The Indian Motorcycle That Gives Harley-Davidson Its Toughest Competition
Harley-Davidson has long stood as the definition of American motorcycling. The Street Glide and Road Glide have become cultural reference points as much as motorcycles, backed by decades of brand loyalty, a massive dealer network, an aftermarket that could probably furnish a small country, and an increasingly serious racing presence. Building another big V-twin tourer is easy enough. Convincing Harley riders to actually care about it is considerably harder.
Beating Harley At Its Own Game Is Almost Impossible
Part of Harley-Davidson’s advantage has very little to do with what happens on a spec sheet. Buyers are getting the styling, the sound, the community, the customization potential, and a dealer ecosystem that’s been built over generations. For plenty of riders, that connection matters just as much as suspension travel or peak horsepower. A competing motorcycle therefore can’t simply be faster. It has to deliver the same sense of occasion while giving someone a legitimate reason to abandon the default choice.
That makes the highly popular Road Glide particularly important. Its chassis-mounted Sharknose fairing, relaxed touring ergonomics, hard luggage, and long-distance focus already place it directly in the performance-bagger conversation. And Harley hasn’t exactly been sitting around polishing chrome while everyone else catches up. The current generation brings modern electronics, a large TFT interface, selectable ride modes, improved aerodynamics, and considerably more sophisticated performance than the company’s older touring bikes.
Why The Road Glide’s Heritage And Hardware Make It So Hard To Beat
The 2026 Road Glide starts at $25,999 and uses Harley’s Milwaukee-Eight 117 V-twin, producing 105 horsepower and 130 pound-feet of torque. Harley lists a running-order weight of 838 pounds, a 26.6-inch laden seat height, a six-gallon fuel tank, and 2.42 cubic feet of luggage space. A 12.3-inch TFT running Skyline OS handles infotainment duties, while ABS, traction control, linked braking, Vehicle Hold Control, and cornering-sensitive rider aids are also available.
Then there’s the CVO Road Glide ST, which demonstrates how seriously Harley now takes outright bagger performance. Its Milwaukee-Eight 121 High Output engine produces 127 horsepower and 145 pound-feet, backed by performance-oriented suspension and braking hardware. It also starts at a fairly wild $44,999. Harley isn’t suddenly vulnerable. Anyone coming after it now has to compete with heritage and touring comfort while also dealing with some properly serious machinery.
Way Too Many Riders Sleep On Indian’s Motorcycles
Now, this is where Indian Motorcycle enters the picture. You see, Indian occupies a strange position in this competition. It’s hardly an unknown name, and its history stretches deep into American motorcycling, but it still tends to play the underdog whenever Harley enters the conversation. That’s unfortunate because Indian has spent years developing some genuinely advanced V-twin hardware rather than simply trying to replicate what Harley already does well. That difference is especially obvious once you start looking at its liquid-cooled PowerPlus engine family.
Liquid cooling alone doesn’t automatically make a motorcycle better, of course, but it gives engineers more freedom when chasing output, tighter thermal control, and consistent performance. Indian has paired that architecture with overhead cams, four-valve cylinder heads, modern electronics, and chassis technology that leans more toward performance touring than old-school cruising. The resulting bikes don’t necessarily offer the exact same flavor as a Harley, and that’s arguably the whole point. They’re trying to win the same buyer through a different set of strengths.
The Indian Challenger 112 Might Actually Be The Better Motorcycle
That brings us to the Indian Challenger, now available with the company’s 1,834cc PowerPlus 112 V-twin. The engine produces 126 horsepower and 133 pound-feet of torque, putting it remarkably close to the standard Road Glide in peak torque while giving Indian a substantial 21-horsepower advantage. More importantly, those numbers live inside a genuine full-size American bagger with a chassis-mounted fairing, locking saddlebags, proper touring ergonomics, and the equipment needed for serious mileage.
