There's testing a motorcycle, and then there's loading it up and disappearing for several days to see if it holds up under real-world conditions, heat, rain, gravel, questionable lunch choices, and that mate who somehow rode straight past our first coffee stop despite having one of the loudest exhausts in the group.
I took the Indian Pursuit Dark Horse on exactly that kind of trip, roughly 1,500km from Sydney up through the Hunter Valley, across to Tamworth, out to Walcha, down the Oxley Highway, and home via the Mid North Coast. Here's how it went.
The Route
Day one started on the Putty Road, that legendary 160km ribbon of tarmac between Windsor and Singleton that's been carving through the bush since the 1820s. It's tight, twisty, and an absolute playground for motorcyclists and somehow, this near half-tonne touring machine glided through it like it had somewhere to be. Genuinely surprising for something this size. I kept waiting for it to feel like I was wrestling a fridge through the corners. It never did.
Lunch in Scone brought the trip's great philosophical debate: quinoa salad or the biggest burger on the menu. I'll let you guess which way the group went. Spoiler nobody ordered the quinoa.
Day two got more adventurous, with an unplanned gravel detour near Walcha that had the whole group wondering if we'd accidentally signed up for an ADV ride. The Pursuit didn't care. It just cruised through like it does this every weekend, though I did privately admit I'd have preferred a GS at that exact moment.
Apsley Falls provided a proper scenic stop, before the Oxley Highway delivered what was easily the best riding of the entire trip. Then it was down to Port Macquarie, a stop at the Nabiac Motorcycle Museum, home to over 1,000 bikes and one incredibly passionate owner then finally, the long cruise back to Sydney.
The Engine
If there's one thing that defines this motorcycle, it's the engine and after 1,500km in its company, it might just be the best V-twin currently wearing a number plate.
The 112ci liquid-cooled PowerPlus produces 122hp and a meaty 181.4Nm of torque, and it's not shy about using it. There's power everywhere, in every gear, at every rev range, the kind of effortless, torque-rich delivery that makes overtaking a semi trailer feel less like a calculated risk and more like a formality. Point, twist, gone. No downshifting negotiations required.
What impressed me most, though, isn't just the numbers, it's the character. This is unmistakably a modern engine. It's smooth, refined, liquid-cooled, and clearly benefits from decades of engineering progress. But somehow, it hasn't lost the soul of a proper V-twin. There's still that distinctive thump, that mechanical charm, that sense that you're riding something with a heartbeat rather than just a spec sheet. It's the kind of engine that makes you want to find an excuse to rev it at a servo, just to hear it talk back.
This is something Indian seems to have nailed better than most manufacturers trying to walk this same tightrope, blending genuine heritage character with proper modern performance, without one cannibalising the other. Too often, "modern" V-twins end up feeling sanitised into forgettable smoothness, or "characterful" ones end up feeling like they're stuck in 1955 with none of the refinement riders actually want on a 1,500km trip. The PowerPlus somehow avoids both traps entirely.
Credit also has to go to the smart engineering tucked underneath that character. Rear cylinder deactivation quietly shuts down the back cylinder at a standstill, which sounds like a minor detail until you're sitting in stop-start traffic on a stinking hot day and suddenly aren't being slow-cooked by the engine between your legs. Once I switched it on, the difference was immediate comfort in traffic went from “being roasted” to "manageable but sweaty” in the middle of summer.
Then there's the ride modes, Standard, Rain, and Sport, each noticeably changing the engine's personality with a single tap on the display. Standard is the easy, relaxed touring setting that suits most of the trip. Sport sharpens throttle response and unlocks a properly satisfying exhaust note, the kind that turns a good corner into a great one. Rain, thankfully, was there when Northern NSW decided to remind us it does, in fact, rain occasionally.
Considering this is essentially the same PowerPlus architecture that helped Indian claim the 2024 MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Championship, it says something that a race-proven engine can also be this easy to live with on a multi-day tour. It doesn't feel like a detuned race motor wearing a touring costume, it feels purpose-built to be exactly what it is: strong, refined, and endlessly enjoyable, whether you're grinding through peak-hour traffic or hammering down the Oxley Highway with a grin stuck behind your visor.
Simply put, this engine is the heart of why the Pursuit Dark Horse works so well as a tourer. Everything else on this bike is excellent, but the PowerPlus is the standout.
With 136+ litres of storage, I could easily fit camera gear, clothes, and snacks for the trip, with one pannier basically empty the entire time, silently judging me for how little I actually pack. This bike is built for distance, solo or two-up, and comfort never became an issue, even after full days in the saddle.
Now let’s talk about the tech. There is a lot of it. Blind spot monitoring with warnings in both mirrors and on the screen, rear collision warning lights, bike hold control, electronically linked brakes, tailgate warning.
The 7" Ride Command display made navigation painless the entire trip, no dropped connections, no fiddling, just point and ride. Bluetooth paired instantly, which for someone who usually loses a small battle with phone connectivity on every new bike, felt like a personal victory.
The blind spot monitoring is thorough. Almost too thorough. In heavy traffic it lit up like it was trying to warn me about the entire eastern seaboard. A quick trip into the settings sorted that out, but be prepared to make friends with the menu system early.
The electronically adjustable windscreen, on the other hand, is genuinely brilliant, one button, and it rises to block wind and noise almost entirely. Drop it down and you get airflow and a bit more feel. I mostly rode it low, it was warm and I liked the breeze, but the engineering behind it is clever. No turbulence, no buffeting, just a wall of calm if you want it.
The suspension deserves real praise here. Plush, controlled, and completely unbothered by rough tarmac or, apparently, gravel roads it was never designed for. The Brembo brakes up front are equally confidence-inspiring, which matters when you're hauling this much weight down a mountain road at a "spirited" pace.
The Verdict
By the time "beer o'clock" rolled around each evening, the Pursuit Dark Horse had proven itself as one of the most capable, comfortable touring motorcycles I've ridden. It handled twisty mountain roads, unexpected gravel, and long highway stretches without missing a beat and that PowerPlus engine never stopped impressing me. It's rare to find a motorcycle where the engine is genuinely the standout feature, but that's exactly the case here. Strong, torquey, full of character, and endlessly satisfying, mile after mile.
I'll admit, the styling isn't going to be for everyone, that big fairing front end took some getting used to, and it's not a look I was initially sold on. But after 1,500km in the saddle, I found myself completely won over. Once you've experienced just how exceptional this motorcycle is to actually ride, the looks become a footnote. This bike backs up its appearance with genuine substance.
At $50,495 ride away, it's not a small ask, but after this trip, it's easy to see why so many riders are converts.
Would I take it again? Absolutely, without hesitation.