The Bike
The INdian springfield
I will be riding my 2021 Indian Springfield on the Double Nickel Ride. The bike is Maroon Metallic/Crimson Metallic and features a Thunderstoke 111 V-Twin Engine. The bike is completely stock, no engine mods or loud pipes. She is a cruiser through and through, with a classic look and simple wind screen, chrome pipes, and chrome highway pars.
I got this bike brand new in late 2020 and I put 11,187 miles on it in 2021. Most of those miles were on a trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is one of my favorite roads to date. I think it is in the mountains and curves where this motorcycle shines. The rake and lean angle allow you to easily steer through curves with the 1,811 cc engine delivering 74 hp and 119 ft lb of torque. When needed, the bike can dig deep in high gears and find more power to conquer elevations.
The bike has three ride modes - Sport, Normal, and Tour. Last year I used them all for a few thousand miles and settled on Tour. The ride mode changes the performance of the throttle body, for example I would say Sport mode has a touchy throttle. Finally, I want to call out the braking system. Every Indian I have owned has had ABS or antilock braking system. I think it is essential on modern motorcycles and I’ve felt it activate in a number of emergency stops.
This is my third Indian motorcycle in 5 years. I started on a 2017 Indian Scout, I truly enjoyed that motorcycle, but when I decided to do more long distance riding, I moved to the heavier and comfortable 2018 Indian Chieftain Classic. That was my first full fairing motorcycle and a fantastic cruiser. I road it to South Carolina to attend my niece’s wedding, rode the full length of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and hit the Natchez Trace Trail. Unfortunately, I dropped that bike outside of Cambridge on Old route 21 and it was totaled. More about that some other time. That is when I bought the 2021 Indian Springfield.
One significant addition I have made to the motorcycle in 2021 is a Garmin Zumo XT GPS. I have a lot of reasons why I need GPS, I won’t go into all of them here, but I have found a heads up display with turn by turn directions that I hear in my helmet to be essential. I am not directionally challenged, but I have some vision issues reading street signs. Using apps on my phone proved to be unreliable and hard to see. The Garmin Zumo XT has been a game changer. I plan my routes on the device or push destinations from an app on my phone to the GPS. The device mounts to my handle bars and is powered by wiring I ran to the battery. The device connects through Bluetooth to my phone and to my Sena communication system that is integrated into my Shoei helmet.
I also added a handle bar bag this spring. Cargo space is precious and I have a lot of loose things that I hate looking for in saddle bags. Phone, Sun glasses, EZPass, kickstand plan, etc. Tank bags just don’t work right for me so I added the handle bar bag. I have only made a few rides with it, but I think it will work well.
To prepare for the trip I put on new Metzeler tires, added rubber grips to the mustache highway bars, and dropped in a new battery. I am not a motor head, I add accessories and do small things, like changing the battery, but I use Bair’s Indian Motorcycle for all of my maintenance. I bought the bikes there and I have always received great service and advice. They make it very easy to be loyal to Indian Motorcycle.
I am looking forward to running the Indian Springfield on this this amazing trip!
Picture below (L to R) - 2017 Indian Scout; Completing the Natchez Trace Trail in 2020; 2018 Indian Chieftain Classic; 2021 Indian Springfield
