Hey guys, thought I would share my recent motorcycling experience. The wife & I flew down to Arizona for a four day weekend. Before we left she asked what bike I would like to rent through Eaglerider for sightseeing purposes. I love Harley's but have been a bit curious about the new Indians, so we rented a 2017 Roadmaster for our 500 mile loop we had planned. Let me just say it was a beautiful bike that was a pleasure to ride the first 250 mi (although the navigation couldn't locate any destination we plugged in, so gave up & used cell phone), a few miles into the second leg of our journey the fun began! The engine lost power then died completely, pulled over, had to cycle ignition power to restart, then away we went w/ engine light now on. Approx 5 miles later, same thing, and again, and again etc..... I soon realized it would warn me by dropping one cylinder first, w/ a bit of time before the second. As soon as the first one dropped, I could pull in clutch, cycle power, restart and keep going without having to pull over. Made it to a gas station, called Eaglerider manager who rented us the bike for advise. He said he would call nearest Eaglerider manager & call back. He did but no luck, manager on vacation. He said keep going if possible & he would try someone else & get back to us. So we did and the problem continued over & over. A ways down the road we pulled into a rest stop for a break and the phone rings. It's a different Eaglerider manager asking for our location; we tell him and he said I'm on the way w/ a Harley for you to get home on. Shortly after he shows up on a Road King & his wife following w/ truck & trailer. I explained the problem w/ the bike and he said it's normal, the Indians have lots of electrical problems, not the first one he has towed. So we loaded it up (they even brought us bottled water), we said our "thank you's" then jumped on the Road King and headed back to the hotel w/ no problems. Anyway, we had a blast on our trip, the guys at Eaglerider went above & beyond for us which we really appreciate, and the wife said that we would only ride Harley's going forward and she means it!!!! Anyway that's our story, hope the post wasn't too long & boring

 

Yep. I believe it. And they kicked Victory to the curb??!!
Some of the Indians look ok . . . But I'd never own one.
Just not a fan.
The whole "Est in 1901" BS thing. The Indian motorcycle
co. went out of business in 1953. So someone bought the
rights to use the name, like that clown in Gilroy in the 90s.
None of em are any more of an Indian than I am.

I'd have bought a Vic 1st. The one like a Street Glide

Im glad they brought you a Harley so you had a good trip.

 

In March of this year, we rented a 2015 roadmaster from Eaglerider in Phoenix just to see what the model was like. The rental had 35K miles on it, was pretty beat in terms of cosmetics, and had some rear drive noise that wasn't expected.
Having driven down from Prescott, about 100 miles north of Phoenix, we took the bike out for a full day of riding. It was a blast and the bike performed just fine. The rear noise (I don't know what caused it - maybe rear sprocket cushion) was only noticeable at low speed.
The owner of Eaglerider was an interesting guy to talk with. Lots of history with bikers in Arizona.
We didn't buy an Indian, as my health took a turn mid-year..... but I've got to say that the bike was big, heavy, a torque monster, and a real pleasure to ride 2-up. And I've been riding baggers since I bought an FLH in 1976.

 

I have an acquaintance with a Victory, an Ultra equivalent. He did an iron butt on it from central Florida to San Diego with a group of Harleys. He broke down twice. No HD did. Six months later he takes it to The Dragon for a long weekend. It turned into a very long weekend when he broke down again and had to wait on a trailer from home. Again, no HD on the trip had any problems.

I know what I won't be buying and that's anything Polaris has anything to do with.

 

I wasn't aware of the problems with Indian. I simply prefer the styling of the Harley's and have been very happy with mine. Just personal preferences.

 

Yes, Harley Davidson has been at it a while, If my Road King was any better I couldn't stand it. Honestly, my previous Harleys performed well also and they were, wait for it, AMF.
Mike

 

I have had no problems, issues with my Indian.

 

I test rode a couple of Indian demo bikes. The fit and finish was poor. I came away unimpressed. I will say the TS111 pulls good.

 

I'd likely have no problem switching to Indian if they were not so ugly. I love retro.....but that things is just too much. The springfield is sharp tho. I think they will need to figure out how to vary the product line a bit for the baggers. Polaris killing Victory doesn't bode well tho and would make me even more hesitant. Too bad as the MoCo can use all the competition it can get.

 

Me and my wife rented a Roadmaster from Eaglerider, too. We took the bike for a 3k road trip from Seattle to San Francisco (coast and mountains).
It run flawlessly, but workmanship was low-quality (rusty screws, peeling off chrome from cheap plastic parts...) and the Roadmaster fairing is plug-ugly.
Good to know that Eaglerider is looking after their customers, though.