The just-announced Indian Chief T3 Limited Edition celebrates the release of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, theb latest movie in the Terminator series, where Indian motorcycles appear as police bikes in what Indian calls, "the most breathtaking action scene of movie-making history." The movie, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in his continuing role as killer machine, opens July 2. The Indian T3 Limited Edition might also be regarded as celebrating the rise of Indian's machines as well as the brand's participation in what is expected to be a blockbuster movie.
The limited-edition Indian Chief T3 features hand-painted graphics reminiscent of some of the movie's explosive action scenes. Because the paint is applied by hand, each motorcycle's paint scheme is unique -- that is, truly custom. The T3 is the first of the new Indian Chiefs to come with hard saddlebags, which are styled to mesh with the sensual curves of the Chief's distinctive full fenders. In addition to the T3-logoed components shown here in photos, the Terminator movie theme is carried through with the air cleaner and coil covers, billet items that feature T3 skulls.
The short swan-style stainless-steel exhaust is also unique to this model, though, presumably because such short exhaust pipes with no mufflers are not street-legal, the bike is delivered with the standard fully muffled Chief exhaust system. An Indian spokesman told us the stylish swan-style pipes are "additional accessories" that "are provided to the end user." It is expected that many of the machines won't be ridden, just kept as collectibles, in which case they won't contribute to the rider's hearing loss or the public's annoyance about motorcycle noise.
Each bike comes with a T3 collector's plaque and a letter of authenticity. There will be only 50 of the limited-edition Indian Chief T3 models built. The suggested retail price is $26,995, which is $5500 more than the Chief Springfield.
Beneath the fiery Terminator graphics and their homage to movie magic, the T3 is a standard Indian Chief, similar to the Chief Springfield that we reviewed for the feature in the Road Tests section of MotorcycleCruiser.com. That means that it gets Indian's standard distinctively styled 100-cubic-inch (1638cc) 45-degree air-cooled single-carb OHV V-twin in the engine bay driving a five-speed transmission and belt final drive.
The T3 was inspired by the pseudo-copsickles that Indian built for the movie.Indian Chief trademarks like the deeply valenced fenders, scripted Indian logo, covered 41mm fork legs, full floorboards, big spotlights flanking the uniquely shaped headlight, and the lighted Indian-head logo leading the way on the front fender are part of the T3. The T3 also rides on the same large-backbone chassis as other Indian Chiefs, supported by the same rising-rate single-damper rear suspension design. Wire-spoke 16-inch wheels with four-piston Brembo disc brakes complete the standard Chief chassis package.
Indian has more information on its latest bike and the movie, T3: Rise of the Machines, including T3 screen savers and desktop backgrounds, on The Indian Motorcycle Company website.
Meanwhile the company is have a banner year, reporting sales of 563 motorcycles, a gain of 39 percent over 2002. There are reports that it is contemplating moving its production facilities from Gilroy to the new Barber track in Georgia.