This Custom Indian Chief Packs Huge V-Twin Power Into a Lean Cafe Racer

The ‘Enigma’ is a 125-horsepower beast.

The standard recipe for building custom cafe racers from American V-twin motorcycles is to start with a manufacturer’s lightweight model, like the Indian Motorcycle Scout or the Harley-Davidson Sportster. But following a recipe is a formula for producing a familiar result, which is obviously not what German bike accessories company Detlev Louis Motorrad-vertriebsgesellschaft mbH had in mind.

The company tasked Detlef Stüdemann and Martin Struckmann from the Louis gearhead crew with creating the custom big twin Indian. To build ‘Enigma,’ they started with an Indian Chief Vintage, and then removed everything that didn’t look like a cafe racer.

The result is a strikingly unique custom that has a big V-twin as its focus. The enormous 1.8-liter V-twin cranks out 125 horsepower thanks to engine specialist Ulf Penne, who added hotter camshafts, an unrestricted intake, upgraded cylinder heads and new engine management computer programming. 

The header from is from STParts and bolts to a Shark muffler to complete the exhaust system.

It is all built on a new UNO lightweight frame, and uses an upside-down front fork and Wilbers rear shock absorber. 

Brembo brakes, custom-made Kineo rims and Bridgestone radials complete the running gear.

Enigma has won the Custom Show in Dortmund, won Best Streetbike at the Berliner Motorrad Tage motorcycle show in Berlin, won the prestigious Ferro Dell Anno award at the Motor Bike Expo in Verona, Italy, in the Best Professional category and took first place at the Swiss Custom show in Zürich.

All that is left is for it to make the trip across the Atlantic so we can see Enigma for ourselves.