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Posted by 49Reo
- May 06, 2014, 12:58:36 PMQuote from: greenbarn on May 05, 2014, 13:31:56 PMIt's probably an option....
I have never used the heel shifter on my bikes until recently; used to take them off to allow more room on the floorboard for my big feet. 
Posted by Drift1
- May 06, 2014, 05:23:56 AMReveen I can relate with the cheaply made feeling as well . Can't quit describe it , but numerous people in the crowd were saying the same .
Chief with that sweet 1500 of yours , I'll guarantee once you have a chance to ride these NEW Indians , you'll keep that extra cash in your pocket 
.So many disappointed potential buyers that day , it was heart braking what Polaris did to the Indian name .
Troll I too have to read up on the history lesson . Never realized that was no "R " ... Man I wish I would of known this info before going to the preview . I would of had a field day with questions .
Posted by chief
- May 05, 2014, 19:29:05 PMI missed the demo rides this weekend... wish I coulda ridden one. If it rides as others have indicated that might get it off my radar for a while!
Posted by Troll
- May 05, 2014, 15:17:37 PMI just can't get past the headlight/fork crown assy...If you're going to do it that way, it's going to have to be better than H-D's 1949 design, and I don't really think it is. I like the saddlebags on the heritage, or what ever it's called, but that chieftain just turns me off completely.
Posted by Reveen
- May 05, 2014, 14:38:37 PMI got the opportunity to ride a Chief Vintage (black) last weekend during the Polaris Demo Day at the local dealership. Upon first sitting on the bike, I immediately thought "this feels tiny!" I dont know what it was, but it seemed so much smaller and lightweight than my 99. I felt like I was straddling a 750cc bike. I felt a little cramped on it, so hopefully there are several adjustments that can be made for taller riders.
The bike accelerated well enough, but didn't feel that much more powerful than my Drifter. The stock exhaust was so quiet, I could hardly believe it. I loved having a 6th gear, that was really nice. The bike seemed to handle well, and the shifting was ultra smooth. For whatever reason, the bike felt a little "cheap" to me. I think I have a natural stereotype in my head that "heavy = quality and lightweight = cheap". I know its stupid, but I just couldn't get over how small the bike felt. Maybe it has a much lower center of gravity than the Drifter?
All in all, it was a great bike, I just dont think I could ever justify shelling out that type of cash for a motorcycle unless I was very wealthy.
Posted by greenbarn
- May 05, 2014, 13:31:56 PMQuote from: DC on May 05, 2014, 12:29:27 PMIt's probably an option....The lack of a heel shifter is a common complaint among new Indian owners and prospective customers.
Posted by DC
- May 05, 2014, 12:29:27 PMThe lack of a heel shifter is a common complaint among new Indian owners and prospective customers.
Posted by pcarrell
- May 05, 2014, 11:37:21 AMHD is definitely the king of the cruiser world in your neck of the woods!
Posted by jmbo
- May 05, 2014, 11:15:10 AM"Who here is buying a new Indian?" I guess no one in this area at least no one who bothered to show up yesterday at this year's Road Runner Bike Blessing. Road my '99er and received a few compliments but as you can see from the photo, I was clearly in the minority not just because I road a Drifter but because I road anything other than a HD. I have a feeling that it will be quite some time before I see a new Indian among the brethren.
Posted by Drift1
- May 04, 2014, 19:56:40 PMHere's a few pictures of todays show
Posted by Drift1
- May 04, 2014, 19:18:35 PMLOL ... Troll don't you just love the questions and face expressions after you answer them 
Yesterday I met up with a few friends that wanted to ride , now we all have different brands of bikes . One of my fellow riders has a 2012 VROD and needed to get an inspection done . We were eating at Gullys , , on the river front of Newburgh after a trip through Fishkill and such so we planned to go to the Harley dealer called , Moroneys so he could get his inspection done . Now were in there looking around at various things including the eye candy that works there in their skimpy tight shorts 
... ok back on subject , so I hear the one dealer say to another , "check out the WLA bike outside . " Again people are taking pictures with there phones of my bike . Now I'm at the parts counter looking for one of those inspection plaques dealing with a Burly " Biker " guy that ask . " What bike is it for ? " I reply , "It's for a 99 1500 drifter " and the guy gives me a dirty look and say , COME ON with an attitude . Long story short after waiting on the inspection the same guy is outside when I walk over to MA-DEUCE taking pictures . He says this is yours , nice job and you ride a Kawasaki 1500 . I say yup and this is my drifter 800 ... HAHAHAHA I thought the guy was going to faint .
Posted by Troll
- May 04, 2014, 15:54:13 PMHehehehehehehehehehehehehe....I had a similar experience the other day with a "biker". Looking over the Drifter, and then asking me why I had a ROK sticker on it....
Posted by Drift1
- May 04, 2014, 15:15:26 PMI just came from an Indian show at the motorcycle museum in Newburgh , near me . Indian was there with a tractor trailer load of there new models , 30 bikes worth . If you signed up Indian allowed you to test ride the fleet in packs at a time after going over the bikes and such .
I was able to ride the vintage and the classic was not impressed with either . For starters there only toe shift and my boot couldn't even fit under the dam thing . Now I know , yes this can be adjusted . I stand 6' and couldn't sit flat footed so I asked and yes you can buy a lower seat , but do NOT come stock . These bikes have 5,000 miles on them and the brown leather was already faded from the sun big time . Needless to say the seats were darker then the bags and some vise versa . One gentleman stated some of the seats were so bad from fade they already replaced a few . The turn singles themselves felt cheaply made and the bike in a whole felt cheap . The power was there , but with all the rest of the dislikes and that price tag they can keep that thing I'll enjoy my drifter
Besides there were a bunch of Indian enthusiast amongst the crowd as well as Harley riders with beautiful looking rides . I'm sure they all cost a hell of a lot more then my two drifter put together , but MA-DEUCE received the most attention and plenty of people taking pictures to boot 
One of the Indian representatives walks over and asked me what year Indian was she , I simply reply , " My Kawasaki Drifter is a 2000 " everyone gave me that deer in the headlights look and I just smiled . Oh boy then all the questions started .
Posted by smokey422
- May 02, 2014, 18:51:21 PMNot me. My Drifter 1500 ('99 model) has over 27,000 miles on it and has never run better. My closest Indian dealer is in Lincoln, NE (I live in MO), over 220 miles away. And I want to see some long-term reliability reports before I drop almost 22 grand on a Vintage. Reliability tests mean nothing until you get a lot of them on the road with some miles on them. Look at the problems Harley has had with the twin cam motors.
Posted by bikerbob5864
- May 02, 2014, 11:11:19 AMThat's part of it for me too!, got so many things to do and not enough money for them all.
Have to prioritize, like the old days...........when you drove a POS to maintain your Bike!
When we have the time................we don't have the money............when we're making the money...........we don't have the time. The great Paradox of the American Dream.