Recently, we conducted a demo event where we had folks compare the Harley-Davidson Street Glide (107) v. Polaris Indian (111). We were interacting with a lot of customers where they were ready to purchase a Harley-Davidson Street Glide, but wanted to compare the 111 in an Indian Chieftain. So far, every customer that left to go "test ride" the Polaris Indian came back--6 for 6 on that front. So, what did we do, the next time we took an Indian in on trade, we kept it for experimental purposes.
BELOW IS THE REPORT WRITTEN BY A CUSTOMER, TODD, WHO IS AN MSF INSTRUCTOR:
Today I did something completely out of character for me. I test rode a current production Street Glide 107. Fresh off the showroom floor with less than 200 miles on it. The hook for me wasn’t to demo for purchase of an upgrade to my current bike, nor was it to see the new trendy colors or bolt-on bling, or to explore the dizzying array of buttons on each handlebar cluster. It was to take you up on an offer to demo, back to back, an Indian of comparable product. This is what I found;
Riding both scoots, back to back yielded a confirmation that, for me, a 29 or 30 inch seat height ain’t right for my 6 ft 2 frame. This lack of leverage or “purchase” over the backbone made turning inputs muted and sluggish. Both bikes had a longer wheel base than my ‘98 FLHTP (Cop Bike, Electra Glide format), greater rake and trail which affected the input required to bring it around in left and right turns in all but very shallow arcs at higher speeds. For me, this also compounded the aforementioned “purchase” over the centerline of each. I overcame in stunning fashion, to be sure.
I took the HD first and ran it over the secured range for the Harley-Davidson Riding Academy this weekend. The two things I wanted to do was roll in to the s-turn box, move the weight in transition, find balance and feel out the braking capabilities. The Street Glide was predictable and balanced in transition of concentric and opposing U-turns (the box). The new clutch with its’ assisted technology (some secret sorcery, to be sure), felt like the plates were being slammed together if I got aggressive (think trigger pull and hammer drop). If I were buttery and smooth with reeling it out, it was fine. I wasn’t sold on it as I like consistent clutch plate grip/slip, irrespective of how the mill is spooled up.
When I rolled in with the Indian, I waived off taking it in to the box, as the ergonomics of the quasi-ape / beach-bar was not feeling right for the demands of an MSF range. I did discover that when transitioning to a left hand arc from a right hand arc, it felt like there was a cinder block suddenly placed on the right hand floor board half way in to the final arc. Curious. Perhaps trail is much greater with the Indian. Clutch feel was more conventional and preferred.
Initial braking observation was the Glide had a very progressive load on the forks and binders clamped down with authority. The Indian, was not progressive at all and felt “lumpy” in compression. The front binders lacked the power of the Harley set up by a fair margin. The rear brakes were about the same in terms of grip on the rotor, however the softer and less consistent Indian forks allowed the rear end to unload too early and somewhat abruptly. This yielded less “squat” and more fork “dive”. I ironed that out and was able to make it squat in a balanced way. Interestingly, when I did this it felt like a scaled up and skirted Rebel 250. Not good.
The motors are also very different. The Indian, with its’ 111 CI didn’t come off the bottom with vigor and prowess. There was a noticeable hesitation in the “the call for giddy-up” and the ponies showing up. This, however, was not present when I was about ¼ to 1/3 up from the bottom of the throttle range, and only happened in the lower gears or coming up off of a lugging motor. Midrange snap was present but not impressive. Spooling the mill up helped, so gear selection is important to achieve response. The gear ratio for the Indian was better, as 3k RPM yielded 80 mph (compared to 75 mph for the Glide). Additionally, as I walked that number up to 85, 90 and beyond the gear ratio of the Indian was noticeable and preferred for a life in the left-hand lane of highways.
Now on to that Milwaukee Eight. In a word, PUNCH! That mill is explosive from bottom to top, powerful and crisp in the midrange, and gear matching for performance is a non-issue. That plant makes power everywhere! The need to keep my KTM 450 for that raw, unadulterated motorcycle kick in the seat is now being questioned. Damn it, John! The fancy clutch thing was an annoyance to me, because when I got after it by spooling up the motor and rapidly dishing out clutch, it just felt like the plates were being slammed together abruptly (trigger / Hammer notion from above). I worked through it, but I am not a fan.
Ergonomically, the Indian felt short in the floorboard. My toes on my left foot collided with the crash bar. There was no heel shifter, so going forward and under the lever was necessary for each up shift, and contact was made with the bar each time. Over the lever for down shift was not an issue. The Indian rear brake pedal was a reach and replacement of my right foot with each deployment. Not at all convenient or intuitive. I worked through it but didn’t like the amount of leg movement it took or the lack of solid heel contact with the floor board, which virtually eliminating finite input adjustments. The Glide had none of this. Rear lever was a small forefoot movement and a solid heel contact afforded greater control of input and adjustments. Way more bar input was needed to bring the Indian across its’ centerline, and neither bike responded to saddle or floorboard inputs. Bummer.
Fit and finish were wildly different. The instrument cluster on the Glide was busy, but logical. All the switches and controls, which there are a lot (I have seen the book that comes with the infotainment system and it eclipses the owner’s manual in sheer mass) were both pleasing and uniform to the eye and smartly located for easy access. On the Indian, the switches and controls were visually a mismatch hodgepodge of old technology, soft touch buttons and cheesy execution. (Note to Polaris: if the part is made of plastic don’t do faux chrome. Ever. It looks like ass.). Mirrors were better on the Glide and offered a wider field of view than the teardrop shaped ones on the Indian. The Indian featured a 24 sq inch panel of genuine pleather of the tank. Nice stitching, but cheese whiz at its finest.
In summary, the Street Glide had everything over the Indian (save gear ratio in tall gear) and a vast chasm exists between these two offerings. The value of being able to compare these bikes, back to back can not be overstated. If it were solely up to me, I would harness the resources of the New England Dealer Association and procure a small fleet of these competitive products and rotate them twice a week all season among the participating dealers because this was a way more powerful sales tool than unveiling unobtainable future models and declaring the earth will shake.
Thanks for the opportunity to compare these two and opine!
Todd