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Indian mystery
Landing another
giant American in the shed – Travels with Guido #386
October 2, 2026, by
Guy 'Guido' Allen; Pics by Indian Motorcycles &
Ben Galli
Among the shuffling
and nonsense going on at Chateau Guido this week,
I picked up a new Indian Roadmaster. A big sucker,
it is about as subtle as a smack in the head with
an anvil. Which is fine by me – sometimes,
subtlety is over-rated.
It of course promises endless miles of highway bliss,
with its 116ci (1890cc) air-cooled V-twin, six-speed
transmission and a near-baffling suite of luxurious
appointments. For example, it has heated and cooled
seats. The latter is a new one for me – at least on a
motorcycle.
So before we get too
deep into the machine, let's go with a question on
the minds of a few friends and relatives. What the
hell were you thinking? It's a question which
assumes way too much and Muggins already had
near-30 machines in the shed.
Okay, it was a
spur-of-the-moment decision. The bike is a new
2025 model that the maker was prepared to release
at a reduced price in September/October 2026. I
didn't really care which model year it was, and I
liked the colour combo.
Back in the 1980s
and nineties, when paying the mortgage and feeding
the kids was the only mission in life, I never
thought I would one day in the future use this
phrase: this is my fourth Indian motorcycle.
In the pic – taken a
decade ago by the
super-talented Ben Galli – is (from left to
right) a 1947
Springfield Chief, 2009
Kings Mountain Chief Vintage and 2003 Gilroy
Chief Vintage.
(Ed's note:
Indians have often be described by factory
production location to denote their type and era
– see the
end of this link for a proper run-down.)
The 2009 Kings
Mountain at centre remains in the shed, while the
others were sold. Of them, the 1947 bike was the
most questionable choice to offload.
On the upside, it
got me used to dealing with old tech such as
manual advance and retard ignition timing,
hand-change 'crash' transmissions, a foot clutch
and a 70-plus-year old carburettor that could at
times be finicky. Great experience.
Then came one great
ride. That's the one where it was humming along
open back roads at 70-80mph with no stress and
dealing with little surprises such as ropey
corners and bridges. It was one of those days when
you and the machine simply gel and perhaps defy
logic and physics.
It was a fabulous
ride and I knew the minute it was over that it was
over – the bike and I were done. I would never
have a better ride on it.
And the catch is
with really old machinery like that is there is a
load of preparation involved to take it for even a
short run around the block. That works when you
have two motorcycles and not when you're well into
double figures. The 1947 Chief found a new home.
Now we have the new
Spirit Lake Roadmaster in the shed. Maybe it's a
reflection of my age – I like having the option of
not being rooted around by old machinery. Sure,
the Vincent or some other auld gem can mess with
me every now and then. I can deal with that so
long as the next day I can walk out, grab another
monster, hit the starter and then go.
With this one I
should get the proverbial head around the broad
suite of electronics that covers rider modes, tyre
pressure, Apple Car Play versus 'native'
navigation and entertainment options – the list
goes on. Plus, of course, the cooled seats – that
has me intrigued.
When you do this
silly stuff, I reckon you need to have dealership
happy snaps and here are a couple. It was bought
from from the good folk Fitzroy
Motorcycles in Melbourne.
Now is a good time
to get out there and run it in. Watch this
space...
***
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