Indian Sport Chief RT (2026) Review: The Ultimate Performance Cruiser?

Indian remains one of the most historic but arguably underappreciated great brands of motorcycling. An American icon and for many years Harley-Davidson’s biggest rival, the brand actually predates H-D, having been launched in 1901, two years before the first ‘Hog’; it outsold Harley in the 1930s when it was also, briefly, the world’s biggest motorcycle manufacturer, but fell into decline post WW2 and closed in 1953.

Repeated revivals were attempted over the following half century with little success before automotive giant Polaris, which had earlier launched Victory motorcycles, bought the brand and rights in 2011 and relaunched Indian in 2013.

Its first bike, powered by the all-new, air-cooled ‘Thunderstroke’ V-twin, was a reborn Chief cruiser, inspired by the marque’s most historic machine. That bike, and its derivatives, have been repeatedly updated since, and although a new liquid-cooled ‘big twin’ engine, the PowerPlus, arrived in 2019, which now powers the bulk of Indian’s big bike range, the Thunderstroke lives on in the latest Chiefs, of which the Sport Chief RT is one of the latest examples.

We took the RT on a half-day ride around Staffordshire to see how it measures up…

Indian’s current Chief family remains the heart of the Minnesota-based brand’s cruiser line-up with four variants offered, and remains the only model using the latest, updated version of the classic, air-cooled Thunderstroke V-twin engine. Along with the Chief Dark Horse, there’s the Chief Bobber Dark Horse, Super Chief Dark Horse, Super Chief Limited, and this, the Sport Chief RT.

The first Sport Chief arrived in 2023 as a sportier, small fairing and pannier-equipped version as a rival to Harley-Davidson’s Low Rider ST. Chassis and performance upgrades over the Cruiser included 43mm upside-down forks, adjustable Fox shocks, superbike-spec brakes, and a neat bikini fairing. For 2025 this was then updated into the ‘RT’ version (standing for Road and Tour) with comfort and practicality enhancements in the form of a new stepped twin saddle Indian call the ‘2-Up High Bolster seat’ and new rigid small panniers and cosmetic tweaks.

As it’s one of the more lavishly equipped Chiefs (although all Chiefs are fairly basic and, er, raw), the Sport Chief RT is inevitably also one of the more expensive – although not quite the most.

So, while the most affordable Chief is the Chief Dark Horse at £16,355, there’s the Chief Bobber Dark Horse at £17,955; the RT (with its extra nose fairing and panniers plus posher cycle parts) is £22,355. Beyond that are the Super Chief Dark Horse and Super Chief Limited, both costing £22,855.

To put that in context, its main rival, the Harley Low Rider ST, is slightly cheaper at £21,745, although if you want a similar colour, it’s £600 more, taking it up to a virtually identical £22,345.

As with all current Indians, the Sport Chief RT is available now from Indian UK’s 18 UK-wide dealers. For full details and to find your local dealer, go to the Indian UK website.

As already mentioned, the Chief family, including this RT, are the last of Indian’s ‘big twins’ to be powered by the classic, air-cooled, ThunderStroke V-twin, with the others, including the baggers and tourers, now powered by the newer, more modern, liquid-cooled ‘PowerPlus’ unit. As such, arguably, if you want the most authentic and charismatic Indian ‘big twin’, you want a Chief.

That said, although repeatedly updated since 2013 and growing to 116 cubic inches to now displace 1890cc, it can’t quite match the performance and refinement of the PowerPlus – although in terms of character, some may find that a bonus.

Simply: if you want a characterful, vibrant, effective American V-twin motorcycle they don’t get much more visceral than the Thunderstroke-powered Sport Chief RT. Yes, it’s hard to argue against the enduring, classic appeal of the pushrod Harley – but Indian’s interpretation runs it close, has a harder, sharper ‘edge’ and has simply masses of entertaining grunt driving out of corners.

This latest 116ci version produces 91bhp, which is right up there with the Harley, an equally impressive 156nm of torque, and it’s all transmitted to the rear wheel via a six-speed gearbox and Harley-alike belt final drive.

