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Tell me what you know, about the Polaris Indians...


Matts_12GS

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I'm doing some research, giving the Indian a lot of thought. I have had and reconsidered Harleys, metrics and of course my 6 BMWs. I'm not getting rid of my GSA any time soon, I'm looking for the India to be a second bike.

I'm looking at the Chieftain and Chief models, I want the big twin 111 motor, not the Scout.

 

Until the FTR1200 hits the streets.

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After a couple test rides I would say they are made for people under 6 feet. Ergos were more like Goldwings than Road Glides.

 

Check out the new line of HD Softails.

 

 

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Dennis Andress

They strike me as gaudy. The bike in Pat's pictures is the most appealing Indian I've seen.

 

Being a pragmatic I wonder about resale value, service intervals and cost, the cost of installing new tires, and can I fix a flat tire without calling for a tow.

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After a couple test rides I would say they are made for people under 6 feet. Ergos were more like Goldwings than Road Glides.

 

Check out the new line of HD Softails.

 

 

They tend to favor a slightly shorter inseam out of the box, however there are different reach seats and bars available to make the ergos better. Ashley and I did a demo on one of the extended reach seats and it was nice.

 

@ Dennis, they are pretty blingy... Resale up north here seems strong on them. They are holding value well.

As for roadside maintenance... well, the bags come off pretty easily, the skirts take a little more time, however I think doing your own tires is possible on them.

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Before I was able to convince the wife to ride the RT, we both test road the Chieftain and the Springfield. We both came off of riding Honda VT1100's for 17 years. The Springfield felt right at home. But they were a lot heavier feeling. Especially at slow speeds.

 

Our biggest complaint was the reach to the sidestand. I'm 5'10" and I could barely reach it to bring it up. The wife is 5'5" and there was no way she could reach it. Indian really screwed up on that one. Seat and bar reach was great for her. I was fine with it as well. I hear they have an "extension" now available to reach it. So if you are on the short side, that is something to be aware of.

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Same essential bat wing out front as my prior ultraclassic....I was not a fan of that fairing in heavy wind or trailing trucks. It blew the bike all over the place...your experience might be different. Awesome looking bike but perhaps you can get a test ride on a windy day to see if same characteristics of Harley bat wing.

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The bmw dealership i worked at got the Indians in and had them about a year before I left .

They are very high quality and the big difference between the Indian and the HD is the Indian has modern brakes and suspension and a chassis that goes around corners .

It's not an R1, but it runs circles around an HD.

Numerous HD owners who test rode complained that the floorboards/pegs were too high . BUT it was due to the Indian actually having ground clearance .

Indian ( the name) had many owners who all failed miserably but Bombardier (Polaris) has the money to do it right and they did .

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Let's see, what year is this .

 

My point was, the Indian vs a stock HD stops better, corners better, and admittedly it's been a few years but i think has better top speed.

But even if the HD or Royal Star or Victory has more HP but can't use it because the chassis flex's , what bike is faster?

 

I personally have no desire for any cruiser type bike of any brand. I frankly, have no use for them . But I did have some info and an opinion on the Indians.

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Yes, cruisers are heavy and the bat wing isn't as effective as the bat wing. Some HD and some Indians have water cooling.

 

 

Fox shocks support the indian, showa the HD.

 

It seems that competition is improving the breed overall.

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Thank you for all your comments everyone. I really appreciate the insight of this group.

 

In full disclosure, I posted the thread to help me understand the penetration of the brand since I have taken a hiatus from technology work and am spending some time selling Indians on the side. I can see that there's still a lot of the anti-cruiser mentality around, I suppose because of the cultural differences, I always thought the axiom "it doesn't matter what you ride as long as you ride" was kind of a cop out. However, I'm finding that once I get about 150 miles away from the site of a big rally, the sanity level improves as does the amount of gear riders wear.

 

Ride what you want, don't be a burden to anyone else's rights to enjoy what they want to ride.

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Indian bikes look nice but after what Polaris did to Victory I will not get one. I was having a 2013 Victory judge and a 2013 Victory Cross Country, The engine is awesome and the Cross Country was my daily rider, was planning to keep them for a long time but once Polaris kill the brand I trade the Victory Judge for a 2011 HD Fatboy. I love the looks of the Fatboy and will keep it forever, for my speed fix I have a 2006 V-ROD. Just recently trade the Victory Cross Country for the RT and the RT is my main mode of transportation and daily rider. Is not the first time Polaris kill one of their brands, they did it also with their watercraft line. Will not surprise me if after some years they also kill the Indian brand. Better stay with HD since 1903 and BMW since 1923.

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They just didn't do much volume on their watercraft's. They had a loyal customer base of the ATV and snowmobiles who stayed with the watercraft brand. But the numbers were low and their watercraft's had issues a couple of years in a row in PWC's testing and comparisons. Stricter EPA regs were also on the horizon.

 

To me, the Victory and Indian lines were pretty similar and probably cannibalized each other. My local BMW dealer also is Indian (and was Victory), so I only know from walking the showroom. A brand new showroom for a relocated dealer here still has the Victory sign on their new building. One of the salesman thinks Victory will be reintroduced - I think that's doubtful. That dealer, however, just bought a bunch of New Victory's so the 'reintroduced' line might be meant to ease customer concerns.

 

I guess the bottom line on Victory is you liked them plenty enough - till they stopped selling them. That to me sounds like a good endorsement of the bikes.

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Valid points, however...

 

Polaris has sent all victory owners communications that Indian dealers will provide the service and warranty needs for at least the 10 years that parts are required to be available.

 

They are standing by the brand.

 

I just rode the Stage 3 big bore kit in an Indian chieftain yesterday and really liked the performance. It's a well engineered kit and reasonably priced for what it is.

