[eskimo]

As a fairly new proud owner of a super chief limited and a road master limited, I was wondering if some of the long time members on this site could talk about how long they have owned an Indian Bike. Curious if any families have 100 year old bikes or older which are still in use or restored?

I plan on keeping my collection long term and will enjoy every mile I can! I only wished I lived in a warm climate 365 days a year!!

Thanks for any input on this topic.

 

[stu]

I've had an Indian for a little over 20 years. Met a lot of friends and rode a lot of miles on my Gilroy Chief, Spirit and now Spirit Lake Indians.

 

[Davetac1]

2018 SDH,74,000 miles traveled so far,bought brandy new 18, February, 2018,which means,she's a tad over 5 years old.Other then a couple minor recalls,and am now on my fourth set of tires and several head light bulbs,no problems!! And then, it does everything I want it to do,meaning, I have no complaints about this machine!! Dave!!!

 

[Crazy Horse 124]

I bought my Gilroy Chief in 2014.

 

[SJ12DS]

Only had mine 4 years now and other than recalls, I have not had any real issues with this Indian.

I have another bike, so it doesn't have more than 16k miles on it but of those 16k miles, this bike has been great!

 

[BigBadAllis]

I'm not a long term Indian owner. I have had my current 22 Pursuit for almost a year. I think it arrived in April or so last year. Before that I had my 20 Chieftain Elite for one year until I purchased the Pursuit. I'm not into keeping anything mechanical much longer than a few years. I'm not into classics or nostalgic stuff. I guess that's why I like the newer styling of the later model Indians.

I have enjoyed the Indian ownership much more than owning HD's.

 

[602 North]

I'm 9 glorious months in on my '22 Chieftain Limited. Just got home from Daytona.

 

[redhat]

2017 Vintage so almost 6 years. Hello Vintage, bye bye Road King and never looked back. Still in love. When I'm too old to ride it will be garage art!

 

[reinie]

Well I'd likely be called a short timer being as I haven't kept any one of the four Indians very long. If I hadn't have ran into age related issues regarding the weight of the bike I would more than likely have kept my first Indian. It was a gorgeous 2015 Springfield Blue & Ivory Cream 2015 Chieftain with Stage Two cams and Stage One fishtail exhaust. In 2019 I once forgot to deploy the kick stand and had a slow tip-over in my garage which required calling a friend over to help me pick it back up, As I was already having weight related issues I traded it in that September on a 2019 Scout Icon ABS. That lasted eighteen months as I couldn.t make that bike comfortable enough no matter how much I spent on it. In March of 2021 I traded it in on a new unsold 2020 Challenger Limited in Thunder Black Pearl. Much more comfy except for the seat and that fairing was phenomenal. The bike was everything it promised to be in terms of performance and handling but it still had quite a lot of weight for backing it up and for slow speed maneuvers. This also came to a head with a slow speed drop in my garage but it was able to be picked up with the help of my wife. In July of 2022 I got to demo ride a 2022 Super Chief Limited at my dealer when he had the Demo Truck Event. It was Slate Blue Metallic. Well on September 16th I ordered the very same color SCL and I rode it home after a trade-in of the Challenger on November 7th 2022. Due to weather here in Northwestern Ohio I'm still shy of the 500 mile break-in oil mileage but should reach it soon after the weather warms up. If all of this makes me a short timer then so be it.

 

[HINK]

Had my 2015 RM six years. Current RM 2yrs. My cousin has my uncles 1953 RM, on which I took my first mcy ride ~~ someday mebbe I can convince him to sell it to me.

 

[masspatriot]

Almost 6 years on 2017 Chieftain Limited, 40K miles, no issues or complaints. I'd trade it, but I don't like anything now available or color.

 

[Lindian]

I bought my 2014 Chief on March 12, 2021 at 3:43 in the afternoon!!

 

[wolfrider06]

6 years in May for my 2017 Chieftain Limited DH, and coming up on 2 years for my 2022 Chief Bobber DH. Having two motorcycles gives me options, as well as having a bike to ride if the other one is sitting on the lift for any amount of time. I picked up the Chieftain in McKinney, TX, while on an extended road trip...traded in my 2013 Vulcan Voyager.

 

[Rommel]

Purchased the all new ‘18 bobber in ‘17. Traded it in a few months ago on a diff Indian.

 

[benben]

I have my Gilroy from 2018, the engine was rebuilt and the bike was painted and after that only 4000km-s ridden. Now it is an event bike .

 

[Kriss]

I have my Gilroy from 2018, the engine was rebuilt and the bike was painted and after that only 4000km-s ridden. Now it is an event bike .

Photo

 

[Charlie Chaplain]

I bought my first bike in 1979, and my first Indian in May of last year. I will have to say that my 2018 Scout is one of my all time favorite motorcycles.
Charlie

 

[Kriss]

Had my 2015 CV from new “Love it “

 

[Dean E]

My first look at Indian was back in the summer of 2014. I was down in Fayetteville AR for the Bike, Blues and BBQ festival. Went down to test ride the new Polaris Indians that I had heard about. I was instantly impressed. They did a great job of bringing back the classic Indian with modern features. I test rode a Chieftain and although a bit cramped (I'm 6'4" and 375 lbs) I loved it. Told the demo team that if they produced a full dresser touring version of the bike I would be talking to sales. That fall they introduced the Roadmaster. I'm a person of my word, I went down to the local Indian shop in St. Louis and placed my order for a black Roadmaster. Mine was one of the first, I took delivery of my 2015 RM in November of 2014 close to the same time i joined this forum. I had my ups and downs with the bike. Did the stage 2 cams when came out and learned just how bad the early Indian tunes were. It that point I met another forum member @CraigB1960. That is when the Power Commander PVCX first hit the sceen. Craig and Fuelmoto helped a lot figuring out the map issues that where in the Indian tunes. Mine was a bad "clanker" the early threads here are full of discussions about that issue. With numerous maps and testing we found out the clankers were two issues in one. One of the ignition curve and the other directed more at the piston design on the early bikes. I finally addressed the piston issue a couple of years ago when I changed the pistons and cylinders from a member here who did a stage 3 from the start. That cleared the clacker issue on my bike once and for all. Now pushing 62,000 miles on my RM. Would not ever think of selling it. It fits me perfectly and will always hold a special fondness for me.

I consider this forum a key factor of me still owning my Indian. The members here and the experience they share got me thru the times I considered getting rid of my RM. It has been a journey but one well worth it. I will be adding a well loved Vintage to my stable later this spring. As long as I can ride, it will be an Indian. Dean

 

[Master tech 1265]

Bought my bobber June last year used, and put over 13k miles on her since taking possession and no issues other than the battery and oil change, she is due for new shoes tho think I'm gonna go commander 3s and see how they do. Great bike and glad I made the Indian choice!