2018 Indian Motorcycle Models Update

Indian Motorcycle previously announced its MY18 line-up in July, but chose to announce further updates in November during the EICMA show in Milan. For this new model year Indian has introduced the Scout Bobber, while the Roadmaster Elite packs all the bells and whistles perfect for two-up journeys and the Springfield gets the Dark Horse treatment. ICON SERIES custom paint program was also announced. Here’s a run down of every model and update in Indian’s line-up for 2018.

Scout

Scout has had updates for 2018 based on feedback from customers over the past three years. It will now come as standard with a pillion seat on the rear and footpegs for a passenger. The Scout’s existing telescopic front forks have now been replaced with cartridge forks, making a real difference to the ride and feel. To improve the handling even further, Scout will now also come with Pirelli tires as standard.
Available in 5 color schemes.
Indian Motorcycle Red
Thunder Black
Bronze Smoke
Star Silver Smoke
Thunder Black Smoke
Scout’s existing colors of Thunder Black, Burgundy Metallic and Brilliant Blue over White will continue for 2018, but will be joined by two new color schemes, Metallic Jade and a Willow Green/Ivory Cream.

Scout Sixty remains the same for 2018 but will come in two new color schemes, namely Polished Bronze and Thunder Black/Titanium Metallic.

Springfield.

In addition to Thunderblack and steel gray/Bunrgunduy metallic. the Springfield comes in an extra color for 2018 – Metallic Jade over Thunder Black with Silver pinstripe.

Springfield Dark Horse.

Like the other existing Dark Horse models,the Springfield Dark Horse has matte black paint with gloss black details. Springfield Dark Horse will feature an open fender to showcase a 19” ten-spoke and blacked-out front wheel. Its quick-release windshield protects the rider from the elements, or can give a meaner cruiser look when removed.One color: hunder Black Smoke

Chief. A single version of this bike comes in Steel Gray, offering just the essentials and is a great base bike for further customzsation.

Chief Classic. Classic style has been given to the Chief in the form of white walled tires, wire spoked wheels and chrome hand controls. Available only in Burgundy Metallic.

Chief Vintage. Indian’s iconic Chief Vintage is now offered up with black leather saddlebags and seat for the first time. The Thunder Black and Star Silver over Thunder Black versions come with black seat and leather saddlebags, while the Sky Blue over Pearl White and the always-popular Willow Green over Ivory Cream will feature brown leather saddlebags.

Chieftain. The Chieftain comes in just one color scheme for 2018 (Steel Gray) and is now offered with open fenders instead of valanced ones along with a 19” blacked-out wheel, making it a great base bike for further customization.

Chieftain Classic. This classic version of the Chieftain is aimed at the heritage customer and has the brand’s iconic valanced front fender and a vintage black seat. It comes in three colour schemes; Thunder Black, Indian Motorcycle Red and Star Silver Smoke.

Chieftain Limited. Only a black version of this bike has been available in EMEA until now, but for 2018 it comes in four extra colour schemes with two of these featuring striped graphics on the fairing and the saddlebags. Brilliant Blue, White Smoke, Thunder Black Pearl with Graphics, Bronze Smoke with Graphics,

Chieftain Dark Horse. The Chieftain Dark Horse will now come with Ride Command as standard and showcases a 19” ten-spoke wheel with an open fender. In Thunder black smoke only.

Roadmaster Elite. After the success of Chieftain Elite, Indian is offering a special run of 250 Roadmaster Elite machines. The ultra-premium Roadmaster Elite has a two-tone cobalt blue and black color that has been hand painted, along with real 23K gold leaf badging on the tank. It has the industry-leading Ride Command system and a 300-watt premium audio system, chrome front and rear bumpers, passenger armrests and stylish pinnacle mirrors. In only Cobalt Candy/Black Crystal with 23K gold trim.

Roadmaster. The Burgundy Metallic version of this bike now comes with a tan colored seat while the other three versions all have black seats. For 2018 there are two new two-tone color schemes: Polished Bronze/Thunder Black, Pearl White/Star Silver.

Roadmaster Classic. Available in two color schemes: the classic colors of Indian Motorcycle Red and the Willow Green/Ivory Cream.

ICON Paint Program. Indian has also announced it will be doing a factory custom paint program allowing customers to order certain machines in different color schemes to the standard offering. More will be released about this in due course.

31 Responses to “2018 Indian Motorcycle Models Update”


  1. 1 X-HD Rider Nov 29th, 2017 at 12:12 pm

    just like Victory 9 models and only difference is paint. Why would I trade in my 17 for new paint and gain nothing. Polaris where is the cams and performance you should be offering.

