Harley-Davidson’s Low Rider S and Indian Motorcycle’s Sport Chief are each manufacturer’s take on the West Coast scene, but which is best? We grabbed the keys to the pair of performance cruisers and went for a ride to find out, with a quick stop at the 2024 Born-Free Show.
Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/harley-davidson-low-rider-s-vs-indian-sport-chief-comparison-test/
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Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/harley-davidson-low-rider-s-vs-indian-sport-chief-comparison-test/
Subscribe to Cycle World Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/c/cycleworld?sub_confirmation=1
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Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to sunny Southern California where today we're going to be doing a
00:04little comparison between two of the most performance oriented big twin
00:09cruisers in Indian and Harley-Davidson's lineup. Now in this corner we've got the
00:13all-new Indian Sport Chief and over there we've got Harley-Davidson's iconic
00:18Lowrider S. These bikes are inspired by West Coast Club styling, a subculture of
00:23the cruiser category that originated right here in Southern California. What
00:28that entails is tall suspension, a tall moto style handlebar, and some additional
00:33styling cues that give it that old-school Dyna look. Now Harley-Davidson
00:38has been a driving force in this space for years but Indian wants a piece of
00:42that pie and they're doing that with this, the 2024 Sport Chief, a bike that is
00:48very clearly designed as a direct competitor for that Lowrider S. Now today
00:53we're gonna find out did Indian build a better performance cruiser than
00:57Harley-Davidson? How we're gonna do that is by riding through the city, cruising
01:02up the coast, carving some canyon back roads, before eventually making it to
01:07Born Free, the mecca of custom cruiser culture.
01:20Now there's been a lot of talk about this motorcycle in recent years but if
01:25you haven't been following along with those updates let's get you a quick
01:28little overview of the Lowrider S and some of the main features. The big story
01:33here is that Harley-Davidson reintroduced the Lowrider S to its Dyna
01:37lineup in 2016 and carried that through until 2017. Unfortunately they killed the
01:43Dyna in 2018. Sad times for a lot of Harley folks. Fortunately the Lowrider S
01:50was reintroduced to the Softail platform in 2020. Now the big difference here in
01:55that Softail platform, outside of frame changes and things like that, is that
01:59you're gonna have the shock hidden underneath the seat versus your twin
02:02outboard shocks on the old Dyna models. There was another update for the
02:06Lowrider S platform in 2022. That is when Harley-Davidson outfitted this bike
02:12with its Milwaukee 8 117 engine as well as some other small changes like a new
02:17display setup. We did put this bike up on our Dyno. It made 93 horsepower and a
02:23hundred and fourteen foot pounds of torque. We also weighed the bike. It
02:27weighed in at 678 pounds with a full tank of fuel. This is again a West Coast
02:34Club inspired motorcycle which means you are going to get a lot of different
02:37styling treatments like this little speed fairing here. You've got four inch
02:42risers and a moto style handlebar. You've got this solo seat out back here and
02:46blacked out treatments across this thing matched with mid controls. Suspension is
02:52obviously a big talking point and here you are getting a 43 millimeter inverted
02:57fork with triple rate springs and 5.1 inches of travel. Out back you've got
03:034.4 inches of travel. That's going to increase ground clearance and make this
03:07a more sporty motorcycle than some of the standard models elsewhere in
03:11Harley-Davidson's lineup. A couple other things to consider is that on this bike
03:15you are getting traction control and a keyless ignition. Mind you that all does
03:19come for the very low price of $20,000 plus a few hundred dollars depending on
03:25paint. The history of the Sport Chief is not nearly as complex as the Lowrider S.
03:30It started in 2022 when Indian completely overhauled their Chief lineup
03:35which included the Chief, the Chief Bobber, and the Super Chief to make it
03:40more minimal and visually lighter. A year later in 2023 they felt there was
03:45still something missing and that's when they came out with their performance
03:49cruiser the Indian Sport Chief. Let's jump into some of the features of this
03:54bike. Starting off with the power plant this is a 116 cubic inch air-cooled V
03:59twin. It made 74 horsepower and 105 pound-feet of torque on the Cycleworld
04:05Dyno while weighing 687 pounds on our automotive scales. West Coast Club
04:11styling here gets you a quarter fairing with a tall windscreen, a 6-inch bar
04:17riser, a tall back seat, mid controls, and of course all this blacked-out finishing.
