The Bad:
1: Although the fairing is a good attempt at originality, it had an unfinished appearance to me. If you look closely at the inner fairing when the bars are turned, you can see headlight wiring, connections, bits and pieces that should be protected and/or covered in some way. Also, while riding down the road, I got the since of cheapness looking at it (plastic like a dash in a no longer made Saturn Car - no offense to anyone who owns a Saturn). This was more apparent after the demo ride as I looked behind another riders Street Glide and then sat on my Road Glide. I guess what I'm trying to say is Harley's deployment of fairings - both Road Glide and Batwing has no equal - yet. Credit Indian for what they did with the Chieftain fairing, it is full of technology and a wealth of information but need more work in how it is viewed from the riders point of view, more so than what on-coming traffic can see.
2: Saddles bags on the Indian didn't feel as stout as my bags. No doubt, they are useful and have good storage but how they opened and closed didn't impress me. The bags do have remote locking - via a center switch - which is good.
3: Floorboards, handgrips, and passenger foot pegs are not up to the "Chromahaulic" standards of the rest of the motorcycle. Just simple rubber (which was grippy) but not as refined as everything else on the motorcycle.
4: The 5.5 gallon tank looked small. With the ground up development they did on this motorcycle, they could have easily used a 6.5+ gallon tank without loosing the flowing lines of the motorcycle. By the way, the motorcycles lines do flow.
5: The Indian Chieftain felt lighter and smaller than my Road Glide. The lighter feeling was surprising as the weight of the fairing is on the handlebar similar to the Batwing. I guess that 25 degree rake they spoke about is the reason but it also felt like a smaller motorcycle. On my Road Glide, I Glide down the road as if I'm a bulldozer to the wind - I feel the Road Glide is a Juggernaut. The Indian felt wimpy to me as if I was riding with less mass and less weight. I hope this makes sense.....
6: Hated the bars - felt like drag bars, similar to the original bars that came on my 2009 CVO Road Glide. Had those changed quick and would do the same thing if I were to get a Chieftain.
7: Not use to using my left hand to control both left and right blinkers. Honda riders will feel right at home but Harley riders will be fumbling around for weeks before they get the hang of it.
8: Back to the Windshield - optically, I felt the windshield bends what is being viewed through it (the road, signs, street lines etc..). My Road Glide has an aftermarket windshield that is almost optically perfect. Also, the Chieftain windshield reflects its gauge instrumentation on to it, well at least it did on my test drive. I thought that was a little distracting and would think it would be worse at night.
Everything else is minor and not worth mentioning. Did I enjoy the Chieftain - hell yes. It is a great motorcycle and my buddy is 99% sure he's getting one. Would I buy one if I were in the market - that's a tough one to answer as my Road Glide fits me like a glove and, even with it's challenges via the engine, I still feel like I can ride it forever - by the way, just returned from Tennessee / NC Tale of the Dragon, Smokey mountains, Gatlinburg, etc...
I'm very impressed with Indian and the Chieftain in general. I think this rendition of the Indian motorcycle has outdone itself in many respects; reduced cost of entry, better engine, better frame, better suspension and many more features that a ground up motorcycle should be proud of.
Hope this quick review is helpful to someone on this forum - Lastly and most important, tell someone you love that you love them. Wishing you much success in all of your personal, spiritual and professional endeavors.
BryantH
Author
Topic: I'm test riding the Indian Chieftain on Friday - will report back (Read 12044 times)