Drunk With Power: The 2019 Jack Daniel’s Edition Springfield Darkhorse

Indian Motorcycle and Jack Daniel’s Whiskey team up for the fourth year in a row to bring fans of the iconic American brands yet another special-edition, JD-flavored, Indian-made, two-wheeler.

The History Of An American Partnership

Indian Motorcycle partnered with Tennessee-based whiskey powerhouse and icon, Jack Daniel’s for the first time back in 2016, releasing special, limited-edition, JD-themed Springfield and Chief Vintage models — all 150 units of which sold out within only eight-hours of release. So it’ wasn’t a shocker the following year in 2016 when the two American outfits announced another limited-edition colab, this time churning out 100 examples of special Jack Daniel’s spec Chieftains. Preorders began at noon on March 12, and by 12:10 — despite the steep price — every single unit was snapped up.

In 2018 the two companies returned for their third collaborative special-edition effort, this time opting to adorn the Scout Bobber in Jack Daniel’s themed/inspired digs, more specifically, celebrating JD’s (volunteer) Fire Brigade. The JD-spec Scout Bobber’s design was entrusted to Brian Klock of Klock Werks Kustom Cycles, who was responsible for the features adorning the 177 units (get it?) the factory produced. Like the year before, preorders began at noon and in less than ten minutes every JD-spec bike was sold. If you haven’t noticed the pattern yet, people freakin’ love these things!

The 2019 Jack Daniel’s Springfield Darkhorse

For 2019, America’s oldest motorcycle marque and the country’s favorite whiskey brand have reverted to a more high-dollar offering than last year’s JD-edition Scout Bobber, this time dressing the Springfield Darkhorse up in JD-themed accessories and livery that are again the result of Brian Klock taking the reigns. So what exactly has Brian done for the 2019 version? 

The theme for 2019 is exclusivity, which is highlighted by the limited edition model’s bevy of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select logos scattered over the bike. JD’s Single Barrel Select is ultra exclusive and produced just one barrel at a time. The logos can be seen on the bike’s badging and engraved floorboards. The JD-edition model also gets Mid-Rise Ape Hanger bars, LED lighting throughout, quick-release tinted windscreen, newly redesigned “Slammed” hard luggage, individually numbered Montana Silversmith badging, and the whole things rides along on a set of specially machined rims.

Drunk On Power

At the heart of the JD-spec Springfield Darkhorse is a mammoth 116ci V-Twin that packs a whopping (claimed) 127ft-lbs of torque, which is more than the latest Suzuki Hayabusa — hell, that’s even more than Kawasaki’s track-only Ninja H2R! While the Indian is a massive bike that does weigh, a lot, 127ft-lbs of torque is an objectively insane amount that even puts some cars to shame.

The Livery

Like all three prior years, the 2019 JD Indian bares its own unique, high-end paint scheme. Adorned in Jack Daniels — and Single Barrel Select — logos, the Darkhorse wears a two-tone “Heavy Metal Crystal and Thunder Black Vivid Crystal” livery complete with (faux) wood grain on the luggage and fuel-cell. Said wood grain was chosen as a nod to the barrels Jack Daniel’s whiskey ages in. Speaking of which, each example includes a special display bottle of whiskey — that comes in a special case made from the same wood the whiskey is aged inside of — that features the owners name and bike’s serial number.

Customers Selected At Random

Unlike the last three years which have operated on a first-come, first-serve basis, for 2019 Indian decided to attempt to level the playing field and give any excited wannabe customer an equal shot of getting their hands on the newest JD-spec Indian. To do this, Indian has built 177 examples, and is asking interested parties to enter this online application (which can be filled out from now until March 17), which puts you in the run for the randomly selected drawing.

Giving Bike, Giving Back

The very first bike to leave the factory — serial number 001 — is headed not to a customer, but instead to the auction block. The sale’s proceeds will be donated to Operation Ride Home — a charity providing financial support to military personal and their families.

Pouring Into Showrooms

As previously mentioned, only 177 units were built, though, despite originating in the good ‘ol US of A, a number of examples are earmarked for Spain, the UK, and Germany. Pricing has yet to be announced — however if previous models serve as any indication you can basically tack a few grand onto the MSRP of the respective base model — though Indian has announced the bikes are scheduled to arrive at dealerships in (or around) September of 2019.