Hi Just browsing and saw this thread. Heat is my main fear. Am very close to buying my first Indian (a 2021 Vintage) but the question of heat is what is holding me back. Several years ago I had a Harley Heritage and used to get cooked ... I live in the tropics by the way... so its absolutely brutal. But been on the Adv bikes and now back to the itch to have a cruiser. Indian is the choice....but V Twin rear cylinder is the fear. Read about Captain Itch etc.. but there was another solution (other than gutting the Cat which is probably what I will do if I do buy it) its called "Love Jugs" - and no thats not a magazine ....;-) its a fan system that a lot of Harley owners installed which apparently cooled the rear cylinder considerably so that the Harley heat mills would not cook ones thigh . I was wondering if any of you have used them. Apparently they now also make a model for the Indian V's
@OceanBreeze
What part of the tropics?
For what it is worth, here is my history with an Indian Roadmaster. I am pretty sure it is similar to others.
While headed to the Texas Hill Country for a long weekend of riding in May/June 2018, I stopped to look at an Indian and traded on the spot. The temps were already getting warm in the mid 90s. After a day of riding 2-up on the Twisted Sisters, I noted these things about the RM;
- While very nimble, it was not as agile as the Vision. Or, I just need to adjust to the different weight distribution.
- The RM seemed to be choked, or lacking a bit of power. Hard to describe this. The 111 is a powerful motor but it wasn't the same as the Vision. Later, I figured out the Vision had a Power Commander installed. The RM did not. Once a tune from Dynojet was installed the RM was just as peppy as the Vision.
- The RM gave off a LOT of heat. A lot more than the 106 motor on the Vision. It was uncomfortable even through jeans and boots.
As soon as I got home, I began researching heat issues. Much information came via this forum. My first "modification" to the bike, or bling if you like, was a Crotch Cooler from Itch. I didn't really worry about the engine as much as I needed something to protect my inner thigh. The 111 was still hot, but better. Within several weeks, the tuner and custom tune from Dynojet was installed. THAT, made improvements in both motor response and temperature. The combination of a CC and engine tune makes the heat quite tolerable. You are never going to wear shorts while riding a 111 Indian.
After some months, I changed the exhaust to Freedom True Dual type. Loss of that little bit of power from dual exhaust is outside of this discussion. I acknowledge it happens. I just wanted to get rid of the cat but did not want to destroy anything (at that time). Now, the heat is gone. For a while I did not ride with the CC, just to see what it felt like. In fact, I loaned the CC to my wife for her Chieftain for a few months. She needed a shield and liked the "decorative" effect. After she received a custom shield as a gift, I re-installed mine back on the RM. Mostly, because I like it. With the cat gutted and a dyno tune the 111 runs much cooler. I am not worried about my inner thigh or the motor over heating at this point.
If I were doing it all again, I would just "gut the cat" or get one of the cross-over exhaust manifolds as it took several tunes from Dynojet (CraigB) to get rid of the popping on deceleration.
As an observation, while I like tinkering with things, I don't think you should have to go through all this to get such an expensive bike "comfortable." And again, I acknowledge, some of you here have driven thousands of miles on your Indian without any modifications. My guess is you may not live in hot climates.
As to the "Jugs" cooling fans, I have seen them up close. They appear to be designed to keep the cylinders cool. Not the driver's leg.
@OceanBreeze don't be dissuaded from buying an Indian if you want one. They are COOL and I love my Roadmaster. I just have to tweak things, it is my nature.
