The heavyweight touring motorcycle segment offers tremendous options. The Harley-Davidson Road Glide has been a staple in this category. We recently tested the 2022 BMW R18 Transcontinental, and we called it a true contender to Harley's biggest bikes. On the Indian Motorcycle side, the offerings have been nothing but impressive. We got the opportunity to test the 2022 Indian Pursuit Limited for an extended period of time. If you are a fan of large touring bikes, not only should you read this, you should probably go and buy one. The Indian Pursuit is one of the top bikes of its categories with no ifs, ands, or buts.

Touring Bike With Sporty Performance

Ever since Polaris Industries acquired Indian Motorcycle, great things have been happening. We haven't been on an Indian motorcycle as of recent and not liked it. This includes their small offering in the Scout Rogue Sixty, which offers a great design and a whole lot of fun, as well as the Chief Bobber with its classic looks and modern tech. We knew the Pursuit was going to be great, we just didn't know it was going to be this great. This heavyweight sports a 108 cubic-inch (1,768cc) liquid-cooled V-twin engine. The engine works together with a six-speed gearbox that uses a wet, multi-plate clutch. The Indian Pursuit Limited delivers 122 horsepower and 128 lb-ft of torque. The torque peaks early in the RPM band, reaching its highest at 3,800 RPM. Given the motorcycle weighs 912-pounds when its 6-galon tank is full, you'd think the Pursuit won't give you memorable performance. This couldn't be further from the truth. The Pursuit is a unique tourer that performs like a much smaller bike. The average motorcycle loan for journalists is around three weeks; however, we loved this motorcycle so much that we kept it for nearly two months.

Advanced Tech And Safety

The 2022 Indian Pursuit Limited is only made better with the Premium Package. While this package increases the MSRP by $3,000, it is brings a lot of value for that added cost. The Premium Package adds the Smart Lean technology, premium-styled heated seat, and integrated driving lights in the lower fairings. However, the most value is in the electronically-adjustable rear suspension preload. This feature allows you to input your weight, passenger's weight, as well as your cargo weight, and as a result, the rear suspension preload is automatically adjusted. This system also adjusts the preload depending on the riding mode you choose. The Smart Lean technology works with your ABS and traction control to tune the Pursuit's performance when leaning. Technology continues throughout the bike, with navigation, Apple CarPlay, which requires a cable located in a small compartment where you can keep your phone, as well as the Ride Command weather overlay, which lets your know if you are facing bad weather on your route. The tech doesn't stop here. A small switch that you can access with your right thumb allows you to pull the windshield up or down, which makes for a massive difference. The tech and safety features seem to be targeting long road trips, but make no mistake about it, the Indian Pursuit is more than just a road trip tourer.

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Road Trip Ready

As we've mentioned above, this motorcycle screams road trip. This starts with the adjustable windshield to allow you to change how much wind you want to hit, to adjusting the leg vents. At night, heated seat and grips are effective and blazing hot. The Indian Pursuit also features long-haul storage, with more than 35 gallons of weatherproof storage. You can lock or unlock all the storage around the bike with the key fob. In addition to the rear storage, which can be easily removed, you have your two side storage units, as well as two small compartments in front of your knees for your phone, keys, wallet, etc.. The rear trunk can easily fit two full-face helmets, or two-weeks worth of grocery (tested). You no longer need to walk anywhere with your helmet, jacket, and gloves. Locking the storage with the key fob also activates the alarm system. If someone sits on your bike while it's parked and locked, the extra, extra loud horn will keep honking and will alert you if you're half-a-mile away - that's how loud it is. In addition to the sealed storage, a classy rack also sits on top of the rear trunk in case you want to strap anything on your long road-trip.

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Comfort And Performance On The Road

Flip the switch and start the Pursuit, and it will welcome you with a deep, roaring rumbles from the 1,768cc liquid-cooled engine. The seating position is very comfortable, and it truly encourages long rides. Leg position feels great for my 6'2" stature, and the handlebars are in just the right place. The first thing we noticed as soon as we sat on the bike and started rolling is how nimble it feels. It's certainly not nimble because it's a lightweight. Make no mistake about it, this is a heavy bike and you need to be careful and know what you're doing before taking it for a ride. However, its nimbleness comes from how light the handlebars feel. The Pursuit has a huge fairing, with speakers, a screen, buttons, lights, etc.. However, the handlebars is not attached to the fairing. So when you turn your handlebars, the fairing stays in their place. I thought this would throw me off, but it doesn't in any way. In fact, it makes the handlebars feel extremely light, and you really never have to fight them at low speeds or when making U-turns. This totally separates the Pursuit from the BMW R18 we tested.

Acceleration is quite impressive. The Indian feels like a sportier bike than it should be. Torque is nearly instant, and, while it takes some getting used to, it feels like you can lean it pretty aggressively. While the Pursuit is very nimble, you need to make sure that it doesn't give you any false confidence. You have to be aware that in the end, you are riding a massive amount of weight, and one mistake can cause you to drop the beautiful motorcycle. You have to respect the weight and be aware that if it leans too much, you won't be able to bring it back up at a stop. However, once you're rolling again, you can easily muscle the tourer around and have some unexpected fun with it. Switching between the different ride modes make for quite the difference. If you're looking for a relaxing ride, you may want to steer clear of the Sport mode. This truly makes for an aggressive throttle mapping, and by doing that, the acceleration is noticeably different. Choosing the middle ground in your riding mode will yield the most relaxing and fun cruise.

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The Pursuit feels like it should be an open-road kind of bike, and it is. However, the nimbleness of it makes it quite enjoyable in the city. I rode this loner on a four-hour ride on Pacific Coast Highway, where I went through everything from bumper-to-bumper traffic to the open road, and the bike truly shines throughout. After a long ride, however, the engine can get toasty, and once you start riding, the lower vents push the heat from the engine directly to your ankles. You can move the vents around, but any small adjustments you make to your feet positioning and you are back to getting that blazing heat again. The best way to get around this is to adjust the vents as much as you can, and turn on the cylinder deactivation feature. This shuts off the rear cylinder when the engine is hot and not under load to reduce the heat, then turns it back on when you're accelerating.

Worthy Contender To Any Tourer

I've been on the 2022 Indian Pursuit Limited for two months, and I am truly considering buying one. This bike is truly the whole package. Whether you want comfort, style, efficiency, or performance, this bike can deliver. The Pursuit Limited starts at $29,999, while the Limited with the Premium Package will start at $32,999. This package is well worth the additional cost. If you want to make the best of your Pursuit, this package will allow you the freedom of pushing it more on the performance side, thanks to the adjustable rear suspension and the Smart Lean technology. So, how does the Indian Pursuit compare to Harley's Road Glide? Both bring a lot to the table, but the Pursuit edges the Road Glide in terms of performance. Everything else seems to be extremely close, as it's always been between Harley-Davidson and Indian. This motorcycle is truly a well-rounded bike that will eat up miles like it's nothing, yet it won't disappoint in city driving. If you have the money and you are looking for a touring bike, look no further.