Review of Indian RoadMaster after owning for 6 years...

[VirginiaJim]

I absolutely love this bike!  The ergonomics are great, it rides smooth at high speeds.  Has all the comforts such as power windscreen, ABS, Cruise, Navigation, and multifunction radio.  Also has heated/cooled seating.  More storage as well.  Drawback...it weighs nearly half a ton.  More tricky to maneuver around at slower speeds.  I can flatfoot the bike though.  Indian and the aftermarket have all the accessories you would need, unlike the C14 market these days.


I'm glad I went to this style of bike with V-twin air cooling.  It's actually cooler running than my 08 C14 believe it or not.  And I love the thump of the engine and the noise it produces. No regrets with this bike yet.

[lather]

Cooled seating! How does that work?

[VirginiaJim]

It's magic as far as I'm concerned.  Some gizmo heat exchanger lol..


https://www.indianmotorcycle.com/en-us/news/press-releases/indian-motorcycle-new-heated-cooled-seat-features/


The comfort level of the seat is similar to a seat without it.  There was one review that said you could feel the module whilst sitting but I never have.  We had a heated seat on our 16 Roadmaster that used a toggle switches.  I bought the seat after we upgraded to a 20 model (I think it's standard equipment now on some bikes).  It integrates directly into the Ride Command display so I can either use a switch on the left side or push a touch screen to control it.


Another feature that I upgraded was the headlight.  The stock LED headlight on the bike was worthless at night.  It scared the heck out of me riding at night as the corners disappeared.  I changed it out for an adaptive LED headlight that turns on other LEDs depending on which way you lean.  Truly a beautiful thing.

[lather]

Fantastic! I hope this can become available in the after market!

[Boomer]

It'll be a Peltier effect device (TEC) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling attached to graphene sheets to distribute the cold across the seat surface.
Heat is sucked out of the immediate area by one side of the TEC, and then radiated out the other side of the TEC via an air vent to dissipate the heat.
They are not very efficient but adequate if powered by the motorcycle.

As for the aftermarket, if you gots the $$$ then https://www.corbin.com/product/fireice.shtml

[lather]

It'll be a Peltier effect device (TEC) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling attached to graphene sheets to distribute the cold across the seat surface.
Heat is sucked out of the immediate area by one side of the TEC, and then radiated out the other side of the TEC via an air vent to dissipate the heat.
They are not very efficient but adequate if powered by the motorcycle.

As for the aftermarket, if you gots the $$$ then https://www.corbin.com/product/fireice.shtml

Looks like so far the Corbin Fire and Ice is only available for select Indian, Harley and BMW.

[VirginiaJim]

Indian sells their own of course...  I don't know if it's another brand rebranded but it does work well.

[Boomer]

Looks like so far the Corbin Fire and Ice is only available for select Indian, Harley and BMW.

If enough C14 owners enquired and offered to leave a deposit, I'm sure they'd make them.
Not worth it to them to design one for the C14 if it's just for a handful of people.

[lather]

If enough C14 owners enquired and offered to leave a deposit, I'm sure they'd make them.
Not worth it to them to design one for the C14 if it's just for a handful of people.

I don't have a C14 any longer. I'm only hanging around here for nostalgia. And the smart, knowledgable people.

I would like a cooler seat on my Tracer 9 GT.

[Boomer]

I can see me being the only ZG/GTR owner on here soon. 
"So Ronery"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEaKX9YYHiQ

[VirginiaJim]

I haven't had a C14 for quite awhile and I don't see me going anywhere anytime soon..


By the way, got to stop off at the motorcyclepedia museum in Newburgh, NY.  Largest collection of Indian bikes in the world I think.  Spent 3 hours just on the Indian stuff and didn't get around to the others they have.  You need all day and possibly more to see and experience what they have.  Screwy hours though but well worth it.

[O.C.]

Health issues and advancing years have meant that I am no longer able to safely manage a C14....I had 4 of them over the years and loved every minute of every one of them

I now have  a Kawasaki Versys 650  ( I'm loyal to the brand) , which is a smaller bike but TBH does everything the I need from motorcycling       

[VirginiaJim]

At least you are still riding.  My son in law is talking about giving it up.  Was in a line waiting on construction and saw a car coming at him that didn't look like it was going to slow down.  Dumped the bike and jumped off.  The car didn't hit him but it came darn close.  I'm always nervous if I'm in the back of the line in anything or the first in line and nothing behind me.  I've nearly got hit twice in that scenario at the same place! 

[lather]

I have switched to a smaller bike as well. But I am getting paranoid. At an MSTA rally last weekend three riders had accidents and were hospitalized with broken bones, one very serious. All were skilled experienced riders. I myself was rear-ended twice in the last five years but was un injured and didn't even go down. Worried that my luck will run out!

[VirginiaJim]

I think that many of us fear the same...


And I don't ride in the stinking heat that much anymore...

[Boomer]

Yet another argument for legalising lane-splitting. You rarely end up at the back of a queue of traffic waiting to be hit by the phone-fondling idiot. Whenever I am at the back of a queue, I pulse my brake lights deliberately until I see that the approaching car is slowing. Even then I don't relax even a little until I have several stationary cars behind me.
One of the other problems with "skilled experienced riders" is that they get over confident and relax. Personally, I never ever stop scanning for the next threat, and there are plenty of them. Paranoia is a requirement 100% of the time. Every time I have had a crash it has been because I assumed that another road user knew what they were doing, and that was MY mistake!!
Most drivers are blind/deaf/distracted/incompetent/uncaring or just plain homicidal.

[VirginiaJim]

I do exactly that, Boomer.  I have an admore light on the back.  It doesn't pulse all the time but I keep squeezing the brake on and off until I get a bit of protection.  Will also put the hazards on until I have a car buffer behind me.