04:23More importantly a 43 millimeter inverted KYB fork offering 5.1 inches
04:28of travel. Out back you get Fox piggyback shocks offering 4 inches of travel and
04:34upgraded Brembo brakes. In terms of electronics the difference here over the
04:39Lowrider S is that the Sport Chief gets a 4-inch touchscreen display powered by
04:44Ride Command. You also have three ride modes Sport, Standard, and Tour and
04:49pricing starts at $20,000. The model shown here that we're testing is $20,500.
05:04Three, two, one. That folks is the look and sound of Alpinestars new Tech Air 3
05:13canvas airbag vest. I know it might not have looked like it but this is a
05:17wearable airbag system. You have full coverage on the chest, shoulders, and full
05:23coverage on the back. Look at that protection when this vest is deployed.
05:27This and the Tech Air 3 leather counterpart are the latest addition to
05:32Alpinestars lineup of wearable airbag systems which bring MotoGP developed
05:37crash protection technology to the stylish street rider as evidenced by
05:41Evan here. Alpinestars crash detection algorithm has been developed with
05:45millions of miles of riding data and crash data allowing the system to assess
05:50when to deploy the airbag ahead of the impact or a crash. The airbag inflates in
05:55milliseconds reducing up to 95% of the impact energy in the covered areas. The
06:01system is completely self-contained in the vest. Six integrated sensors provide
06:06crash monitoring performance in a variety of riding situations even when
06:11stopped. Style, convenience, and customization are key. The discrete
06:16design means no one will ever know you're wearing an airbag vest. The Tech
06:20Air 3 canvas and leathers elasticated side panels not only help the system
06:25accommodate many rider shapes and body sizes but also assist with the airbag
06:30inflation during deployment. Plus it has six pockets including one dedicated to
06:35your sunglasses. A fully charged battery provides 40 hours of active ride time
06:40and pretty neat there are openings to allow customization of your vest with
06:45patches and embroidery. In the case that you do have an incident and the airbag
06:49discharges the vest can be sent to a certified Tech Air service center for
06:54new gas inflator canister. We should also mention that while I'm wearing the vest
06:58outside of my riding jacket, Alpinestars specifically designed the Tech Air 3
07:02leather and canvas to be worn over or under your motorcycle jacket making it a
07:08practical choice for riders looking for a little extra style that fits their
07:12vibe with a discrete airbag functionality. This includes riders
07:15regardless of what kind of motorcycle you own. The style of riding that this is
07:19designed for is mostly commuting, street riding, and touring. The vest is available
07:24in extra small to 4XL sizes with pricing starting at $650 for the canvas
07:30option and $750 for the leather option. Now our lovable Evan here is 5'7", 120
07:38pounds and he is wearing a size small. I am 6'3", 200 pounds and I wear a size
07:44extra large. Now as for that 4XL option it accommodates chest size up to 61
07:50inches for those of you that aren't Evan sized. If you're interested in
07:55learning more about the Tech Air 3 canvas or Tech Air 3 leather head over
07:59to alpinestars.com and as always thank you Alpinestars for sponsoring this
08:04video. Alright well the first off I'll say I am pretty happy to get out of all
08:10the chaos that we were just in and yeah what'd you think what'd you think of the
08:14old sport chief there bud? First impression ride through the city is that
08:20this thing's hard to meter up through the town and up to a stoplight and away
08:25from a stoplight because the throttle by wire system is not very smooth and
08:29direct. On top of that this clutch doesn't have a lot of feel so when
08:33you're pulling away from a stoplight or a stop sign it's just hard to kind of
08:37get off the line with the combination of the vague throttle delivery and the
08:42lack of feel in the clutch lever. Yeah you always like sound like a hooligan
08:46because you're like trying to rev it up to get through that initial part of that
08:49slop in the in the ride bow wire and accelerating through that. The other
08:53hand you've got this Harley which is really smooth actually it feels really
08:57refined. It's funny because I think coming into this I don't know why for
09:01some reason I I almost thought that the Harley was gonna feel a little bit more
09:04rough around the edges. The throttle connection is great the pickup off the
09:08bottom you know the engine it's it's really enjoy what smooth it's just it's
09:13very user-friendly. This bike is a lot more refined than I expected it to and
