[Jarrod Blaesing]

A word of warning to potential Indian buyers and/or current owners


I purchased a brand new 2015 Indian Roadmaster on 1/31/2015. I serve as the VP of the local Indian Riders Group, and am an avid daily rider.

Just prior to this, I had a great 2009 HD FLHX for 6 years, and a Gilroy Indian before that. The list of bikes goes on, but these are the most relevant.

My Harley never gave me issues, I had one warranty claim, which was defective paint on the tank. I took it in, had it handled and it was worry free after that.

My 2000 Gilroy Indian was great, rode like a clunky sawhorse, but fun none-the-less, It had the S&S engine, no problems, I really enjoyed that bike as well.

So, here Indian is back, and somewhat affordable (Compared to the Kings Mountain era) my first mistake was trading in a perfectly good Harley to give the new Indian a shot. So far it has been one of the worst decisions I’ve made.

Out the door I paid around 39,000.00(this did include a maintenance package etc.) I worked three jobs (one was part time at Harley) last year to make the payments, and actually pay it off. Everything I have is in this bike.

Since my purchase date, I’ve had warranty claim after warranty claim, these last few were the last straw for me.

Here is a list of some of the issues I’ve had: (From the little things, to potentially dangerous)


2/17/15 Reprogram FOB

4/2015 Front amp replaced

10/17/15 New FOB

7/14/2015 Bubbling Chrome replaced

12/19/2015 FOB Reprogram

1/26/2016 New ABS Module – Brakes didn’t work and flew threw an intersection on my way to work.

1/26/2016 New Speed Sensor

1/26/2016 New Roadmaster Emblems

2/24/2016 New Stator

2/24/2016 New Volt Regulator and gasket

3/10/2016 New Starter

3/10/2016 New Seat

4/9/2016 New bars (first set of “Midrise” bars had bad chrome)

4/09/2016 Heated Grips replaced

4/09/2016 New Lid Seal

4/09/2016 New Mirrors (Bubbling Chrome)

4/15/2016 Fix Windshield

TBD New bars, the second set of midrise bars also has bad chrome

I know I'm missing some.. but this is the bulk of 'em.


I’ve been working with my dealer, who agrees that I have a lemon, to pursue some type of resolution. We are being met with severe resistance from Brandon (I believe) in the warranty department.


All I want is a bike I can trust, depend on and be proud of. What I have is a sour taste in my mouth, and a sense of betrayal and confusion as to why Indian won’t stand behind their product.


I want to stay with Indian, I believe in the name, the heritage, they’ve been in my family for generations.

For Indian to treat loyal customs like garbage when there are legitimate issues is absurd.

 

[Americal23]

Dealer say's you have a lemon. It's a slam dunk. Lemon laws are pretty strong and though arbitration is a headache - Lawyer up. A $50.00 letter from your local consumer attorney should motivate Brandon more than a little. Social media works too. Indian on face book. Put it out there. As I understand it, they read those posts. Sorry about your luck. You have been more than patient with the company

 

[Jarrod Blaesing]

Dealer say's you have a lemon. It's a slam dunk. Lemon laws are pretty strong and though arbitration is a headache - Lawyer up. A $50.00 letter from your local consumer attorney should motivate Brandon more than a little. Social media works too. Indian on face book. Put it out there. As I understand it, they read those posts. Sorry about your luck. You have been more than patient with the company

Unfortunately it's not a slam dunk with Indian.

 

[TheDude]

Ok, so you've had an inordinate number of warranty claims. What's your complaint? They've fixed those things, right?

I mean, yeah, it sounds like you've had the worst luck of anyone I've heard of regarding a new Indian, but what's the gripe now? Just because the dealer wants to be jovial and agree with you about the bike being a 'lemon' or a dud, that doesn't mean it qualifies under your state's lemon laws, if you have any.

I'm no rocket scientist, but it sounds like you've had some electrical gremlins, including a new voltage regulator -- that by itself might have been the start of your other electrical problems (ABS module, wheel speed sensor, amplifier, stator). I don't know what to tell you, man. My bike's been perfect; I wish yours was, too.

TheDude

 

[Jarrod Blaesing]

I wish my bike was perfect too Dude.. But it's not.
One can only spend so much time at a shop getting shit fixed that should be a non issue on a high end bike, before you start to see a trend of poor craftsmanship and quality.
The engine however has been solid, so far, so.. there's that.
I just want a bike I can rip on and not worry about what's next to fail, and how i'm going to arrange my schedule to get my bike back to the shop.
I've logged over 400 miles back and forth to the dealer for warranty fixes alone.

