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Indian Longevity?

45K views 96 replies 42 participants last post by  101376 
#1 · (Edited)
I'm looking at picking up a Roadmaster-love the quality, features and ride. What is considered long life on an Indian air-cooled motor? I know some of the Wings and BMWs have 300,000 or more miles on them and are still going. Do the air-cooled Indian (or Harley for that matter) motors have the same kind of longevity? I have a 100 mile round trip commute and ride whenever possible so want make sure the bike's in it for the long haul. I find it pretty easy to rack up 20k a year.
 
#2 ·
I'm looking at picking up a Roadmaster-love the quality, features and ride. What is considered long life on an Indian air-cooled motor? I know some of the Wings and BMWs have 300,000 or more miles on them and are still going. Does the air-cooled Indian (or Harley for that matter) motors have the same kind of longevity? I have a 100 mile round trip commute and ride whenever possible so want make sure the bike's in it for the long haul.
I've got 20k on my '14 .. it's just breaking in. I've seen a bike odometer out there that shows 160k on it ( TS111 bike ). Zero issues reported

I don't see why you can't get 100-200k out of it. But, in all fairness, you're asking us about a motor that has been out less than 4 years. Indian did a "1 Million mile" stress test on it..

Now.. .. just do it.. go get one
 
#18 ·
I don't see the million mile stress test as being relevant here being that none of us have or will ever see the results of that test. It might have taken 40 rebuilds to get a TS111 to a million miles for all we know. Polaris sure as hell ain't gonna tell any of us how it went. However, I am sure that these motors will be of at least average reliability.
 
#7 ·
The 173K claim is pure bullshit and we all saw enough of that story. No photos, no dealer name, and now with his serial numbers already provided he claims the engine is on back order so please call it the way it is. I'd say probably anywhere in the 75 to 125K range before a top end job is needed and bottom end? Who knows.The engine is fairly new and there are reports of 60K actual miles plus out there with not going into the engine. I don't know. Time will tell. I cannot imagine over 125K on the same original valves.
 
#6 ·
Too soon to tell. Not enough high mileage machines out there to assess that yet. My last one didn't make it past 6k miles. Others claim 173k. Don't know anyone local with more than 10k on theirs yet. My old dealer claimed they had plenty hit 30k with no issues, and those were the particularly noisy engines they were tracking.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Does the air-cooled Indian (or Harley for that matter) motors have the same kind of longevity?
I've only had mine for a year and 15,000 miles. No issues yet but a little soon to declare it a long life motor.

I put 121,000 miles on my 05 Harley with the only problem being a weepy shift shaft seal at around 40,000 miles. I did upgrade the cam chain tensioners but that is no longer an issue for the later model Harleys.
 
#12 ·
There are no guarantees with any engine. Even bikes like Goldwings that routinely go 300k have the occasional problem engine. Luck of the draw really but these 111's do show promise. Routine maintenance per the owners manual and you should be good. If not you'll know soon so trade up and try again. Bound to get a good one at some point. And no...you can't have mine. It's one of the good ones.:D
 
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#72 ·
With My Age and Health Issues if can get 100K out of my CDH with relatively no major problems will be quite happy .. Have done enough work on my older Dyna it's reliable enough for a back up, so see some good riding in my future as long as the CDH continues to run like it's doing now ..
 
#13 ·
This engine is too new to compare to BMW or Goldwing. Those two have decades of engineering and history behind them.

I am not being negative towards Indian. I just don't think its fair to compare the TS111 yet because it is a baby compared to BMW and Honda engines.
 
#22 ·
Just got back from the dealer today 360 miles round trip to get the fuel rail recall done ,the mechanic said one Indian they service is in the mid seventy thousand range with no problems at all,he also said Almost all the work they do is on the traded in Harley's, very few broken down Indians he said they just don't brake down that much.i asked about the clacking ,but you don't want to know what he said.
 
#28 ·
Hollister Powersports has been selling these bikes from the beginning and have only had "1" faulty engine. Knocking rod. This bike was this way shortly after purchase. Most of our long term customers are around the 30 to 50K mark. Absolutely no problems. Rock solid. The engine noises people talk about and discuss inherit to the engine are just that and don't get any louder as the bike gets mileage on it. People don't talk about another great performing characteristic of the bike " The Transmission". I've owned many bikes including a dozen Harleys over the years. The transmission is solid. It's a little tight for the first 5000 miles and at 40k it feels like my Harleys Tranny at 3000. The Victory had a dependable transmission as well but it sounded like two shopping carts hitting together in a parking lot. But it was consistent and never failed me. Even the Goldwing's I have owned seem to get sloppier in time. The Indian Tranny is taken for granted but is one of my real high points of the Bike.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Excellent, excellent point. Best transmission I have ever had on a bike, hands down. I love how it clunks when I shift. Never an accidental neutral when going to second. 8k miles for me so far and not one missed shift. It's a damn good trans. The engine noise is another story. Unless your salesmen are telling potential customers that some of the engines make a lot of noise and some don't so it's luck of the draw then you are lying by omission. And if you have to lie to sell bikes then it is a problem. Do your salesmen tell people of the possibility of getting an unusually loud engine before the paperwork is signed? I'm gonna guess not.
 
