It pioneered the drivetrain configuration later popularized by Moto Guzzi, having a longitudinally mounted air-cooled 90-degree V-twin with shaft drive to the rear wheel.

Although its tubular frame, plunger rear suspension, four-speed transmission, foot-operated shifter, hand-operated clutch and shaft drive were similar to the BMW's, the 841 was different from the BMW in several aspects, most noticeably so with its 90-degree longitudinal-crankshaft V-twin engine and girder fork.

[1][2][4] Also unlike the R71 and the XA, the 841 used a heel-and-toe shift pedal with heel-operated upshifts and toe-operated downshifts.

[4] The bike also had a low compression ratio of 5.1:1, meaning that it could be run on low-octane fuel, crash bars to protect the cylinders, 18-inch wheels, two separate gas tanks for a total of 5 gallons of available fuel and newly designed girder forks for better shock absorption.

[3][6] The Indian 841 and the Harley-Davidson XA were both tested by the Army,[1][4][8] but neither motorcycle was adopted for wider military use.