 

[Roadie]

I have had 4 warranty claims put in on my 2015 Chieftain, Indian approved all of them quickly.

Chrome Ring around the power button
Seat leather bubbled
Digital Dash got moisture in the unit
Belt Pulley was super noisy

Those issues were addressed quickly to my satisfaction, won't trade my bike for another, Indian did right by me.

>---------> >---------> >--------->

Live Free - Ride Hard - Die Well

 

[BenDRhodes]

Wow. You have had the worst run of anyone I have read about.

On the other end of the scale, I am so satisfied with my Vintage, we just bought a Scout 60 for my wife.

 

[1854cc]

Jarrod,

your story scares the shit out of me as I am about to pull the trigger on a new RM next month or so. I have read of another case like yours on this forum that had a laundry list of things wrong with it, so your not alone. I am sure that doesn't help one bit and I would be very pissed off to if I had to take my bike back this many times to get shit fixed. Sure they fix it but its still your time and inconvenience that is the issue as well.

Thankfully their is also a very large group of owners that had few or no issue....so there is hope.

If the issues continue, and you can't get anywhere with Polaris, I would in your case trade it in for another new 2016 model. Surely you can't be that unlucky and get 2 lemons in a row.

Good luck, mate
Joe

 

[ndncowboy]

That sounds more like a Harley. But why not work with your dealer on a trade for another Indian? You could have easily had similar issues with any other brand. From the outside looking in, some of the issues could have been a result of changes made to the bike. Handlebars have a history of introducing other problems. The chrome may have been a reason to change but look at how people complain about Kuryakyn's bad chrome. I just don't see a Lemon Law complaint. That's just my opinion. Being the one having to deal with these problems you are more emotionally connected.

Give you an example of Lemon Law that should have been. My new 1985 Harley had to have a new drivebelt every 18,000 miles. At 66,000 I was on my 4th. My dealer agreed there was something wrong and could not find it. But Harley refused to admit there might be an issue. This as well as numerous stators that had to be replaced that I accepted as probably caused by the extra lights I installed(Harley later came out with the improved version of stator everyone has today though). No, I didn't have chrome problems. But there's no way a person should have to have 4 drivebelts installed. I still bought another Harley in years later. But not until I had 63k trouble free miles on a BMW and another 20k on Honda.

Bad things happen. Trade it in.

 

[ChrisC]

Hi Guys,
I also have an RM that's had it's fair share of problems. I also have had it back to the shop for things to be done. Each time the issues were addressed (and under warranty).
Noisy Belt,
Fob not being recognised,
Gears were too "agricultural"
seat replaced (stiching coming undone)
radio controls replaced (switch become over sensitive).
etc.
To my way of thinking, Warranty is to get these things sorted out and providing that happens then I wouldn't be able to say that they don't stand by their product.
Having said that, I am only 25klms from the service centre so it's pretty easy for me to get it back to them.
Look, I appreciate that you feel hard done by and I recognise that they cost a truck load of cash.
Yes, sometimes it does feel like you are pushing the poo up a hill with a pointy stick but keep at it, document it, provide receipts, talk to the dealer and strike up a deal. They will help you out.
Friend of mine had a problem with his vintage that was unable to be pinpointed and he got to the point where he updated (at a reasonable price) to the latest model and is happy as can be (or so it seems).
Negotiate, talk to the guys and see what they will do - if they think it's a lemon then they will bend over backwards to sort it out for you.
Sometimes things aren't perfect - this is a fact of life.
If your problems are so severe, do something about it, talk about it and get them to meet you 1/2 of the way but don't sit on it. The longer you leave it the less chance you have of getting a satisfactory resolution (in my opinion).