Pricing starts at $27,999 for the Challenger, followed by $30,999 for the Challenger Limited 112 and $31,999 for the Challenger Dark Horse 112. The more exclusive Challenger Elite starts at $39,999, while the 125th Anniversary Edition starts at $41,999. PowerBand Audio packages can raise those figures further depending on configuration, but even the regular 112-powered models sit within striking distance of Harley’s mainstream touring lineup rather than disappearing into CVO money.
Three MotoAmerica Championships Prove The PowerPlus 112 Isn’t Just A Spec Sheet
The PowerPlus 112 is the centerpiece here. Its liquid-cooled 60-degree V-twin architecture uses four valves per cylinder and produces those 126 horsepower and 133 pound-feet straight from the factory, paired with a six-speed transmission and wet multi-plate clutch. Indian also points out that the PowerPlus engine family has claimed three MotoAmerica King of the Baggers championships, so the performance angle isn’t based solely on brochure numbers and enthusiastic adjectives.
The comparison with Harley is particularly revealing. The standard Road Glide makes 130 pound-feet, only three less than the Challenger 112, so both motorcycles deliver the big low-end shove buyers expect from an American V-twin. The Indian simply keeps producing considerably more horsepower as engine speed climbs. This isn’t really about declaring one philosophy objectively correct. Harley prioritizes traditional character with increasingly modern execution, while Indian has pushed harder toward a contemporary performance-bagger formula.
Indian Built A Bagger Around Handling, Not Just Straight-Line Muscle
The Challenger’s chassis makes that philosophy even clearer. Indian uses a cast-aluminum frame, a 43 mm inverted fork with 5.1 inches of travel, and a single rear shock with hydraulic preload adjustment and 4.5 inches of travel. Brembo braking hardware handles stopping duties, while the chassis-mounted fairing keeps steering inputs isolated from the weight of the bodywork. The Dark Horse 112 weighs 855 pounds in running order, so this is still a very large motorcycle, but the hardware underneath it is designed accordingly.
Touring hasn’t been sacrificed to chase handling, either. There’s a six-gallon fuel tank, power-adjustable windshield, remote-locking hard saddlebags, cruise control, keyless ignition, tire-pressure monitoring, selectable ride modes, and Indian’s Ride Command infotainment system. The latest 112 models also add rider-assistance technology including Blind Spot Warning, Tailgate Warning, Rear Collision Warning, Bike Hold Control, electronically linked brakes, and Smart Lean cornering-sensitive ABS and traction control.
That’s arguably where the Challenger makes its strongest case. A big horsepower figure is entertaining, but an 800-plus-pound bagger has to do considerably more than win roll races. Predictable chassis behavior, braking confidence, wind protection, luggage, electronics, and comfort all become increasingly important after several hundred miles. Indian hasn’t built a muscle cruiser and bolted saddlebags onto it. The Challenger was conceived from the start as a high-performance touring motorcycle that still has to function as actual transportation.
For $2,000 More Than A Road Glide, Here’s Everything The Challenger 112 Gives You
None of this suddenly makes Harley-Davidson irrelevant. Its touring motorcycles still offer an enormous cultural advantage, arguably unmatched aftermarket support, instantly recognizable styling, and an ownership experience many riders actively want. If someone has spent years dreaming about a Road Glide, pointing out that another motorcycle produces 21 more horsepower probably isn’t going to erase that emotional connection. Motorcycles aren’t spreadsheets, and American V-twins may demonstrate that better than almost anything else.
But if the decision comes down primarily to the motorcycles themselves, the Challenger 112 becomes very difficult to ignore. For a base price only $2,000 higher than the Road Glide, Indian gives you 126 horsepower, liquid-cooled performance, sophisticated rider electronics, serious chassis hardware, hard luggage, and the equipment to spend entire days covering highway miles. It doesn’t beat Harley by becoming a better imitation of one. It gives Harley its toughest competition precisely because it isn’t trying to be one.
Source: Indian Motorcycle
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