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Visionary
Posts: 2300
Georgia, west of Atlanta | varyder - 2013-08-25 5:40 PM
I'll do my best, that would still be another 2 years off. I need to do some rear end work, replace shock, pulley (chirping) and brake calibers, front also. That's the immediate attention. Engine is still running strong. I'm still considering the Vintage as bike II.
Well the HoopLah is slowly dying down, at least for me. I'll ride one when I get a chance. Probably Biketoberfest. If I really like it, I'll consider getting one. If not, it's still cool that Indian is back and with such a nice product. Was riding my '08 Vision this morning, 150 miles 80 of which was on I-20 at 80 mph and cruise control on stereo sounding good. Have a hard time beating the comfort of the Vision........ |
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Visionary
Posts: 1308
Sand Rock, AL United States | nothing beats the Vision!  |
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Visionary
Posts: 1308
Sand Rock, AL United States | Double Vision - 2013-08-25 5:39 AM
Here's my review from Friday's demo rides:
Well, I spent a good deal of the day at the NJ Indian demo event and I didn't hear anyone say anything bad about them. In fact, the response I heard was unanimously positive. The worst thing I could say about the Chief was, it's not a Vision. But it's not trying to be.
If you're planning on going, the route sucks. The dealer is in a congested area on Route 22, aka hell. They had a VERY well organized police escort that mad you feel like you were riding a motorcycle in a presidential motorcade, but without anyone on the grassy knoll. It was as safe and fun as you can get in that part of NJ.
Also, if you don't have an appointment to ride, you may be out of luck. Even in you THINK you may have an appointment, don't be surprised if you don't. Other than that, the folks at the dealer are great and it was a good time. Free food, what?s not to like.
There were a lot of Harley and Victory riders there, but most brands and styles of motorcycle were represented at the demo.
Regarding the Indians, they are rolling works of art. Fit & finish is excellent. The motor is seriously torquey. We got to wind it out getting onto the Parkway, and it gets up and goes.
Ergonomics are very good. Plenty of leg room without sitting in the "praying mantis" position. The Chief seems to fit everyone in every size and shape imaginable. The leather saddle was very comfortable. I even put my big butt on the passenger seat, and it was pretty good. My biggest complaint is that the top of the windshield is in my line of sight. Other windshields are available, or you could have this one cut to size.
The suspension is very good. I kept looking for pot holes and uneven pavement to test it out, and the bike handled it all well.
You won?t think this bike weighs 800 pounds or more. It?s a big machine, but at no time did I feel like it was heavy. The Indian handles well for a heavy cruiser. I tried to drag a floorboard or 4 at various times, with no luck. YMMV.
I?ll be returning tomorrow to do a 2-up ride with my bride. I?ll give you her 2 cents after that.
...
Today my wife rode pillion on a demo ride with me. Her biggest complaints about the Chief from a passenger's perspective were that it's not a Vision, and there are no passenger floorboards (yet). Otherwise the Chief was a hit with her.
The demo ride today went through Watchung Mountain Reservation, a park up in the hills. It was a much more plesaant ride which allowed us to test the lean angle of the Chief. I'm still waiting for someone to tell me they dragged a floorboard.
...
They're going to sell a lot of Indians.
Only complaint I had was the same. Windshield top edge was in my line of sight. |
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Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | I talked to Mark In Charlotte today. They have pre-sold over 70 bikes. He expects them to start shipping in a couple of weeks (good call Chris). A new form came out from Indian today that the dealers will be sending to buyers to fill out regarding accessories they will want on their bikes. Polaris was so anal about keeping the reveal a secret that they held back on ordering accessories through the various vendors so that the vendors wouldn't know what was coming out ahead of time. Now they are trying to make up for lost time and figure out which accessories will most requested on the pre-orders. Indian is also tweaking the bikes based on the pre-production feedback they got from the initial ride reviews. Some of the things I saw/heard were throttle-lag, check engine light, and changing the Classic and Vintage seats over to the one used on the Chieftain (deeper bucket). Remembering the Vision launch/delays in 2007, I am approaching this one with a zen-like calmness.......ohmmmmmm........ |
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Visionary
Posts: 2300
Georgia, west of Atlanta | Was up in Charlotte and stopped by Indian shop. Bikes are as nice looking as expected. Could not take test ride, but that's OK. The Chieftain has always been the bike of most interest to me. Looking at it and sitting on it I have alot of good things to say and two not so good things. The bikes are very nicely done. The paint and chrome looks good. Engine looks excellent and they sound really good too. My two disappointments are the Chieftain is much smaller in sitting room than our Visions ( But what isn't ? ) and I just don't like the look of the fairing, I don't know why, I really wanted to like it but just dosen't float my boat.............. |
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Visionary
Posts: 2300
Georgia, west of Atlanta | I saw The new Indians in Charlotte, they had one of each model for display. I was reading on a VOG forum that most dealerships haven't received bikes yet. Is that true ?? Is there a holdup or are they just going out the door as soon as they come in. I bet Charlotte has pre-sold 80 by now.. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 24
Alberta | I was really anticipating the release of the Indian brand. When I read an article about it in one of the motorcycle Mags I decided that I was actually disappointed. Everyone has a V-twin engine in their brand (nothing to marvel at here). I hoped Indian would be so different and iconic that I wanted to see them design a 4 cylinder engine and mount it lengthwise in the chassis. I'm keeping my Vision. |
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Visionary
Posts: 2300
Georgia, west of Atlanta | Bad Horsie - 2013-09-04 9:17 PM
I was really anticipating the release of the Indian brand. When I read an article about it in one of the motorcycle Mags I decided that I was actually disappointed. Everyone has a V-twin engine in their brand (nothing to marvel at here). I hoped Indian would be so different and iconic that I wanted to see them design a 4 cylinder engine and mount it lengthwise in the chassis. I'm keeping my Vision.