 

[Jarrod Blaesing]

Hi Guys,
I also have an RM that's had it's fair share of problems. I also have had it back to the shop for things to be done. Each time the issues were addressed (and under warranty).
Noisy Belt,
Fob not being recognised,
Gears were too "agricultural"
seat replaced (stiching coming undone)
radio controls replaced (switch become over sensitive).
etc.
To my way of thinking, Warranty is to get these things sorted out and providing that happens then I wouldn't be able to say that they don't stand by their product.
Having said that, I am only 25klms from the service centre so it's pretty easy for me to get it back to them.
Look, I appreciate that you feel hard done by and I recognise that they cost a truck load of cash.
Yes, sometimes it does feel like you are pushing the poo up a hill with a pointy stick but keep at it, document it, provide receipts, talk to the dealer and strike up a deal. They will help you out.
Friend of mine had a problem with his vintage that was unable to be pinpointed and he got to the point where he updated (at a reasonable price) to the latest model and is happy as can be (or so it seems).
Negotiate, talk to the guys and see what they will do - if they think it's a lemon then they will bend over backwards to sort it out for you.
Sometimes things aren't perfect - this is a fact of life.
If your problems are so severe, do something about it, talk about it and get them to meet you 1/2 of the way but don't sit on it. The longer you leave it the less chance you have of getting a satisfactory resolution (in my opinion).

You are correct, I am working with my dealer. This post, I guess came at a breaking point.. "You can only push a man so far"

 

[V2Neal]

I gotta ask how many on here would poop out $39K for a product with a list of problems the length of your arm, and be OK with those problems? I would be at the same place as the OP. Probably sooner though.
As for trading it in, that would most likely just pass this problem bike on to another unsuspecting buyer. If Indian is so confident in this bike, they should swap it out for a new one and use this one as a demo. Ah wait, having potential customers blow through intersections probably isn't a selling point.

 

[how 1123]

Sorry to hear about your grief I have 2014 numbered Chieftain had one claim as one front fork was leaking fluid Polaris replaced both seals under warranty ...Salt Lake Indian awesome dealership. I believe if I had your problems they would have done whatever necessary to fix the situation have dealt with them for 10 years with numerous Harley 's that being said their service department I know that they stand solidly behind there customers new or old customers either Indians or Harley they advocate strongly for their customers. ...

 

[Bwana6]

Most of my life in the motorcycle business and never heard a story like this before. I thought Big Dogs were the epitome of warranty and problem nightmares.

Not all states have motorcycle lemon laws either. I have never lived in a state that did.

I suppose I would flood Indian with this logged problem fiasco and see what happens. Some do get replacements. I have a 2014 Chief Classic that has no problems whatsoever. Except nobody knows the code for starting it without the fob and its not on the computer either so they said they will replace the computer ( ECM or here its called the VCM ) but I waited until the year warranty expired so now I have to pay the deductible. Thats my extent of bad things.............really not any. I also know personally of at least 9 other guys with either Vintages or Classics, one a Roadmaster ( blue/cream ) and none have had one problem. Maybe its the blue/cream color on the RM (? )

I feel for you. This is where the dealer needs to forward all those repair orders ( copies ) and help you out. Fed Ex them straight to Menneto's office. Seriously.

 

[Bwana6]

That says it all in the first line. I'd never spend $39K on an MC.

I know ..............pretty much getting everything at the 28 to 29K mark................39K??

 

[how 1123]

How in the @##@!! did you pay 39k? A $29,000 single color or two tone 31k RM before ANY negoiation. Even with a California stupid sales tax and registration for example only thats up there..

 

[gbishop1201]

Wow I was very interested in buying one soon. I heard the first ones in early 2015 had some issues. Have they been approved upon or what the hell is going on.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[VolInGa]

Wow I was very interested in buying one soon. I heard the first ones in early 2015 had some issues. Have they been approved upon or what the hell is going on.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Most people that responded aren't having problems. Not sure I would let one unhappy poster (who happened to somehow pay $39k for a $30k bike......which would make me unhappy too) sway your decision.

 

[V2Neal]

Wow I was very interested in buying one soon. I heard the first ones in early 2015 had some issues. Have they been approved upon or what the hell is going on.

If you are serious, I wouldn't let the OP's issues disuade you. I'm in the same boat at the moment, thought I had a deal made on a RM, but that fell through, now I'm back to looking. From everything I've read here, not that many bikes have major or that many problems and the manufacturer has been decent with those that have had issues. There will of course be examples of problem bikes and poor dealer resolution. This is true of any brand though, and as with any new product, the first couple years have some teething issues.

Hope the OP gets this resolved to his satisfaction.

 

[Blueshwk]

The only issue I ever had with my 2014 Vintage was having to have the fob reprogrammed. Other than that it was a rock.
Oh....The gas gauge needle faded but I never filed a claim on that or anything else for that matter. I hope my new Chieftain is as good a bike as the Vintage was!