The Dark Horse
You may remember we featured Hayden’s V-Rod and his Road Glide in past issues, well now he’s taking his business in a totally new direction. Not only has the business name changed to Big Chief Customs, his first offering is a new Indian Challenger Dark Horse. One of the reasons Hayden went this way is due to his passion for Indian Motorcycles, along with seeing the boys in the US like Carey Hart and Jeremy ‘Twitch’ Stenberg heavily involved, and of course Australian Troy Herfoss tearing up the King of the Bagger Series.
As Hayden says, ‘They’re all bad arse riders throwing a leg over these bikes, which is what spurred me on to build the Challenger, a bike that can be pushed to its limits!” As Hayden admits, “I’m with Indian Motorcycle now as they don’t just speak about freedom, they practice it! And witnessing the backing they give the custom builders in the US was so impressive, I decided to get more involved, and to have the same support here in Australia speaks volumes of what they’re all about.
We’re currently experiencing a new movement and change in the industry downunder, brands don’t necessarily mean what they used to and loyalty to customers and the culture has shifted. Change the game or stay the same!”
The Build
As he’s always loved baggers, Hayden’s next build was always going to be similar, so he started with a stock 2024 Indian Challenger Dark Horse. And as it’s already cranking out of the box, he didn’t see the need to make too many modifications, with his first port of call being to change up the pipes with a set of Rinehart Racing Slip-Ons. He also fitted up a
Saddleman seat which he had colour coded in-house with fabric dye along with slotting in a slipper clutch, and new three-piece ergo clip-on bars with mid risers, just to suit him better with a little more control when he’s punching it hard.
And according to Hayden, the suspension set up with the inverted KYB forks at the front, accompanied with the rear adjustable shock at the rear offers more than enough ground clearance and soaks up the rough stuff with ease.
He didn’t see the need to change the Brembo brake set-up either, which included floating discs front and rear, along with braided lines to keep it all looking clean and tidy. The wheels are a work of art too and were CNC designed in the US, which took a little time, but was well worth it in the end.
He does have plans to fit up another kick arse stereo, but as it features the 7-inch touch screen Ride Command which includes Apple Car Play, along with twin 100- Watt speakers in the front fairing and 6.5-inch 100-Watt speakers in the rear panniers, for now he insists it’s more than adequate for what he needs.
New Direction
After knowing Hayden for a few years now, it’s clear he has always been drawn towards baggers, which is why it was no surprise to hear he’d got himself a new Challenger, “The Indian motorcycles are industry leading with advanced technology and all the latest go-fast parts,” states Hayden. “And the Challenger Dark Horse is a bike that’s so well balanced with edge grip I’ve never ever felt before, not even on a superbike!
Baggers aren’t just about throwing your missus on the back and enjoying a slow ride to the cafe in the hills anymore, it’s more than that, it’s about having something that looks dope and performs hard so you can throw it around and have fun as though you’re on a sports bike. We want handling, scraping sideways and power slides leaving liquorice strips out of corners kinda fun! And the Challenger has all of this in spades, so for me, this is home. Hell yeah, I’m riding an Indian!”
The Paintwork
Obviously being an extremely talented painter by trade, Hayden laid on a unique colour with Diamond Black and Bronze Pearl pinstriping, including the front forks, which came out a treat. And to keep in sync with the new colour, he decided to wrap the exhaust with bronze heat tape.
With his recent changes to his business, Hayden has received a lot of support in the form of endorsements or sponsorship from Link International, Motul Australia and Pirelli Australia, who all got behind him and backed his ideas, illustrating how involved companies like this are supporting all areas of motorcycling. They’ve even got plans together to release some new products including powercruiser tyres, which has pumped up Hayden even more, reinforcing the fact that he’s now heading in the right direction with Big Chief Customs…
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