09:17yeah it seems like the the Indian hate that. Yeah it's because you have this
09:21great torque hit right on the Indian once you but you kind of have to fight
09:26your way through the initial part of the throttle and then working with that
09:29clutch before you can really appreciate the the low-end torque of this thing. On
09:34this engine here Harley-Davidson's Milwaukee 8117 they've got the dual
09:39counterbalancers to really smoothen it out it's rigid mounted obviously you do
09:43start to worry about vibrations a little bit so they got the dual counter
09:46balancer setup on this bike. I think they've done a really good job actually
09:49with this package you know that you're riding a Harley you know that you're
09:51riding a big twin but yeah it's not excessive. It doesn't get old where yeah
09:56when the vibrations get a little out of hand like on this Indian it's just after
10:01a while you just kind of get over it. I mean I'll be honest that that Indian
10:05sounds really good like yeah riding next to you I've got to ride it a little bit
10:10and that thing just sounds phenomenal I mean obviously a massive thing with
10:14these bikes has always been especially with Harley one of the things they've
10:17dedicated so much time to is is sound and you always think nobody's gonna top
10:23Harley in terms of exhaust note and engine noise but like yeah that that
10:28Indian does sound really good. Yeah just almost when you have them together and
10:34you're switching from one to the other it almost the sound of the Harley is
10:38almost a little bit of a letdown when we first got on the bikes because the
10:42Indian sounded so good and then it just the Harley doesn't have doesn't match it
10:47with that you know good harmonic engine exhaust note. Here we are out at our
10:53private test facility gonna get these bikes out on the strip and see what they
10:57can do in a quarter mile.
11:13What about ergonomics? Obviously both of these bikes have the mid controls and
11:30the bar risers the Harley has a little bit shorter bar riser but it seems like
11:34a little bit taller bend so on this bike I know the foot pegs are just a little
11:40bit higher I think that's where you get a little bit more cornering clearance on
11:43this bike we've got let's see help me out here we got 20 no we got 31.5
11:49degrees of cornering clearance on this bike and 28 29 yeah the foot pegs being
11:54a little bit higher on this bike definitely makes it just a touch more
11:57cramp. Yeah I mean the Indian the foot pegs do feel a little bit lower so it
12:02opens up that rider triangle a little bit the seat height is slightly shorter
12:06just has a more open rider triangle and oddly enough on for me at my size of you
12:11know 5'7 the Indian has a taller bar riser but because the handlebar the
12:17sweep up it's not as tall of a handlebar the it's just the easier reach to the
12:22handlebar for me on the Indian the the Harley it's kind of a stretch for my
12:26little arms to reach the controls. We're so different in terms of size right me
12:31being 6'3 you being what 5'7 yeah it's just yeah it's such a difference I mean
12:37I don't really have obviously too much of an issue with the reach on either of
12:40these I will say I really like the soft cushion on this Harley the seat after
12:46spending some time in the saddle it starts to get a little bit too soft and
12:49then and then you get like these pressure points and that's uh yeah
12:52that's that's not so much fun. Yeah we're on the Indian it's it's super supportive
12:56this seat has been comfortable for you know almost all the miles that I've
13:01spent on the bike it's not something you you get those pressure points and you
13:05start shifting your weight around trying to alleviate that and it's just something
13:09that it's comfortable for for all-day cruise. Alright moving on to the
13:12suspension what's the Harley suspension action like on that thing? It feels
13:16really good actually it might be even a little bit softer than I expected it's
13:20not too harsh it's got just enough plushness to it that you know riding
13:25around in some of the really aggressive rough roads that we were like on in the
13:30city it's actually pretty compliant and plush but it's also like balanced it's a
13:34pretty enjoyable motorcycle I've ridden the old Lowrider S's you know on the
13:39Dyna platform and I think this bike is way more comfortable and enjoyable for
13:45me especially around town. You got an upgraded suspension package on this
13:49right with the KYB up front the Fox in the rear but it just feels a little bit
13:54over sprung for me especially when we're riding through the the city and
13:58it just it kind of beats me up it's a little bit rough it's harsh in my hands
