2017 Indian Road Master

[Gary N.]

We finally got the chance to road test an Indian Road Master. It was a brand new 2017 with 2 miles on it. The only issue we had was the extreme heat from the right side exhaust. Really bad for the passenger. It's worse in slow or stop and go traffic and better once you get going down the road. I've seen others speak of this issue too, so I guess it's nothing new. I don't know if there's an after mkt. cure for this problem or not. Other then that I really like the bike and wouldn't have a problem parking one in my garage. Slow speed handling is awesome. Low seat height made it easy to flat foot at stops. No funny noises. Never had a chance to get to 6th gear so can't talk about that. Tried 5th at 40 mph and no problem to speed up without a down shift. Lots of low end torque. I'd have to have the heal and tow shifter added. Mary was a little cramped on the back but there is a bit of adjustment on the rear floor boards so that might help. And it wouldn't be hard to make another bracket to move them forward. It has a quick release trunk so I'd have to take a closer look at that to see if it could be moved back or not but I think it's possible with a few new holes. As expected the factory accessories are very expensive... what else is new?

 

Just dreaming at this point but I won't say I would never own one. Not riding as much anymore so that's part of it. CDN $$$ exchange rate is a killer right now too.

[Rob Swallows]

There is a chrome shield that bolts onto the bike deflecting the heat away from the passenger. I've experienced the same as you mention and it didn't have the shield but will be included if I make the purchase. Regardless it will never be a machine to ride with shorts and flip flops. Wouldn't even consider that so no problem with me.

 

Yes, they are a beautiful bike and powerful, smooth with exceptional low speed handling. Should I replace my Venture this winter, the Roadmaster is what it will be.

[slowrollwv]

I was very close to buying a Roadmaster this spring. All I had to do was sign the papers. Decided not to get it as the wife got too hot from the pipes. If any thing happens to the RSV it will be a Roadmaster or a Slingshot to replace it.

[Freebird]

I thought about it once a good while back. I went on the Indian forums and did a lot of reading. My main complaint with the Harley was the heat and from what I read, the Indian is at least as bad. That was enough to end any thoughts I had about owning one. It was the same issue as the Harley. Eileen knew I loved the Road Glide and tried very hard to not mention it but the fact is, the felt like her right foot was actually being blistered sometimes. I did everything that people recommended. Removed the cat, free flowing exhaust, tuner to richen it up a bit. Nothing worked. I talked to my dealer about the new ones with the water cooled exhaust port area and they were very honest with me. They told me that the partial water cooling enabled them to get a bit more performance without increasing the heat but that if I was thinking of trading because of the heat, I was not going to be happy. They admitted that it runs as hot as mine did.

 

Another thing that I read about on the Indian forum was that people who had problems were waiting extended periods of times because dealers did not have parts. I'm sure that will be resolved and maybe already had but I read of people waiting weeks for repairs due to it. Also quite a few comments about those brown seats not holding up very well and they are expensive to replace. I had already decided to go with the black seats if I bought one.

 

In the end, it just made no sense to even consider it. People complain about the price of the Harley but with the same basic accessories I had already added to the Road Glide, the Indian came in about $10,000.00 higher. No thank you.

[BigLenny]

My wife and i have test ridden the Roadmaster twice. The first time we rode it, we were impressed, but it was on a day that was about 50 degrees. The second time was last September at Bikes Blues and BBQ, and it was an 80 degree day. And boy did that make a difference! My wife was very agitated with the heat coming from the exhaust. I was feeling it too. After we got finished with the ride, both me and my wife stood and looked at the bike kind of dumb founded at the fact that it produced so much uncomfortable heat on the ride. We immediately marked it off of our list just because of that. It is a beautiful bike, no doubt. But, one has to be able to be comfortable while riding. Another thing that kinda leaves me a little short on the bike is: For the money, (which is more than the comparable Harley) it is rather low tech compared to the Harley. For less money, you can get the HD that has a "with gloves on" touch screen infotainment/sound/GPS system, and at least partial water cooling. And the point Don brings about the dealer network is very important to me.

[BigLenny]

I was very close to buying a Roadmaster this spring. All I had to do was sign the papers. Decided not to get it as the wife got too hot from the pipes. If any thing happens to the RSV it will be a Roadmaster or a Slingshot to replace it.

 

Slowroll, This quote makes me go huh? You test rode it and decided not to get it because the wife got too hot from the pipes, but then you go on to say; if you replace the RSV, it will be a Roadmaster, or a Slingshot. So, did you lose your wife or something? LOL!!!