  2. 2 B. Belzer Nov 29th, 2017 at 3:15 pm

    Time to realize how much Polaris accomplished with Indian in just a few years. Congrats.

  3. 3 P. Hamilton Nov 29th, 2017 at 3:18 pm

    Wondering if it’s not too many paint scheme options. Slowing the customer decision with too many hesitations? Slowing the production?

  4. 4 BobS Nov 29th, 2017 at 5:33 pm

    Still don’t care. When it comes to Polaris, buyer BEWARE. This is exactly what Wine and Menneto have been trying to fleece bikers with for years. A different paint color, a different wheel or handle bars equals a ground breaking all new model. “Give us more money please and then we’ll kill off Indian to focus on selling Slingshots or Jeep bumpers.” These guys predecessors got it, they do not.

  5. 5 rcupp Nov 29th, 2017 at 8:32 pm

    Fuck You Polaris!

  6. 6 rebel Nov 29th, 2017 at 9:24 pm

    how about an all new inline 4 model

  7. 7 Kevin Nov 30th, 2017 at 12:41 am

    Good luck trusting Polaris. They lied directly to Victory owners faces for three years and then pulled the plug. No chance in hell I’m giving them any of my money.

  8. 8 Roberto Nov 30th, 2017 at 2:01 am

    Alot more trust in Indian than big bear choppers.

  9. 9 James just another crazy kiwi Nov 30th, 2017 at 3:12 am

    More of the same, just like the Motor Co , honestly I think we have reached the peak and we are rolling /slithering down the other side.. Triumph might be the only high light at the moment ………………………The Dinosaurs are waiting for the meteor …

  10. 10 Chris Nov 30th, 2017 at 9:25 am

    Do you really expect a new engine every year? How much development has happened in brakes in suspension in the past year? Wiring harness manufacture has improved markedly?

    The expectation that the big brands who’ve invested millions of dollars to put a pretty darned good bike on the road are going to dramatically reinvent it every year is unreasonable. New fenders, fix the little stuff folks gripe about, new trinkets to bolt on, new paint options; all good.

    Victory owners, your favorite bike was a niche brand that was losing money. Your loyalty is no reason for a business, a publicly traded one no less, to continue losing money on a product that failed to attract mass market appeal. It’s over. Deal with it.

  11. 11 highrpm Nov 30th, 2017 at 9:44 am

    @chris,
    customer loyalty is fundamental to a business. fuk the wall street casinos. had polaris focused on building a strong, consistent, trustworthy dealer chain for victory, one that engendered custormers having similar expectations of service and satisfaction when they walked in the door in both cody wy and tonopah nv, rather than anxiety, who knows where victory would be today?

    the success of amazon is not the least due to customers trusting the delivery supply chain. 99.99% prime gets it to me on time and no damage.. and 99.99% amazon accepts returns. predictable. no anxiety.

  12. 12 Chris Nov 30th, 2017 at 10:30 am

    New paint = new model ….Trust Indian….no way!

  13. 13 Matt W. Nov 30th, 2017 at 10:36 am

    After only 4 years it’s quite an impressive line up! Would love to see a sportier Scout with standard seating position though.

  14. 14 Guzzigreg Nov 30th, 2017 at 10:38 am

    I don’t expect new engines every year.I expect any manufacturer to do what’s right and fix reliability issues.Stranded Scout riders with electronics issues probably won’t be return customers.I know I won’t be!New colors don’t make a bike run!!

  15. 15 BobS Nov 30th, 2017 at 10:50 am

    Nobody’s asking for an all new engine every year. That kind of hyperbole is just as pointless as claiming Victory was losing money. It was making plenty of money until Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb started assigning costs associated with Indians and electric bikes to Victory in order to make their management look less inept. What we are asking for is to quit being told new paint and new wheels equals new models, with a higher price no less. That kind of management is why a great platform, a true American original, a real motorcycle heritage is dead and instead we’re pretending that Indian is 117 years old by copying a design instead of creating an original. Look at what Harley has been doing for the last decade, specifically with Rushmore and the new Softails. That’s what we want, the current offerings improved. Not new paint = new model.

  16. 16 V-Pops Nov 30th, 2017 at 10:55 am

    I’m a Victory owner and would still choose an Indian over an HD. My 6 month old ’07 FLSTC left me high and dry on the parkway because of a loose harness connection under the tank. and HD would not cover the $400 towing fee to the nearest dealer.

    HD has been doing this all along – add a couple of new colors and everyone salivates. True they have been moving the needle lately, but that was only because of Victory and Indian pushing them to do so. HD is losing market share & sales for two reasons – Polaris competition and customers ageing out of the sport. They had a great platform with the V-Rod and let it wither and die because the “pirates” would rather hold on to their ’96 Wide Glides, and a Porsche designed motor is not American. I’ll buy a new HD again when they truly offer something that stands out.

