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Posted by Troll
- August 10, 2013, 08:52:50 AMI'm going to wait for a road test from Motorcycle Consumer News before I make any kind of value judgement that isn't based purely on the look...or lack of it. If the power/handling/overall performance is there, then the rest could be fixed by whacking off the ugly parts. I hate bar fairings, they all look like afterthought crap. If they wanted to make a "touring" model, a frame mount fairing would have been the way to go since it doesn't require messing with the steering geometry to make it work. Sorry, they are mostly pretty ugly...but if they go and stop and turn decent, then out comes the torch!
Posted by dakuhosu
- August 10, 2013, 08:29:06 AMNo amount of marketing or feel good social media campaigns can fix this. Longtime Indian owners are aghast. Other forums have little if anything good to say. I bet the people who are talking it up are all Polaris employees getting paid for it. I just don't get it, with so many talented builders building outstanding bikes in their garages how a company like Polaris can manage to screw this up so bad. Some of those changes were purely cosmetic and added nothing. That headlight belongs on something else all together. Why so much Chrome on everything? An aluminum frame? WTF? Mag wheels??? I never liked the style of Victory and these look just like them. Look around, nobody has anything good to say. Getting the word out is not saying anything good about it. Nobody is praising this or that or anything specific. I can't stand those friggin handlebars and all that junk on them. When the trend is to hide everything Polaris piles even more useless chrome crap on the bars...look at meeeeeee. That is one ugly fairing too. That whole bike reminds me of a Kawasaki Police Special, tell me it doesn't. I think the police special even has more genuine style. Ok, so the engines cool.
Posted by FloridaDrifter
- August 10, 2013, 06:57:25 AMI've got to say that Polaris has done a great job getting the word out and creating a buzz. People are talking about their bikes. That had to be goal #1. Now they need more dealers to put butts on bikes. Then its up to the product to make its statement.
Posted by DC
- August 09, 2013, 07:09:00 AMTwo years from now, Polaris will be offering HUGE discounts on their remaining production. Their new Indians are not Harley killers. It's just the wrong way to market this. Harley is about everyone thinking they are different, but actually they are all cookie cutter clones. Wear a black leather jacket (like mine) and grunt occasionally (like me). The Indians will be too different, and so much so that existing Harley riders will be afraid of being ostracized by other Harley riders for having a weird, non-Harley bike.
Beyond that segment, the remaining market is even more limited. Figure in maybe 1,000 boomers longing for the nostalgia, and possibly 50 Drifter owners (if that), and you can see there is very limited demand for this brand now. So once the peak demand is filled in the first two years of production, there's probably not a lot left to keep a full-time factory going. But who am I to say. We'll see what actually happens.
Well, there you have it. That's my crystal ball. 
Posted by 49Reo
- August 08, 2013, 14:53:15 PMHopefully they realize their mistake and correct it...would hate to see them (Indian) fail again.
Posted by dakuhosu
- August 08, 2013, 13:50:39 PMYep, old Indian way sweeter. I have to say the old engine looks good too. That is a handsome engine even if it doesn't look like an old flathead. No dealer support, styling farts all over, I predict a big fail.
Posted by 49Reo
- August 08, 2013, 10:36:03 AMThey should have left well enough alone. Maybe the engine would have been okay, apparently there have been issues with the bottle cap engines in the past. But they should have left the overall styling alone. IMHO.
Posted by Petemoss
- August 08, 2013, 10:16:58 AMI can't believe Polaris thinks the machine they reintroduced as Indian looks better than its predecessor. No question IMHO the previos model is way sweeter.
Posted by Petemoss
- August 08, 2013, 10:14:34 AMQuote from: 49Reo on August 08, 2013, 09:52:16 AMI agree. But this is my favorite style/color/seat leather that I have seen to date. I may in the future style my Drifter after this bike. Just need some time and some cash.Now THOSE are nice looking bikes....
Posted by 49Reo
- August 08, 2013, 09:52:16 AMNow THOSE are nice looking bikes....
Posted by Petemoss
- August 08, 2013, 09:23:33 AMI like the fat fender too. If I'm in the market for a used Indian, I'm looking 2013 and older.
Posted by TripWire
- August 08, 2013, 08:30:45 AMI just a sucker for those big fenders. I like the looks of the new Indian but I'm not ready to get rid of my Drifter any time soon. 20+ grand is still a lot of money and even though they say the new motor is a rock star I would wait a couple years to see how it does in the real world. Personally I hope the new Indian can live up to the hype, gonna need a new (used) bike someday and Drifters aren't getting any younger.
Posted by Ricardo
- August 08, 2013, 02:33:26 AMI think they're kinda cool, but should my Drifter brake down, I'd rather go looking for another Drifter before I would consider the Polaris Indian...
Posted by Troll
- August 06, 2013, 10:43:21 AMWhere could that power train be relocated? I think that the proportions are off, and all the effort spent on designing an engine that looked like a flathead went to waste with this mismatched chassis. The more I look at it, the more I hate the headlight assy...the back half looks like a cross roads....
Posted by dakuhosu
- August 06, 2013, 09:43:50 AMQuote from: darkdrifter on August 06, 2013, 09:17:32 AMthe right side drive is cool. finally back to the side it belongs. but that and the trans is the same engineering as victory (big surprise).
the standard abs, cruise, and throttle by wire is cool.
its a 5.5 gallon tank.
I like the seat. looks fairly comfy. I dont mind the body lines. front fender is same as anything.
chrome around headlight looks victory, along with bars. tail light looks to me like it came from the victory factory.
its a hundred lbs heavier than my 2010 Indian.I'm gonna pass, but that engine sure makes some nice hp right outta the box. I bet it rides nice too.
I love the 2010 Indian. I'd like to park my Drifter up next to one of those new Indians and see who attracts more attention at say... the Mall or local car show, excluding Harley and Indian (no offense) elitists. I bet mine gets more looks. Your 2010 too. The problem I have is they go all this way to create a mechanical reproduction, right side drive, stylized Engine, etc...and then fall short and make stupid changes where it matters. I'm all for creating something better but this is not better. This is a few Victorys and a Harley my friend. Keep your real Indian, I'll keep my Drifter. I can't wait to see what reliability issues, if any, come up. I'd still ride it but I was really hoping to see something great. Even I like the engine in your Indian better, though this one is cool too.