900 rpm. Refined and enlarged over the past 13 years, this engine has just the right amount of rumble and a distinctive but reasonable exhaust note. With the engines warm and our caffeine kicking into high gear, we rolled out onto the freeway to slice and dice among daily commuters on our way to the canyon roads of Malibu. In top gear at highway speeds, the Thunderstroke 116 chugs along nicely, and there’s always extra grunt on tap for a quick pass.
The solo saddle is inspired by a classic tractor seat.
Our butts sat upon what Indian calls the Vintage Floating Solo Seat. Perched at a very reasonable 27 inches above the asphalt, the thinly padded seat is more comfortable than it appears at first glance. Stenegärd said that, like the fenders, his team burned the midnight oil to get the seat right. Its sculpted shape is based on that of classic tractor seats, like those farmers spent long days in while working the fields. The seat is held in place by a bracket that flexes, allowing it to move slightly to help isolate the rider from impacts. The seat doesn’t allow the rider to move around much, but I never felt the need to do so. And if your riding plans include a companion, a passenger seat and footpegs are available as accessories. (Other accessories include a quick‑release windshield, highway bars, saddlebags, a Pathfinder adaptive LED headlight, a Stage 1 slip‑on exhaust, and a Stage 1 high‑flow air intake.)
Black Metallic in stock trim and Indian Motorcycle Red shown with accessories.
Malibu Canyon Road took us into the Santa Monica Mountains that hug the Pacific coast, and Piuma Road took us from the canyon’s floor to its upper rim. Morning rains had left the road slick and even a little muddy in places. The Metzeler Cruisetec tires offered confident grip, and I appreciated that the narrow rear tire reduced steering effort. In the Standard ride mode, throttle response was smooth and predictable, allowing me to gradually roll on and off the power as needed to negotiate the curves and slippery surfaces.
After some photo passes, we made our way to the Pacific Coast Highway and cruised north. With my boots on the footboards and my gloves gripping the pullback handlebar, I felt at ease, almost graceful, as we rumbled along the wide boulevard. The ride quality was good, the air was salty and clean, and all felt right with the world.
The buckhorn handlebar, solo seat, and footboards create a laidback riding position.
GEAR UP
Helmet: Arai Classic-V
Jacket: Highway 21 Primer
Airbag Vest: Alpinestars Tech-Air 5 Plasma
Gloves: Highway 21 Jab Perforated
Pants: Cortech AA Dyneema Jeans
Boots: Indian Spirit Lake x Red Wing
Turning onto Encinal Canyon Road, known for its fast, sweeping corners, the lead rider’s pace quickened, and we gave chase. As the old saying goes, one bike is a ride, two bikes is a race. Hitting big dips bounced me out of the seat a few times, limited cornering clearance necessitated wide lines through corners, and hard braking put the single front caliper to the test, but our fast‑moving train of Chief Vintages would have put a smile on the face of old Gene Thompson (Eric Trow’s grandfather, who used to race Indians).
An illuminated headdress ornament and a round LED headlight lead the way.
America’s Big Two motorcycle brands – Indian and Harley‑Davidson – do their best to outdo each other in terms of heritage and history, racing and red‑blooded authenticity. Indian was founded first and grew to become the largest motorcycle company in the world but faltered after World War II. Harley‑Davidson was founded a couple of years after Indian and survived throughout the 20th century and into the 21st, but not without its struggles and stumbles. Both are forging new paths into the future while trying to stay true to the past.
With the Chief Vintage, Indian is paying homage to its glory days, when the Wigwam was going strong and its engineers created one of the most iconic silhouettes in all of motorcycling. It’s a pleasure to look at and a pleasure to ride.
2026 Indian Chief Vintage in Indian Motorcycle Red
Check out more new bikes in Rider’s 2026 Motorcycle Buyers Guide
2026 Indian Chief Vintage Specs
Base Price: $19,999
Price As Tested: $20,499 (Indian Motorcycle Red)
Website: IndianMotorcycle.com
Warranty: 2 yrs., unltd. miles
Engine Type: Air‑cooled, transverse 49‑degree V‑Twin, OHV w/ 2 valves per cyl.
Displacement: 116ci / 1,890cc
Bore x Stroke: 4.063 x 4.449 in. / 103.2 x 113.0mm
Horsepower: 96 @ 4,200 rpm (estimated)
Torque: 120 lb-ft @ 2,900 rpm (factory claim)
Transmission: 6-speed, cable‑actuated wet assist clutch
Final Drive: Belt
Wheelbase: 64 in.
Rake/Trail: 29 degrees/5.2 in.
Seat Height: 27 in.
Wet Weight: 721 lb (factory claim)
Fuel Capacity: 4 gal.
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