  17. 17 X-HD Rider Nov 30th, 2017 at 1:02 pm

    CHRIS
    Yes Victory was losing money cause polaris did nothing to improve the bike. From 2011 the baggers did not change only in paint. They could’ve added fly by wire and add a navigation system. As for the steel frame bikes absolutely nothing but paint. So why would a customer who loved Victory trade in their bike when nothing changed. Polaris said they weren’t making money on the Vic;s. Why didn’t they do there own performance years ago in stead of Lloydz. Yes a year before they gave up they had S&S do cams for them. Why didn’t they do that years ago. Chris you must be new to the polaris world.

  18. 18 Francesco Nov 30th, 2017 at 1:26 pm

    Dommage d’avoir arrête La “Victory” ,mais c’est sur que l’Indian est plus authentique!

  19. 19 fuji Nov 30th, 2017 at 1:48 pm

    Chris you nailed it. Have you noticed over the past that there are a couple individuals that use multiple names to reassure their statements.

  20. 20 tundra Nov 30th, 2017 at 2:49 pm

    Hey V-Pops, there have been rumblings that the vrod drivetrain will live on in some form in the near future. Stay tuned.

    Also, like the pirates hanging on to their ’98 Wide Glide, it’s nice to see that some Jetsons are hanging on to their Victory bikes.

  21. 21 dick Nov 30th, 2017 at 4:27 pm

    What a strange response from you guys.

    The company changes nothing but the paint and you all want models to change or new ones.
    but when they change the models you all complain that they ain’t like they used to be.

    Most of the old British manufacturers failed in the 60’s and 70’s for NOT offering new models and snazzy paint schemes like the Japanese.

    If you don’t like em!

    Build your own. (I think its called “Custom”)

  22. 22 Biggles Nov 30th, 2017 at 10:56 pm

    Of course Victory was loosing money. Saying they were assigning costs associated with other products is stupid and ignorant of the facts. Indian are performing well above expectations. Everyone was bagging Victory when they were on the market. If they’d been well supported they would still be here. All bikes suffer problems. Look at the ratio of recalls for Victory and Indian as apposition to HD. Polaris make a damn good product.

  23. 23 BobS Dec 1st, 2017 at 7:01 am

    Biggles it’s an informed statement, not a stupid one. As a long time investor I’ve been receiving and reading the stock reports for a long time. Polaris first announced full year profitability for Victory in 2006. Sales grew steadily through 2012 and even with modest reductions in sales after Indian, 2016 sales were still well over double 2006 levels. So where did these losses come from? They paid over 40 million dollars for Brammo. They paid over 30 million dollars for a plant expansion, to accommodate Indian. They doubled the R&D facility in Wyoming MN, that didn’t produce any new Victory’s, but did produce new Indians. Those are all facts.

  24. 24 Nitschke Dec 1st, 2017 at 7:17 am

    One should expect a manufacturer to cover the towing of a ten year old vehicle when it breaks down?

  25. 25 Joe Dec 1st, 2017 at 12:23 pm

    Biggles, Polaris has been dominated by recalls for the last three years on ALL their products. All manufacturers have. To say that they are much better just isn’t true.

  26. 26 fuji Dec 1st, 2017 at 2:19 pm

    Carnac the great has spoken Victory is gone . get over it

  27. 27 Brett Dec 1st, 2017 at 8:46 pm

    X-HD rider…I guess you missed the big bore kit they just put out

  28. 28 Pat h Dec 1st, 2017 at 9:12 pm

    I saw the 117″ revolution put out did Polaris put out something for a discontinued victory or the polindian big bore kit seems kind of weak maybe it will wake the bike up at highway speeds which would be nice

  29. 29 Highrider Dec 2nd, 2017 at 4:28 am

    The Indian Demo truck was in Las Vegas this week and they had a 2018 Chieftain Elite with a 116 motor, Man did that scoot haul . I had not been on an Indian in about 2 years, but they have come a long way in fit and finish and that 111 is a good motor, but that 116 was just plain killer. Every time I hit the throttle, I thought I was going off the back. Serious power.
    I under stand it is an orderable upgrade installed at the dealer, but look for that option next year.

  30. 30 d franklin Dec 4th, 2017 at 9:38 am

    In fact, they are Polaris Motorcycles badged with the name Indian.

  31. 31 Hacksaw Dec 9th, 2017 at 6:27 pm

    Nutzkie – it wasn’t a 10 yo bike at the time -doh!

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Cyril Huze