14:03kind of a few times pops my butt out of the seat so for cruising through cities
14:08and stuff yeah the Indians a little bit of a handful. So basically around town
14:13stuff I don't know are we giving the nod to the Harley I think it's I think that
14:18smoothness to it and it's kind of nice I think if it's a bike that you're living with on a
14:22daily basis yeah I think I like some of the softness to this it doesn't look
14:28soft doesn't you know still got yeah it's got that good look to it but it
14:32just in the riding character of it it's an enjoyable platform. Alright enough of
14:36that city talk we're here cruising on the coast and this Indian it vibrates a
14:41little bit even at cruising speeds but it does offer good wind protection you
14:46got you know that quarter fairing with a six and a half inch windscreen so the
14:50wind gets protected off my chest so that's comfortable I do have cruise
14:56control on this bike which is amazing when you're cruising down the coast or
15:00just commuting to work on the freeway and this does have a nice touchscreen
15:05TFT display with you know ride command as we talked about. Yeah well hey you say
15:12nice you say nice but I know you've been fighting that thing a little bit right
15:15yeah that thing ain't the the most switched on system ever right you got
15:21me you got me it takes about a mile down the road before it actually illuminates
15:25so start your bike up and it'll be black for seems like about 60 seconds but once
15:30it works it works well got cruise control I got the rear cylinder
15:34deactivation so that's nice when you're sitting in traffic I do have a smaller
15:40gas tank so my fuel range is not as good as the Harley we have noticed that
15:45just a little bit during our ride today four gallons for the Indian right five
15:49gallons for the Harley so you've got an extra gallon of gas on the Harley so for
15:53sure for the cruising stuff I'm gonna be able to get a little bit more range out
15:57of the old rider here which is nice little little nod to the nod to the low
16:01rider and your bike is lighter than mine but the one thing that I really like
16:06about this Indian is you know you're cruising down the coast you want to look
16:09cool and this thing has some beautiful finishes you know you have the machined
16:13parts whether it's the top triple clamp and just some cool parts like that it
16:17really gives it that cool cruiser style yeah I'll be honest I feel like that's
16:23one one place where Harley seemed to have dropped the ball at least compared
16:26to that Indian or something that the Indian does really well I've just been
16:29looking at you as we're cruising and yeah all those little machine finishes
16:33the details it whether it be in the wheels or the fins on the on that engine
16:38there whereas on the Harley it's got just like all these plastic pieces in
16:43man even like the triple clamps aren't looking very good I mean I will say this
16:47is a massive update over the previous generation lowrider which had the dashes
16:52up on the tank but yeah just in terms of styling and stuff I would say that the
16:56Harley may be a notch behind going back to the whole cruising side of it all
17:01that stuff again the stuff that you know pay dividends around town is really nice
17:06on just the open highway I mean this thing is smooth it's got just enough
17:10vibrations to it where you kind of got that character to it but it's still a
17:14really enjoyable motorcycle to just spend some time in now I will say that
17:20that seat that we talked about being a little bit plush and soft it yeah the
17:25more miles you put in the more you kind of just sink into the thing and not in a
17:29good way maybe not as good as that supportive seat you got there on the
17:32Indian all right that's enough talking about cruising because these bikes are
17:36really about an emphasis on performance so I think we need to jump up into the
17:40twisties above the beach right here and find out which one of these bikes really
17:44can handle those twisty Canyon roads I'm ready if you are man
17:58we just got done with some Canyon riding and we're gonna talk about handling here
18:02and what these bikes are like up in the canyons because they are again
18:05performance cruisers and they've got the taller suspension and this is in a
18:08way what they're made for right let's start with the Indian because that is I
18:11think some of the things we found is some of that rawness and aggression and
18:14we talked about some of the stiffer suspension around town theoretically
18:18that should help it a little bit up here in the canyons and when you're pushing
18:21the thing right so what are some of your thoughts after some serious miles up in
