Indian Challenger Vs. Harley Davidson Road Glide

If you are a fan of bulky motorcycles with stock saddlebags, fairings, and an infotainment system that ensure a fun touring experience, then the Indian Challenger and the Harley Davidson Road Glide are the best options. Both motorcycles come with modern ride-assist features and comfortable ergonomics. The Indian Challenger has a compact design with more blacked-out parts that give it a modern look. It comes with a slightly larger engine than the Harley Road Glide, capable of producing more horsepower and torque.

The Indian Challenger is also bigger than the Harley Road Glide, with a height of 53 inches, a wheelbase of 65.7 inches, and a taller seat height of 26.5 inches. However, due to its light aluminum frame and parts, it weighs 24 lbs less than the Harley Road Glide. Meanwhile, the Harley Road Glide has a low seat height of 25.9 inches and a wet weight of 855 lbs due to being built with metallic parts. It is also a comfortable touring bike due to its relaxed riding position. This article provides a detailed comparison between the Indian Challenger and the Harley Davidson Road Glide.

The Indian Challenger is a bagger-style touring bike with blacked-out and chrome parts that give it a modern look. The chrome parts include the cylinder heads, air filter, gearbox, and split dual exhaust pipes. It comes with low-mounted, slightly swept-back handlebars with blacked-out side mirrors. The Indian Challenger is fitted with a narrow, chopped front fender and a large rear fender with a small LED tail light, turn signals, and a license plate holder. It also comes with a shark-nose fairing with a small windscreen, a seven-inch touchscreen display, dual analog meters, and an audio system.

The Indian Challenger is fitted with a single-piece step-up seat, stock hard saddlebags, and forward-mounted floorboards. A blacked-out radiator is also installed behind the front wheel to maintain the engine’s temperature. The Indian Challenger comes with Metzeler Cruisetec tires wrapped around sport cast black wheels.

The Harley Davidson Road Glide is a classic touring motorbike available in three single-tone color schemes and chrome finishing. The chrome parts include the two-into-one-into-two exhaust with dual tapered mufflers, handlebars, front forks, cylinder heads, air filter, and gearbox. The Harley Road Glide comes with a single-piece saddle capable of two-up riding. The dip in the rider’s seat results in a low seat height of 25.9 inches. The Harley Road Glide is fitted with stock saddlebags, floorboards, crash bars, and a frame-mounted shark-nose fairing. The shark-nose fairing is fitted with a small windshield, display screen, four analog gauges, and two speakers.

The Harley Road Glide also comes with low-mounted, sweptback handlebars with chrome side mirrors. It is fitted with a chopped front fender and a large rear fender with a small LED tail light, rear turn signals, and a license plate bracket.

The Indian Challenger is powered by a 1,768 cc liquid-cooled, PowerPlus 60° V-twin engine capable of a horsepower of 122 hp at 5,500 rpm and a torque of 173.54 Nm at 3,800 rpm. Despite being similar sizes, the 108 cu in PowerPlus V-twin produces 29 hp more horsepower and 23 Nm more torque than the Milwaukee-Eight® 107 engine. The Indian Challenger’s liquid-cooled system more effectively maintains the engine’s temperature than the Harley Road Glide’s air-cooled system.

The Indian Challenger comes with a six-speed transmission that connects to the rear wheel via a belt drive. A 52 mm dual bore, closed-loop fuel Injection system ensures optimal fuel delivery to the engine and has a mileage of 47 mpg.

Despite being a bulky motorbike with a large shark-nose fairing, it is stable and easy to maneuver while turning corners. The handling is even better due to its lightweight aluminum frame, 43 mm inverted forks, and hydraulically adjustable FOX rear shock absorber. The front suspension has a wheel travel of 5.1 inches and the rear suspension has a wheel travel of 4.5 inches which makes long-distance rides comfortable.

The Indian Challenger’s dual 320 mm front discs and single 298 mm rear disc along with its standard ABS ensure reliable braking, while the Metzeler Cruisetec tires ensure good traction. It also comes with standard cruise control and three riding modes, including sport, standard, and rain. For riding through slow-moving traffic, the Indian Challenger is equipped with a rear cylinder deactivation system that automatically shuts off the rear cylinder.

The Harley Davidson Road Glide is powered by a 1,753 cc air-cooled, Milwaukee-Eight® 107 V-Twin engine that can produce a horsepower of 93 hp at 5,020 rpm and a torque of 150.5 Nm at 3,250 rpm. It is fitted with a six-speed gearbox and a mechanically actuated clutch with assist and slipper functions to ensure smooth gear shifts. The Harley Road Glide also has an Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI) that ensures optimal fuel delivery to the engine. It has a fuel tank capacity of 6 gals and a fuel economy of 43 mpg. The Milwaukee-Eight® 107 engine provides smooth power delivery, but due to being a heavyweight motorbike, the Harley Road Glide does not accelerate quickly.

The Harley Road Glide is fitted with dual front discs and a single rear disc but can also be fitted with an optional ABS. To ensure a safe riding experience, it also comes with Electronically Linked Braking (ELB) that prevents the rear wheel from locking when the brakes are applied, helping the rider maintain balance. The Harley Road Glide also comes with a standard cruise control feature. To ensure a comfortable touring experience, the Harley Road Glide is equipped with a high-performance 49 mm front dual bending valve and a hand-adjustable rear suspension.

The Indian Challenger is a comfortable touring motorbike with a dip in the rider’s seat to provide back support for the rider. The low-mounted, pull-back handlebars are within comfortable reach of the rider. However, a shorter or average rider has to sit in a slightly forward riding position to reach the handlebars. The forward-mounted floorboards provide enough legroom for taller riders. The overall ergonomics are slightly uncomfortable for shorter and average riders. Riders who prefer laid-back riding ergonomics may want to replace the stock handlebars with mid-mounted, swept-back handlebars. The Indian Challenger can be transformed into an ideal touring motorcycle by installing a large windscreen, sissy bars, and backrests.

The Harley Davidson Road Glide’s mid-mounted, swept-back handlebars ensure a relaxed riding position. It also comes with forward-mounted floorboards so that the rider can rest their feet while cruising on highways. Adequate legroom, handlebar position, and a low seat height of 25.9 inches make this motorbike suitable for average and taller riders. However, the Harley Road Glide’s wet weight of 855 lbs makes it difficult to maneuver at low speeds. The stock fairing, saddlebags, crash bars, and comfortable ergonomics make it an ideal touring bike. However, to improve touring performance, the Harley Road Glide can be fitted with a large windscreen, sissy bars, luggage racks, and backrests.

Both Indian and Harley Davidson are popular motorcycle brands. Harley Davidson has been dominating the American market since the 1920s. Meanwhile, Indian has recently made a big name in the American cruiser market. Both motorcycle brands are reliable and produce high-performance motorbikes. However, Indian motorbikes have a slight edge when it comes to raw performance.

The Indian Challenger and the Harley Davidson Road Glide are popular American touring bikes. Both motorcycles have stock shark-nose fairing, hard saddlebags, and forward-mounted floorboards. They are designed to perform better across longer distances and cruising on highways. However, the Indian Challenger has several advantages over the Harley Road Glide, including a powerful engine, more horsepower and torque, better handling, and cornering capability. It comes with standard ABS, cruise control, an automatic rear-cylinder deactivation system, and three riding modes. The Indian Challenger is also lighter than the Harley Road Glide due to its lightweight aluminum frame. Meanwhile, the Harley Road Glide has comfortable riding ergonomics, has the classic Harley Davidson attitude, and is $3,069 cheaper than the Indian Challenger.