 

Indian may not be your flavor of motorcycle, hell, cruisers may be the antithesis of riding to you... That's all wonderful.

 

I like them, and it seems many of you do too. Which is even better!

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Lone_RT_rider
This is what Laney says to your cruisn'

 

Dennis, you know I bleed Sport Touring and love my curves so very much, but all things two wheels are good.

 

Shawn

 

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Dennis Andress
This is what Laney says to your cruisn'

 

Dennis, you know I bleed Sport Touring and love my curves so very much, but all things two wheels are good.

 

Shawn

 

 

Have you rode one of these yet?

 

2018-bmw-r-1200-rs-buyers-guide-3.jpg

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Lone_RT_rider
This is what Laney says to your cruisn'

 

Dennis, you know I bleed Sport Touring and love my curves so very much, but all things two wheels are good.

 

Shawn

 

 

Have you rode one of these yet?

 

Yes, I have. I lean to far forward on that bike for my riding style. To each, their own Dennis. I am not a fan of Choppers either, but if it makes them smile every time their owners get on one then all the better.

 

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This is what Laney says to your cruisn'

 

Dennis, you know I bleed Sport Touring and love my curves so very much, but all things two wheels are good.

 

Shawn

 

 

Have you rode one of these yet?

 

2018-bmw-r-1200-rs-buyers-guide-3.jpg

 

Hmm . . Maybe I should try one of those. What with my body shape, I think I'd be sitting up as if I was on a Goldwing on that bad boy :whistle::spittake:

 

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Dennis Andress

To each, their own Dennis. I am not a fan of Choppers either, but if it makes them smile every time their owners get on one then all the better.

 

If only that were true. Maybe it's a west coast thing, but getting stuck behind a flock of cruisers doing 10 under the limit really messes up a good ride. Smiles? I've gotten more scowls and scorn. For them, attitude is everything. Yet, on some trips to Torrey and UNs I've seen more cruisers than BMWs, the riders happy and outgoing; doing what they love, the same as me. So, I deal with the bad because there is some good in it. But I no longer respect any of it.

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To each, their own Dennis. I am not a fan of Choppers either, but if it makes them smile every time their owners get on one then all the better.

 

... But I no longer respect any of it.

 

Perhaps there is some sort of chicken and egg thing here...

 

Being passed by someone at 3x the limit is about as fun being stuck behind someone going under the limit. Group think on both sides of the equation creates these issues.

I've long been in the camp that because I wear full gear, the police will likely ignore my egregious speeds, while at the same time swearing they need to get those other knuckleheads for obstructing traffic flow. And of course, we all get pretty snooty about hi viz t shirts and flip flops as safety gear.

 

Maybe we cause as much animosity as we see?

 

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Dennis Andress

Most often there are too many cars stuck behind the cruisers to make passing possible. The scowls and scorn happen when I park my bike near the cruisers; ferry rides are great for that.

 

I see no chicken and egg. I'm not causing any animosity, heck these people seldom respond to a polite "Hello". i see a lifestyle that doesn't respect others.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Dennis Andress
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Dennis Andress
Matt, You're pushing it. Time for you to join the Indian forum when you start bashing riders that like to ride fast on this forum :)

 

No, I had that comment coming. I once passed Matt on my K13S in 4th gear and somewhere north of 7K rpm. (The engine got buzzy at 7K.) Not sure if that was 3x the limit or 4...

 

Edited by Dennis Andress
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Odd, apparently a reply I posted got deleted.

 

1) I only got to ride an Indian on roads that did not exceed 45mph; going over was suggested but its a notorious speed trap there. Very hard to determine wind protection at those speeds but was better than HD batwing. Bike handled about as well as the M8 Road King I had at the time. Was hotter than the Road King but I wasn't first to ride this Chief (original front wheel style).

 

2) someone mentioned a R1200RS, what a lovely motorcycle and I took a used one out for a ride but could not find either position of the windshield that did not result in roaring and didn't want to risk buying one and not finding a windshield that would work. Also the bags are not the same as RTs, they are much smaller.

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Matt, You're pushing it. Time for you to join the Indian forum when you start bashing riders that like to ride fast on this forum :)

 

No, I had that comment coming. I once passed Matt on my K13S in 4th gear and somewhere north of 7K rpm. (The engine got buzzy at 7K.) Not sure if that was 3x the limit or 4...

 

 

To be completely fair, I'm not riding any slower than that day, however I'm limited to the GSA's aerodynamic novelty. I made mention of that as a possible cause due to some experience I earned while passing a flock leather vest types in NC. They got vocal and grumpy about my pass while we were stopped at a lunch joint. If they had gotten there before we ordered they have made a more valid point.

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Dennis Andress

Moving to the Olympic Peninsula put the brakes on fast riding. Traffic on the only 4-lane divided road in the county seldom moves over 65 mph. 2-lane state highways are crowded, and even slower. Back roads have trees instead of sight lines. There are hard to see intersections and driveways everywhere.

 

Despite the rural small town feel of Port Orchard it is only a ferry ride from downtown Seattle. The ferries make this area a weekend destination for Seattleites. That's where most of the attitude comes from.

 

 

It's not all bad. We have the best beer in the country. And the view from our deck can't be beat!

wp-sunrise-X2.jpg

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After a couple test rides I would say they are made for people under 6 feet. Ergos were more like Goldwings than Road Glides.

 

Check out the new line of HD Softails.

 

 

Cruisers seem to be built that way, at least HD and Indian. Victory's were roomier, but they are gone now. That said, having come from cruiserdom, I don't see the advantage of an extra 250-300+ lbs.

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