This vintage cruiser wants to take America by storm in 2026

2026 may have only just begun, but American bike makers are already firing on all guns blazing. Harley-Davidson has already rocked the internet with its new full-dressers, and now Indian has joined the party. Instead of touring bikes, the bicycle maker has launched a new vintage cruiser for 2026 to celebrate the brand’s 125th anniversary. It’s called the Chief Vintage, directly inspired by the Indian Chief from the 1940s. This is what you get.

The design of the Indian Chief Vintage takes you back in time

The aesthetics are undeniably the USP of the Chief Vintage. Up top you get a round headlight, flanked by a valanced front fender and vintage swept-back handlebars. This is accompanied by a small center section, thanks to the peanut tank, narrow rear subframe and vintage solo seat. A special shoutout goes to the huge rear fender that hides almost the entire rear spoke wheel.

In terms of color, the Chief Vintage is available in two shades: Indian Motorcycle Red and Metallic Black. The first drapes the engine in a glossy shade of red, accentuated by a blacked-out engine bay, exhausts and chassis. While the latter brings with it a Batman-esque all-black finish. As a contrast, the spoke wheels and engine heads have a silver finish.

But the features list is modern

The design may be retro, but the features list here is modern. A TFT touchscreen instrument panel sits in the center of the cockpit and gives you access to the Ride Command connectivity features. This includes turn-by-turn navigation via platforms such as Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps. You also get three selectable riding modes (Tour, Standard and Sport), dual-channel ABS and rear cylinder deactivation.

Power comes from the Mighty Thunderstroke 116 V-Twin engine

Speaking of the reel, this is India’s proven Thunderstroke 116 V-twin reel. It has air cooling and a compression ratio of 11:1 and produces 120 Nm of torque at just 2,900 rpm. That puts it on par with the likes of the Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic and Street Bob. However, the brand refuses to reveal the number of horsepower. Either way, all the power reaches the steering wheel via a six-speed gearbox, driven by a belt.

A simple base rounds off the mechanical package

The basis is simple, just like the engine. There is a double cradle steel frame suspended from telescopic forks and twin rear shock absorbers. This is topped by 16/16-inch spoke wheels, each containing a single disc brake. All that use of steel results in a whopping curb weight of 721 pounds. Other important dimensions are:

• Seat height: 27 inches

• Wheelbase: 64 inches

• Ground clearance: 4.9 inches

• Lean angle: 28.5 degrees

The Indian Chief Vintage retails for $19,999

Finally, there is the price. The Chief Vintage costs $19,999, which puts it between the Chief Bobber and Super Chief. More importantly, the MSRP is the same as the Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic, but significantly lower than the Fat Boy. That is a good market position in our books. But feel free to disagree in the comments.