I was thinking along those same lines, and I'm keeping my Vision too............ |
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Cruiser
Posts: 103
Davenport, IA | I rode my Vision from Davenport IA to Madison, WI this past weekend where they had Indian demo rides at Engelhart Motorsports. I rode the Chieftain and Vintage. I was very partial to the Chieftain. That would be my choice. They are sensational bikes. Very smooth, lots of torque, nice tranny that is much quieter than my 09 Vision, and handles very well. Fun bike to ride. When I first sat on the Chieftain, it felt so much smaller than the Vision without all the mass. If I was to have another bike, this is the ticket. Since I am only 5' 8" and 160lbs, proportionately, I wear the Chieftain so much better. However, overall, the Vision is the ultimate ride and can't be beat! After riding the Chieftain, I climbed aboard the Vision to leave, and all I could say was ahhh, I love this bike! |
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Visionary
Posts: 1308
Sand Rock, AL United States | agreed, I am a small guy too and the Chieftain was nice but it's not something I would trade my Vision for. The Vision is the greatest bike! I might add to the stable one day and it might be an Indian, who knows. The 111 is impressive by vtwin standards. It is the draw for me. I too, would like to see an Indian 4 and I believe , eventually , there will be but it may be several years. Indian has to settle in first. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 281
| XRsteve - 2013-09-04 6:05 PM
I saw The new Indians in Charlotte, they had one of each model for display. I was reading on a VOG forum that most dealerships haven't received bikes yet. Is that true ?? Is there a holdup or are they just going out the door as soon as they come in. I bet Charlotte has pre-sold 80 by now..
This is the $64K question. My dealer claims to have have had about 30 orders already.
As of right now, Indian is projecting a late September ship date for folks that made early deposits and orders just after Sturgis. A lot of us are getting impatient as we had originally been told early September. If I don't get a numbered Indian I'll be pretty t'ed off, and I won't be alone.
Of greater concern is that bikes going to dealers could arrive and be offered for sale before the pre-order bikes arrive. Personally, I think the dealer bikes will be for display purposes only at least until the pre-order bikes get delivered. YMMV |
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Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | Talked to Charlotte today. Still tweaking the bikes before they are released. One known issue was a loose connection at the starter. Shooting for September release. Bikes will not be handed out in the order of the deposit dates. The production line will be set up for specific models at a time. I could be #3 in line at Charlotte and get bike #200 because of when my specific bike was built. A guy could have ordered his bike last week and actually get it before I do because of the way the production run is set up. Not saying that will happen, just saying it could. Lots of wailing and gnashing ahead on that, I'm sure. Going through this in '07 with the Vision has made me much calmer this time around. The dealers were originally supposed to get 7 showroom bikes and 1 demo. Now they will get 2 showroom bikes (not to be sold) and 1 demo because of the demand from the pre-orders. Interesting side note: Called my insurance company to set up a quote and it seems like they have the Kings Mountain bikes in their data base. 2014 models in their data base included the Dark Horse. The quote I got was outrageous and they must think I'm getting a $40,000 LE model. Need to go shopping for insurance quotes and see if any company realizes it will be a Polaris Indian. No insurance company has a 2014 VIN# in their data base so it will get interesting when it comes time to actually set up a policy. My expectation is to pick up my bike in October. If it happens this month, great. |
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Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | E-mail from Charlotte this morning. Good Morning, We received notice late last week that the delivery of the new Chiefs is pushed back a few weeks. This delay is due to an assembly change that was determined during final testing. The change has been developed and is currently in testing. The validation will take some time to confirm and the new dates for the first shipments are end of September. We had expected the first Chiefs to ship this week. While we are all disappointed at this turn of events, I admire the comprehensive testing and evaluation that Indian is putting these machines through. A small delay now is a small price for the high quality that we all expect from these storied machines. Please be patient and I will send updates each Friday until bikes are shipping. Again, bikes will begin shipping this month, but most of our Chiefs will come in October or so. Thanks for the business and your support, good times are ahead for our Indian Family… Regards, Mark Moses
Edited by SongFan 2013-09-10 11:28 AM
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Visionary
Posts: 2300
Georgia, west of Atlanta | Is a bummer waiting, but you wouldn't want the bike with a production problem that has to be fixed later.............I'm sure you'll enjoy it once it gets here.............. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 691
Manchester, CT | Glad to see they caught it.