18:26the tight twisty stuff it definitely feels planted in the twisties but it's a
18:31heavier motorcycle it just requires more effort to initiate that lean angle
18:36but I will say once you're on the side of the tire it feels really good it
18:40holds its line really well and I found that I could tighten up a cornering arc
18:44pretty easily on this bike I will say the thing about the Harley is I really
18:49noticed how much easier it is to put into a corner it's a lot lighter now
18:53weight wise yeah we're only up nine pounds lighter with the Harley but it
18:58feels way lighter than that when you're up in the twisties and pushing the thing
19:02around obviously probably a little bit of weight balance you know where the
19:06weight is out on the bike and the distribution but yeah overall this seems
19:10like a much easier bike to ride I will say the handlebar is a little bit wider
19:14on this bike so to me that always gives you that little bit of extra leverage I
19:17always appreciate that now I will say in terms of suspension for sure this feels
19:22a little bit softer I would say do you agree with yeah I felt that my thing
19:26there is I mentioned it earlier I think in some of the around town stuff it is
19:31softer but it's also balanced I think to me it offers plenty of support for what
19:35the majority of people are going to be doing with this bike and I think the
19:38suspension again is that really nice balance of having the support but not
19:43being overly stiff and you know not bouncing you around on the road and
19:46things like that so I like this package where I think that Indian is I wouldn't
19:50say too stiff but again it's it's almost a little bit maybe even more aggressive
19:54yeah for sure yeah we are in the city or cruising on the freeway that stiff
20:00suspension package it just sacrifices all the comfort all the miles you have
20:04to put in to get to the twisties can be kind of miserable depending on your road
20:08surface yeah and then yeah you get up here and the suspension is taught it
20:12holds its line again the Harley has proved that it can be comfortable in the
20:16city on the freeway and then still rip a canyon road pretty good yeah I think
20:21that goes to I mean obviously Harley's had a lot more time to develop this
20:24package compared to Indian without being the newer bike they perfected this for
20:28me a little bit more so let's talk about another big thing on that bike is the
20:31brakes the Brembo brakes and I bring that up because I heard you talk a
20:35little bit earlier about not exactly loving that braking package which is a
20:39supposed to be a highlight of that bike right yeah exactly it was a little bit
20:43of a disappointment when yeah one of the highlights is Brembo brakes and you
20:47think oh yeah performance cruiser you're gonna be able to stop the thing really
20:50quickly the initial bite is just it's not there it's not very good if you
20:54really get deep into the lever you feel it start to slow down but I got to be
20:58honest the rear brake seems to do more of the stopping power than the front so
21:02that was a little bit of a letdown yeah for sure I think brakes are a little bit
21:06softer here on the Harley but again to me it offers plenty of power and you
21:12have more feel in the lever and it's just again it offers the feedback that I
21:16want so maybe a little bit of an edge there moving on a big thing a very big
21:21thing let's say on these bikes cornering clearance now we talked about the Harley
21:25obviously the foot pegs are a little bit higher and yes around town that does put
21:30your knees out a little bit more of a bend and for sure I would say a little
21:33bit more uncomfortable I rode this thing up here all the twisties that we've done
21:37didn't scrape foot pegs once I'm sure we could have if we were like really trying
21:41to but yeah I didn't in the pace I was going and I felt comfortable I wasn't
21:46scratching the foot pegs where I jumped on that and I think it was like the first
21:49or second corner I was into the foot peg feelers cornering clearance is important
21:53to a lot of people big picture what's your what's your feeling on that bike
21:57now that we've done you know some serious miles up here and obviously some
22:01really cool cruising and then getting up into the end of the twisties it's a fun
22:05bike it has a sort of an edge to it like we talked about it's a little bit raw
22:08that engine it's not as flexible as the Harley but like when you get it right
22:12and you get in that sweet spot of the power of the torque it's fun like it
22:16just accelerates really nicely kind of feels like a little rocket ship but then