If I were being cynical, ‘agricultural’ is another word I could use for its character, and there’s not much in terms of slick refinement to be found anywhere, apart from the effective three riding modes, Standard, Tour and a rampaging Sport.

But for most, that’s part of the appeal. Acceleration from a real-world 40-70 mph is eye-opening; it’ll rumble and cruise when required, and through it all it bombards your senses and is never boring.

Americans seem to have a funny idea of what ‘Sport’ is sometimes. In the Chief’s sense, you get the same basic Chief cruiser with an old-fashioned frame and lumbering engine and semi-laid-back riding position but with sportier cycle parts and styling.

Those comprise: 43mm inverted KTB forks, adjustable, 23-click, ‘piggyback’ remote reservoir rear shocks and beefier sports brakes, namely twin 320mm discs at the front gripped by four-piston Brembo calipers, with a smaller 298mm single disc at the rear. Oh, and there’s a sportier saddle, nose fairing and racier paint including sports stripe, too.

Whether that lot adds to a sporty ‘ride’ is a moot point. It certainly is compared to the standard Chief but ultimately the RT’s still a big, heavy, laid-back, slightly crude American cruiser, albeit one with a more aggressive attitude and better suspension and brakes. Its riding position is still typical cruiser with forward foot controls, high bars and low seat, even if the view is now over a headlamp cowling fairing (not that it does much).

While the handling is still laboured and, er, leisurely rather than sporty and sharp. Sure, the ride is much better and the stopping power greatly enhanced (a bonus on a bike as heavy as this). But the RT’s also long (2301mm overall), low, has cruiser-style 19/16inch wheels (wearing Metzeler CruiseTec tyres) and kicked-out steering geometry, which means that you have to plan corners well in advance, carve rather than dice, and try to keep things steady. So no, it’s no sports bike, but get it right and blast out of some turns, and it’s still a lot of fun.

As with other aspects, at the end of the day the Sport Chief RT is a derivative of a fairly typical, minimalist and crude American V-twin cruiser, so you shouldn’t expect much by way of features and lavish equipment – and there isn’t.

The four-inch round TFT dash is familiar, minimalist, but has most of what you need. It’s touchscreen, Bluetooth-compatible, and displays most of what you need. There are three riding modes, cruise and traction control, ABS-assisted brakes, the aforementioned uprated cycle parts, keyless ignition and LED lighting.

Otherwise, being the RT, there’s the new stepped seat, which was comfortable enough for our short-ish ride, and the new locking panniers, although small (with a capacity of 37 litres), would just about do for a day trip or weekend away – but no more.

Again, not much. The tank holds 15.1 litres, so it has a reasonable range. Paint options are black, grey or this fetching blue complete with a racing stripe, which is, apparently, the most popular and attracted admiring glances wherever I went, with many onlookers assuming it was an old, custom bike rather than a brand-new production one.

Like other Indians, the Sport Chief RT comes with a standard manufacturer-backed warranty covering all parts and labour from first registration, which lasts two years with unlimited mileage, although this can be upgraded to up to five years if certain conditions are met.

Servicing has a suggested schedule of, after the initial 500-mile ‘break-in’ service, being due every 5000 miles or annually, whichever comes first.

Bikes like the Sport Chief RT have a very specific appeal. In the first place, it’s a classic American V-twin cruiser, but it’s also not the obvious Harley choice, isn’t cheaper than its rival, and, in being a ‘sport cruiser’, adds a premium for a very niche set of improvements. In other words, most would probably be just as happy with a basic Chief for thousands less.

But it’s also true that the uprated cycle parts add a premium feel to its dynamics; it’s bolder-looking, the panniers, seat and screen do add extra versatility, however small; and the riding experience is about as visceral and potent as bikes like this get.

If all of that appeals, you won’t be disappointed, but I wouldn’t expect to come across many other like-minded souls as you ride. But maybe that’s a good thing, too…