[slowrollwv]

Slowroll, This quote makes me go huh? You test rode it and decided not to get it because the wife got too hot from the pipes, but then you go on to say; if you replace the RSV, it will be a Roadmaster, or a Slingshot. So, did you lose your wife or something? LOL!!!

 

No Didn't loose the wife. We have just came to a conclusion that if ant thing happened to the RSV that we would get one or the other but I will be thinking hard on the Slingshot.

[SilvrT]

My Victory also emitted a lot of heat under the right passenger's foot. Removing the CATs, adding a Power Commander and having it dyno-tuned helped a lot but you could still feel the heat simply because both exhaust headers collect there and the fact that the engine is mostly air cooled. The Indian is the same and I figure most V-twins with the same exhaust configuration would be much the same. My Road Star emits heat in the same area albeit not quite as much. Even the Kaw Voyager which is liquid cooled emits a lot of heat.

 

My feeling is, unless you ride in extreme heat most of the time, it's a tolerable item on an otherwise exceptional motorcycle. Many Folks with an RSV that have the infamous clutch basket whine seemingly tolerate that. Other make bike riders tend to have some "issue" yet tolerate it due to they love their bike otherwise. It all boils down to what a person is willing to tolerate to ride what they want.

[WildBill1]

If you can't stand the heat and I quote, "Stay out of the Harley & Indian Shops.":fiddle:

[djh3]

I have to say the XCT has the same kind of heat issues like SilverT said. I have not removed the CATs yet but it is in my thinking to maybe do that. although I just read a story the other night about Hd getting fined by the govt for producing "off highway" use pipes etc for their bikes. The wife and I went for a ride most of the day yesterday here in Fla. Temps in mid 90's. Only time was getting bad was slow traffic times. Dont get me wrong it was hot all of the time, but the legs were not bad until you got hung in traffic for 10 min or so. The Voyager has some major heat issues too. but holy crap guys we are straddling engines bigger than my first VW had.

[DarrinGT]

Our buddy No Harley Charlie and his wife bougt a new Roadmaster last year. I was able to ride once myself, Beautiful Bike, Rides great etc. However I have seen the problems that they have had with it, and the local Indian Dealer (Smokin Joes) absolutely Sucks! (and I know this from a number of angles). SOme of the issues:

 

Key Fob, alarm system not letting it start for no reason.

Air Sock in the rear went bad on a trip.

Oil Leak that was supposed to be fixed by the dealer and they messed it up.

Cruise Control quitting on a trip.

The Tan Seat is already wore out, and looks like it 30 years old.

Bad fish eyes, orange peel on the paint.

 

Its kinda like a Harley, They plan their long trips around Indian Dealers in case it breaks down...

 

That said, They love the bike,...

 

[Barrycuda]

I ride occasionally with a guy who traded in his Indian, brand new for a slingshot. I test rode all the styles at Daytona when they were out. The heat is awful ( and dangerous) beautiful bike? Absolutely. The heat issues is why Kawasaki has not moved many Vulcan voyager models. If you were to just ignore the heat, go get a Vulcan voyager. It's WAAY cheaper, liquid cooled, reliable as heck engine. I by passed on Kawi and Indian to get my beloved GW. Yes, it has its issues also( looks like Tupperware, blah blah blah) but the riding, the smoothness on this bike is amazing.

bottom line is, me thinks Indian/Polaris need to fix that issue. Many people buy new bikes because of how it LOOKS. But how many miles will you be happy riding if you and/or the spouse are miserable?

[Mike G in SC]

Same issue, hot.

I test rode a Road Master first weekend in May 2015 at Ride Now in Concord, NC. The Indian truck was at their event and all models available.

I only had the Road Master in mind. I liked sitting on the bike, but I like the long gears of the RSV better.

But as happens with a 10 bike demo ride, you get bogged down in traffic. Yep, that's when it hit me, HOT. The afternoon temp was in the mid to low 80's, so yep it was the bike.

Wife was not there but from what you all have said, she would have got the worse of it.

 

So, since then I got a Gold Wing Trike. Not Hot,,, but lot's of power.

 

I do like the looks of the Springfield for a solo ride to someday replace my RSTD solo ride. But as they all use the same platform, likely just as hot.

[Gary N.]

I read on a Indian forum that true dual exhaust (no cat), EFI fuel controller (richen mixture), 20-50 synthetic oil with high flow filter, Indian high flow air filter and a Captain Itch leather crotch cooler http://shop.captain-itch.com/1-INDIAN-crotch-cooler-plain-black-or-tan-leather-1-Indian-cc-plain.htm all help to solve the heat problem. Nothing more $$$s can't fix.

[Freebird]

Gary, I was told all of that about my Road Glide also. After doing it, guess what...it was still HOT!