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It looks like America’s oldest bike brand is thinking about shoving a souped-up Thunderstroke 122 into some kind of new Chief variant.
Indian Motorcycles has barely just published their new 2025 Scout range, and already we’ve got new filings suggesting a new kind of horsepower is lying in wait for the brand’s Chief bagger line.
Why is Indian calling this bike a “Colt?”
Findings today are credited to the incomparable Dennis Chung (Motorcycle.com), who, by all counts, has outdone himself with these recent documents.
To understand what Indian is doing, one must look at the brand’s previous filings for other bikes. Internally, we’re told that the company refers to all their chief models as “Mustangs;” this suggests rather heavily that the “colt” placeholder denotes a new kind of steed that’s still in the preliminary stages of creation.
Add to this the fact that “Super Chief,” “Chief Bobber,” “Chief” and “Sport Chief” are placed above “Colt” in the European VIN decoder papers, and we’re pretty sure this new bike will be in keeping with the nip-happy nickname.
What do the filings say about the heart of Indian’s “Colt?”
Apparently, Indian Motorcycles has connected a 122ci V-Twin platform to the “colt” code name, though the choice of engine for the foal is yet to be finalized. Chung also points out the following:
- Indian has typed “TBD” for both horsepower and CC displacement
- The “colt” code name has been placed under a “cruiser” category
Combine the above with a comparison of the Chief’s range to Indian’s recent Scout range, and we see that the only bike missing in comparison is an adequate partner for the 101 Scout:
| Scout Classic | = | Chief |
| Scout Bobber | = | Chief Bobber |
| Super Scout | = | Super Chief |
| Sport Scout | = | Sport Chief |
| 101 Scout | = | (“Colt”)??? |
Could this mean Indian’s working on a heritage-happy Chief with upticked floating duties and a more powerful engine tuning?
At this point we can only guess; whatever it is, you can bet your bottom dollar that Indian will be tricking the thing out with the 100+ accessories currently available in their new Commuter, Overnighter, Stealth and Open Roads accessory Collections.
Do you like the idea of Indian Motorcycles cooking up a new Chief for the coming seasons?