This is very typical in the hi tech industry (having worked for a number of market leaders). There is what we call the marketing calendar vs the engineering calendar. I'll guarantee the product managers are under extreme pressure. I would guess that Indian was aware of the issue for quite sometime and the Product Managers were held at gun point to come up with a release date hoping the issue was resolved for general release of the product |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 27
Leduc Alberta Canada | This is no different than the release of the Cross Country.
At least here in Canada.
Placed deposit on Sept 25,2009 - received bike May 19,2010.
I told my salesman 236 days but who is counting.
All he did was laugh.
I do know one thing --- it was worth the wait.
Edited by randyyo 2013-09-10 5:51 PM
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Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | Definitely going to be worth it. Amazing that Polaris is the only company on the planet that has teased me into buying first run models. The Vision in '07 and the new Indian are the only first year model vehicles I have ever bought (and paid sticker for). Word of mouth keeps getting broader as I have friends that are finding out I'm getting one. They usually find out about the "new Indians" from someone else, check it out on YouTube, mention it to a mutual friend who then tells them I am in line for one. My own personal observation is that my Harley buddies are the most enthusiastic about seeing it in person. The Goldwing/BMW/Others think it's a good story but not really interested in "going backwards" (for lack of a better term). As this drags out, the new hip just gets better every day. Been working out an hour a day. Two more weeks of physical therapy and I'm done. Might end up riding it home after all. October is the nicest month of the year around here anyway. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 27
Leduc Alberta Canada | Don't know how this happened already considering we are way up north
and in Canada.
Stop by dealer today to check out the backrest recall on my Cross Country.
Low and behold they have 8 Indians for a demos this weekend.
Sat on one and it feels small like the Harleys.
Salesman tells me stop by with my gear anytime and take one out for a ride.
Just may have to bring my riding stuff to work tomorrow. |
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Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | The latest: Good morning, Getting ready for another 1200 mile Trail of Tears rid later today… Thought I would drop you a note with the latest info on the delivery dates for the ‘14 Indians; I received notice yesterday afternoon that the first bikes will ship later this week. It takes about 10 days before they arrive once they leave Spirit Lake and I will be in touch as your bike is shipped. Stay tuned, the wait is tough but worthwhile. I have been told a minor cosmetic issue was the delay and that the fix is in place and the testing completed. I will not be in the shop till next week. Have a great weekend and pleasant Indian dreams… Regards, Mark Moses |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 27
Leduc Alberta Canada | Well took the time to treat myself Thursday to a Indian demo ride.
Went to my dealer with my riding gear filled out the standard form and
proceeded to go on an 1 1/2 hour ride by myself.
Could not believe my salesman said see you in an hour or two.
Now to my thoughts - IMHO Polaris as blown it out of the park.
This bike is a real treat to ride: lots of power , shifting is very quiet, handling very agile for a large bike.
The adjustable windshield is a nice feature, radio has good sound.
If I were 5'8" - 5'10" this bike would have been perfect.
I think I have been spoiled by my XC.
IMO the Indian is built for a shorter person.
I am 6'1" with 33"inseam and 36" arm length.
I did not have the leg room or seat comfort that I do on mine.
The handle bars where not comfortable at all by the end of my ride
my shoulders were sore and so was my butt.
On this bike I seem to to sit on it instead of in it, like my Victory.
But even that did not take away from how enjoyable the ride was.
I think Polaris did an excellent job with this bike but the stock version is not for everyone.
If the mods required for me, become available this bike would be perfect.
Great job Polaris.
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Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | At 6'3" I'm bracing myself for a much smaller bike than I was used to with the Vision. I don't plan on riding it the same way I rode the Vision though so I will adjust to it as the price I'm willing to pay to have it. I watched a long video review (28 minutes) on YouTube from theVOGdotnet and Andy was interviewing a guy who has owned 2 Visions, 2 Harleys, 2 Cross Countrys, a VTX and a 2012 Kings Mountain Indian. He is a tall guy and actually cancelled his pre-order on a 2014 Indian because it just didn't fit what he was looking for. No aftermarket for forward controls was a major factor I think. He makes a couple of comments that he knows will ruffle some feathers but it's just his opinion. Seems like a well rounded/educated rider. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVmGs2s3uB8&feature=c4-overview&list=UU4eseHiXksYJLHL3YqIEBeQ |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 825
, WI | I'm going to wait until eBay fills up with the loaded, low mileage, "like new" Indian's. |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | Anything? Deliveries? |
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Cruiser
Posts: 156
Bluff Park, Alabama - God's Country! 2011 PW VV | Big #1 in B'ham just got their DISPLAY bikes today!
"The first two Display Model Indian Motorcycles just came off the truck! ? at BIG#1 Motorsports." |
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Visionary
Posts: 1308
Sand Rock, AL United States | varyder - 2013-09-24 8:27 PM
Anything? Deliveries?
Chris , come on, do you really have 147 million ?  |
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2014 Indian Chief