22:21you got to grab the next gear quickly it's a fun package but I just don't
22:26think it's something I would want to live with where the Harley is something
22:29keep slaying miles on that thing and be a happy customer what's your overall
22:33feeling about the lowrider s the most interesting thing now having put these
22:36Canyon miles in is it's not as aggressive as I expected it to be but
22:41it's it's as aggressive as I need it to be I really enjoy the handling on this
22:45thing compared to the any okay there are bikes out there that are gonna have
22:48higher performance you know thresholds than these bikes but these are bikes
22:52that are supposed to push the envelope of you know big twin performance and I
22:57think the Harley does a really good job of that without overwhelming in a lot of
23:02ways it's still a really enjoyable motorcycle you feel that potential in it
23:06it does it in a really seamless way I think that's an advantage I think that's
23:10something that Harley has very clearly done really well is just having a bike
23:14that has a little bit of everything you got the style you got the performance
23:17and you just have something that has all that while still being pretty easy
23:20friendly bunch of miles logged on both of these bikes but now it's time to head
23:25over to Born Free and immerse ourselves in custom cruiser culture
23:40all right we made it we're parked on the grass lot just outside the main gate
23:54to the Born Free show first impressions man this scene is alive and well it is
24:00just a sea of motorcycles which is really cool to see in person actually
24:04yeah Evan how was it rolling in on that thing yeah I felt a little bit like the
24:08odd man out one a few Indians at this show it seems like there is one parked
24:13next to me though but so it's cool chatting to that guy but I mean it's got
24:17the look it fits the bill so it definitely has its spot in this scene
24:20yeah I guess the opposite of that I said there was a sea of motorcycles but it's
24:25more like a sea of Harleys it is incredible how many Harley-Davidson's
24:29there are in this lot as for the platform itself I've seen actually a
24:33handful of the lowriders already a couple more ST's than the regular S's
24:37but it seems like a lot of people are already gravitating towards this
24:40platform and liking it which is I think cool to see in person yeah yeah and
24:44there's a lot more to see so I think we should hop in there and check it out
25:07okay for free show check that one off the list move the bikes out here to the
25:22back lot to answer the question that you guys came here for which is is the
25:26Indian sport chief a better motorcycle than the Harley-Davidson lowrider s and
25:30to start that I'm gonna hand it over to you Evan final thoughts on the Indian I
25:34love the way this thing sounds the engine it's fun it's punchy it has a lot
25:39of torque but the bike is a little bit raw it vibrates a lot the ride by wire
25:44system is really vague it is more comfortable motorcycle the ride of the
25:49two and you do have this touchscreen display which is nice some of the triple
25:53clamps up here their machine they look pretty I think Indian did a good job at
25:57their first attempt at a performance cruiser or anything in the Harley yeah
26:01well I mean to start yeah I think absolutely they did a very good job
26:03building that thing they got close to this but man this is just a really sweet
26:08package things we like that engine that things to stand out for sure very
26:13flexible and user-friendly it was at home whether we're cruising up the coast
26:17or up in the twisties riding a little bit more sporty way then we're looking
26:22at negatives and it was really hard to find any big negatives over the Indian
26:26the only thing we kept coming back to was this seat just really soft and it
26:30started to hurt you in some not so fun ways after after a little bit of time in
26:35the saddle so but it's also it's kind of hard to think of that as a big negative
26:38because so many people replace the seat on these things right away anyway so but
26:43hey something to think about then there's the handling a little bit
26:46lighter handling and and we seem to have more cornering clearance on this which
26:50did make it a little bit more fun up in the twisties so if we're trying to
26:54answer that question of is the sport chief better than the lowrider s I'm
26:59gonna have to say no it's just it's close it's a really good machine but
27:02it's not what this lowrider s is yeah I agree and that means we're at the end of
27:07this Cycleworld comparison test if you want to know more check out the written
27:10story online at Cycleworld.com and as always like comment subscribe and
27:15thanks for watching