2022 Jack Daniel’s Indian Challenger: The first reason wasn’t a flashback to the glammy paint schemes of the ’80s. Rather, it was that known Jack Daniel’s logo with its serif font that revived memories of Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist Slash, his frizzy black hair always remaining in perfect position as he took a swig from his 750ml square bottle of JD Old No. 7.
Meet the 2022 Jack Daniel’s Indian Challenger Limited Edition, built upon the completely legit Challenger Dark Horse bagger.
Completely legit? I can confirm this sentiment after riding a Challenger Dark Horse nearly 1200 miles in two days from my home in Northeast Pennsylvania to the home of Jack Daniel’s in Lynchburg, Tennessee (more on this later).
I headed to southeastern Tennessee for the unveiling of the new 2022 Jack Daniel’s Indian Challenger at Jack Daniel’s legendary BBQ Hill. There, representatives from Indian and Jack Daniel’s, and the bike’s designer, Brian Klock of Klock Werks Kustom Cycles, unveiled bike No. 001 of 107 available globally.
This is the sixth year of the partnership between these three mega-brands. Each year the customs draw inspiration from one of the whiskeys in production. This year’s Challenger’s design gave the nod to my second-favorite JD whiskey, the Tennessee Rye, which would compare to a peppery Shiraz in the wine world. My first? Old No. 7, of course, stemming from my music days when whiskey was only alcohol. Nowadays, I actually appreciate taste over inebriation.
Although engine performance is exactly the same as a base Challenger Dark Horse, the attention to custom details on this bike is pure boldness—subtle boldness, that is.
The custom paint—the colors match the label of the Tennessee Rye bottle—delivers immediate emotions towards a custom build. However, most know there’s truly no such thing as a “factory custom,” something I debated with a few Indian staff members.
The two other standouts are the custom-stitched black leather seat engrossed with that iconic JD logo, and the rider and passenger floorboards engraved with three silver stalks of rye. The 2022 Jack Daniel’s Indian Challenger is built on a Challenger Dark Horse platform with all the top upgrades, including the Pathfinder Adaptive LED Headlight and Pathfinder S LED Driving Lights, Fox rear suspension with electronically adjustable spring-preload, Powerband Audio, a flared windscreen, and lower bars.
Besides two other journalists, over 200 Indian Motorcycle riders, along with a few of their core “ambassadors,” were present at the BBQ Hill unveiling. The transportation from about an hour north in Franklin to the event was provided via buses as the event highlighted its main adage that adorned the rear fender of the unveiled bike: “Drive Responsibly: Bottles & Throttles Don’t Mix.”
Indian had the 2022 Jack Daniel’s Indian Challenger set up for custom pictures for these Indian fanatics arriving from all portions of the USA. And yes, the bike nearly got tipped over a few times during the photoshoots as the whiskey was flowing graciously.
And like the other five Jack Daniel’s Indians built by Klock—the 2020 Indian Roadmaster Dark Horse with a nod to Gentleman Jack, 2019 Indian Springfield Dark Horse, 2018 Indian Bobber, 2017 Indian Chieftain, plus the 2016 Indian Chief and Springfield models to commemorate JD’s 150th Anniversary.
I headed to Jack Daniel’s facility in 2017 for the unveiling of Jack Daniel’s Chieftain. That time I got to ride the actual JD bike, but not this time.