#32 ·
I honestly don't trip on the engine noise. Some are a little noisier than others. I've had Goldwings that sound different than others. I have been riding many different bikes for 50 years. Do you remember solid valves needing adjustments? Or how about a Ducati. These old and new time bombs got louder by the day until you pulled over on the side of the road and adjusted them. They were actually wearing out. I don't see this with these bikes. Consistent through time. I have heard one bike that I thought the sound was unordinary and wrong. We are straight up honest at our shop. The buyers take the bike and ride it. If they don't like the sound they don't have to sign the papers. I do find the engine sound resonates between the front leg farings and the saddlebags on a Roadmaster more than the other models. If I had to ***** about the bike I'd personally complain about the price of accessories and I find the stock seats to be uncomfortable for some people.
 
#33 ·
I honestly don't trip on the engine noise. Some are a little noisier than others. I've had Goldwings that sound different than others. I have been riding many different bikes for 50 years. Do you remember solid valves needing adjustments? Or how about a Ducati. These old and new time bombs got louder by the day until you pulled over on the side of the road and adjusted them. They were actually wearing out. I don't see this with these bikes. Consistent through time. I have heard one bike that I thought the sound was unordinary and wrong. We are straight up honest at our shop. The buyers take the bike and ride it. If they don't like the sound they don't have to sign the papers. I do find the engine sound resonates between the front leg farings and the saddlebags on a Roadmaster more than the other models. If I had to ***** about the bike I'd personally complain about the price of accessories and I find the stock seats to be uncomfortable for some people.
Most v twin seats are uncomfortable. Triumph has the most comfortable stock seats by far. That's because it's not a v twin. Without the rear cylinder coming back under the seat they actually have room to put a humane amount of padding under the seat.

You may not trip on the noise but do you fix it when you get a customer with a louder one that complains about it?

And you are correct, if you put my motor in a RM with a fairing and lowers it would be unrideable.
 
#35 ·
I'm looking at picking up a Roadmaster-love the quality, features and ride. What is considered long life on an Indian air-cooled motor? I know some of the Wings and BMWs have 300,000 or more miles on them and are still going. Does the air-cooled Indian (or Harley for that matter) motors have the same kind of longevity? I have a 100 mile round trip commute and ride whenever possible so want make sure the bike's in it for the long haul.
You could also call different dealers and ask what kind of mileage there seeing
 
#36 · (Edited)
Excellent, excellent point. Best transmission I have ever had on a bike, hands down. I love how it clunks when I shift. Never an accidental neutral when going to second. 8k miles for me so far and not one missed shift. It's a damn good trans. The engine noise is another story. Unless your salesmen are telling potential customers that some of the engines make a lot of noise and some don't so it's luck of the draw then you are lying by omission. And if you have to lie to sell bikes then it is a problem. Do your salesmen tell people of the possibility of getting an unusually loud engine before the paperwork is signed? I'm gonna guess not.
I disagree. If the occasional noisy engine always ended up by exploding, then yes, the warning must be issued.

But I wouldn't expect any dealer to say... "now some owners complain about their engines being noisy, so be warned". To date the evidence is that a noisy engine does not lead to engine failure, not even in high mileage bikes. If the dealer is expected to warn customers about every nit picking issue any owner ever raises he'd have to sit down with each prospective buyer for 8 hours and reel off all the possibilities....

.... "and finally, there was a albino dwarf who lived in Alaska who found that his leather saddle was completely destroyed by a grizzly that ate the whole damn thing, and then rusted the back guard by peeing on it. Yessir, that dangled Indian paint sure ain't grizzly pee-proof. BE WARNED!!!!"
 
#37 · (Edited)
Finally some Kulchur!

I'll see your "My Name Is Nobody" and

raise you "Deep Deep Down".



Still not as good as the soundtrack in the film but damn! Mike sings the hell out of it.

WD./
 
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#38 ·
Just did the 65 K oil change on my 14 Vintage. The engine sounds the same as it did when I bought it, a little bit of "the clacker". With me averaging more than 20 K per year, I plan on passing the 100 K mark well before the 5 year warranty is up. The only "engine related" problem I've had was a replaced generator at 35 K, and that is not really an engine problem. Heading out to Kentucky tomorrow from Iowa with my niece and I don't expect any problems.
 
#39 ·
I honestly don't trip on the engine noise. Some are a little noisier than others. I've had Goldwings that sound different than others. I have been riding many different bikes for 50 years. Do you remember solid valves needing adjustments? Or how about a Ducati. These old and new time bombs got louder by the day until you pulled over on the side of the road and adjusted them. They were actually wearing out. I don't see this with these bikes. Consistent through time. I have heard one bike that I thought the sound was unordinary and wrong. We are straight up honest at our shop. The buyers take the bike and ride it. If they don't like the sound they don't have to sign the papers. I do find the engine sound resonates between the front leg farings and the saddlebags on a Roadmaster more than the other models. If I had to ***** about the bike I'd personally complain about the price of accessories and I find the stock seats to be uncomfortable for some people.
Coming from a liquid cooled twin the engine noise bugged the hell out of me for the first 5k miles but now at 16k I rarely even pick up on it but it is still there. It is just the sound this machine makes, my son has a Vic, his makes noise to but different noise. Still just as loud comparatively but a different noise because it is a different machine. Can't have heavy parts spinning around due to explosive forces connected by chains, gears and pushrods air cooled with no liquid to dampen the noises and have absolute quiet mechanically, just won't happen.
 
#41 ·
Exactly why I started the Air/water poll. I see a lot complaining about engine noise and think many of them came off of water cooled bikes.
 
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