Indian's newest bagger is all about the power. The new PowerPlus engine is a higher-compression, liquid-cooled V-twin intended to push the limits of what it means to be an American touring bike. Well, it didn't take long for us to get one here in the shop, so stay tuned for more info and a full review, but first things first! We had to get this bike straight onto the dyno to get you some real horsepower and torque numbers.
Indian claims this bike puts out 122 hp and 128 pound-feet of torque, but that is tested at the crank, not testing actual power output to the wheel. In our to-the-wheel dyno testing, we found the bike put out 103.1 hp and 113.1 pound-feet of torque. The horsepower curve was an almost perfectly straight line, which translates to smooth, linear power. The torque line climbs quickly and sits above 100 pound-feet from 2,000 rpm all the way to the redline near 5,250 revs, meaning you feel that high torque number all through the rev range.
On two opposite sides of the touring spectrum, we can compare the Challenger to the 2019 Honda Gold Wing, which put out 101.44 hp and 106.63 pound-feet, and the 2019 H-D Street Glide Special which put out 80.7 hp and 113.63 pound-feet of torque on our Dynajet dyno. The Challenger definitely puts out some great numbers, giving us the torque of an American V-twin, but the horsepower of a sportier metric touring bike (and with a smaller-displacement engine).
Stay tuned for the full review on this bike, as we are just getting started! And head here to see more pictures and details while you wait.
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