Harleys Or Indians?

2WV said:
And Why? go. go. go.

Edit: I'd appreciate your unbiasedness lol :D
Click to expand...

As a Harley owner for the third time in a row, I vote Indian. Now for the reasoning.

Indian has such a classic line to the body. Back in 1999 when Roy Sotelo managed to resurrect the brand from the dead, it was a Harley clone with a sophisticated style. 24" seat height, big beach bars, and those valanced fenders! It was a beach cruiser and low rider. Then came the Power Plus 100 and redesign. The Jarhead motor really was an S&S with custom cut jugs but it gave the impression that Indian was stepping out into their own. The company board decided that was not enough. They wanted everything they could make be done in house which added to cost. I remember talking with a representative of the auction house when the company again folded. Then the move to the east coast. Another flop. Finally Polaris takes it and sacrifices Victory.

I have not ridden the latest incarnation of the Indian but I have ridden the Victory back in the day when the Vision was released. Other than being too hot, it showed promise of innovation.

Why not Harley? Innovation in the wrong areas in my opinion. Combining the Dyna and Softail was good. Better handling and reduced production costs. But wait! Two different sized tanks? Two different ways to adjust the rear suspension? And all those different LED headlights? All equals higher production costs so what the heck?

Then HD had their big dealer reveal. Matt Laidlaw had it in YouTube. The company announces reduced production numbers. Watch the video and listen to the guy nearby react to the super limited number of the 115th Anniversary CVO limited in the blue color scheme.

You have to go back a few decades when HD was not producing enough bikes to meet demand to understand why this year, HD is making things worse for their selves and the dealers.

Back then, to get a HD you pretty much had to buy used. New bikes were being sold on orders from customers. Dealerships would order bikes under employee's names to get around it. The used market values went up which you think would be a good thing unless you were in the market for trading for a newer bike.

Engine heat on the Twin Cam may not cook a sausage but it does cook my leg. The Milwaukee 8 is suppose to be better but a couple of long distance riders I know that got the Limiteds say it is not that much better. The Twin cooling system is about worthless in that it does not pull down the heat enough. I noticed the CVO Street glide has no twin cooling system with radiators...

HD killed the V-Rod which can run over the 105 mph body control module limit that the baggers have. Thank goodness HD kept the Street line alive. Maybe that liquid power plant can be grown into a beast for the bigger bikes in the future.

So that is my nickels worth from my point of view between the two.
 
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Harley on looks, nearly got myself a new Low Rider S around 1.5yrs back but the sales guy was too pushy which I hate so I walked and did my V7 build
 
R-Rated said:
As a Harley owner for the third time in a row, I vote Indian. Now for the reasoning.

Indian has such a classic line to the body. Back in 1999 when Roy Sotelo managed to resurrect the brand from the dead, it was a Harley clone with a sophisticated style. 24" seat height, big beach bars, and those valanced fenders! It was a beach cruiser and low rider. Then came the Power Plus 100 and redesign. The Jarhead motor really was an S&S with custom cut jugs but it gave the impression that Indian was stepping out into their own. The company board decided that was not enough. They wanted everything they could make be done in house which added to cost. I remember talking with a representative of the auction house when the company again folded. Then the move to the east coast. Another flop. Finally Polaris takes it and sacrifices Victory.

I have not ridden the latest incarnation of the Indian but I have ridden the Victory back in the day when the Vision was released. Other than being too hot, it showed promise of innovation.

Why not Harley? Innovation in the wrong areas in my opinion. Combining the Dyna and Softail was good. Better handling and reduced production costs. But wait! Two different sized tanks? Two different ways to adjust the rear suspension? And all those different LED headlights? All equals higher production costs so what the heck?

Then HD had their big dealer reveal. Matt Laidlaw had it in YouTube. The company announces reduced production numbers. Watch the video and listen to the guy nearby react to the super limited number of the 115th Anniversary CVO limited in the blue color scheme.

You have to go back a few decades when HD was not producing enough bikes to meet demand to understand why this year, HD is making things worse for their selves and the dealers.

Back then, to get a HD you pretty much had to buy used. New bikes were being sold on orders from customers. Dealerships would order bikes under employee's names to get around it. The used market values went up which you think would be a good thing unless you were in the market for trading for a newer bike.

Engine heat on the Twin Cam may not cook a sausage but it does cook my leg. The Milwaukee 8 is suppose to be better but a couple of long distance riders I know that got the Limiteds say it is not that much better. The Twin cooling system is about worthless in that it does not pull down the heat enough. I noticed the CVO Street glide has no twin cooling system with radiators...

HD killed the V-Rod which can run over the 105 mph body control module limit that the baggers have. Thank goodness HD kept the Street line alive. Maybe that liquid power plant can be grown into a beast for the bigger bikes in the future.

So that is my nickels worth from my point of view between the two.
Click to expand...

Interesting and well informed opinion by the sounds of it! Thanks for the input mate
 
For me, the Indian Scout range looks better than majority of the 2018 Harleys. But you can't buy a bike strictly on looks... There's tons of cruiser type riders on this forum, I'll be a bit disappointed if they don't voice their opinion on which is better lol
 
I have always been a fan of HD. That's not to say that I wouldn't own one of each, or even some other bike types. If I had the money, I'd have at least one in every class!

R-Rated hit on some points that I hadn't considered but being in sales and concerning myself with P&L at the level I'm at, it makes sense. HD has had too many innovations all at the same time. It drives costs up as he mentioned, and that 100% has to be passed on to the customer.

Years ago, I was starting to lean toward Victory. Polaris has it right and I'll echo the sentiment that I'm glad they took it over. Not only do they have a solid history of quality production, they're pretty aggressive with social media marketing, which is where we've come to this day and age.

That being said, styling does play a factor in choosing a bike, and I just don't care much for the Indian models for the type of bike I like to ride. Certainly, their Scout is leaps and bounds more attractive than a Sportster, but I'd be looking at a Chief, and it just doesn't do it for me.
 
For me, it's Indian. They're an American icon, I love the retro styling, they're smooth as hell and handle wonderfully on the road. I rode the Chieftan for a day and fell in love with the materials, the paint, the engine note and the handling. I just can't get over how hideous the front fairing is. The Vintage and the Springfield is where it's at for me ALLL THE WAY. For my next purchase I've been going back and forth between the Road King and the Springfield and I think I'm settling on Indian. HD is trying too hard to come up with the next big thing in my opinion and I think that is driving people away. They really just need to sit back and perfect what they have. Plus the non-conformist in me says to stay away from Harley :D. I love the bikes, but just not a fan of the crowd they bring around here. It's either hard ass SOA wannabes or the radically die hard Harley fanboys that refuse to acknowledge how far other bike companies have come
 
I like the scout.

I like the Night rod.

Other than that there all too American for me.
 
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