100%. hate seeing any bike broken down at side of the road. In the days before mobiles i always stopped to offer a hand. I remember in 80's stopping in a desolate road in Scottish Highlands for a break and stretch my legs and a car stopped to see if all was ok. Those were the days LOL
I'm looking at an Indian Elite now, Absolutely love what you said about "not letting someone else decide if the bike is any good", Your money, Your labor, Your reward's, "Your decision"...
Do it yourselfers: Don't forget to DISCONNECT the battery before this operation. Don't forget to RECONNECT the battery when installation is complete. Don't forget to LEARN how to use a multimeter and don't forget to hit LIKE and SUBSCRIBE.
If you are over or under charging I'd just replace the regulator it's a common failure. It's right on the front of the bike by the oil filter. 2 bolts and 2 connectors. Part can be found on Google for about $150
A broken down bike is no buenos in any ones world. If you ain't ridin' you ain't happy! HD, Indian, Honda...etc. I ride a BMW bagger and it hurts the wallet very much each time I take it in for services. I recently started to look into doing my own services and hopefully save some $$$$. Thanks STL Nik for the confidence.
I got a 16 Roadmaster and had no problems love it, best bike I’ve had and I had a ultra glide, Road glide, Goldwing, Victory Vision, although the Victory was a great bike too but it got totaled at Traffic light while I was waiting for the light or I would still have it
I'd have to take issue with your comment that a 5 year old bike having only 4 problems "isn't bad". To me that seems like a lot -- I have 2 Harleys, one 4 yrs old, one 12 yrs old, lotsa miles on each, also all over the country, ZERO problems. That said, I do like Indian bikes -- I've rented and ridden them, and like them, especially the vintage-styled ones.
Counter argument there is I've seen bikes of all brands with tons of issues at low miles. It's all prospective, what's acceptable to me may not be acceptable to you. Thanks for watching and ride safe.
Thanks for sharing!! My 2015 Indian Chief Vintage will not start, and the battery has a full charge. I'm going to try the solenoid and see if it works!! Thank You again for sharing!!
Fellow Roadmaster owner. Just found your channel I’ve liked subscribed now commented. Thanks for the tip I’ll be doing my own maintenance and repair work for now on.
I've had two Ford F150 pickups with the same problem, which is this; The starter solenoid is SUPER close to that hot exhaust, which cooks the piss out of it! So within five years you'll be replacing that one again, and maybe replacing the cable connectors too. So you may as well order another solenoid right now, while you can find it cheap. Maybe two or three more, depending on how long you intend to keep the bike. And take a spare one with you on long trips. My '94 F150 had that same exact problem, over and over and over again, and by the 2003 model they still hadn't figured it out (or didn't care)!
i was headed to the dealer till i watched this (your) video. ive owned harleys my whole life till a week ago. really no clue on these things but with good folks like yourself ill get them figured out.LOL thank ya
I have a 2006 custom 883. It lives outside covered,then not being riden. I have replaced,tires ,oil and filter one turn signal bulb. In 16 years. I've been watching video's on Indian repairs. I wanted a scout. But not so much ,now. Thanks for your insights.Ride free.
I have 2 sporsters myself so keep in mind that platform has gone 40 years with only 1 major change, which was fuel injection. Thanks for watching and ride safe!
I ride a 2019 Indian Roadmaster, and have had this bike two years. I am going on a cross country trip with a friend, and this is good info that you shared. I wish you luck in the future!
2017 Indian roadmaster. 116 fully tuned and ready to kick ass. Will never buy another one. 😒 preformence,reliability and quality. Failed on all fronts. Starters are a major issue on these bikes. I keep getting programming issues to the point the bike dies and restarts itself while going down the road as soon as you pull in the clutch when it dies. And the fenders chrome first year started to bubble. Cosmetic,so Indian says it's my fix. Indian/Polaris dose not stand by their product to the point I almost drove to Indian/Polaris HQ and was going to go online to every Harley-Davidson dealer and trash my bike for 5 buck a swing with a sludge hammer. I never been so disappointed in something I bought in life and paid good money for. The first year I owned it it was in the shop for 7 months because it came off the line with defects and issues that the dealer coat it and still sold it. Got my first case of death wobble my Indian roadmaster and it brought me into on coming traffic. Almost died that day. So in my opinion. By anything other then an Indian. And word is. Polaris is working with a new motor company already
You were wrong about one thing. Not all harley riders like seeing other bikes down. I can't tell a man how to spend his money. Sadly most harley riders today are what I call rubber riders, they ride from bar to bar and spend the next two days rubbing on their scoot. Just ride brother, just ride
I've done 122.000klms on my 2018 Roadmaster Elite.. only issue i have had is the gear sensor and that was only after they replaced the good one for a safety recall.. been cleaned or replaced around 8 times now.. these bikes are the best in my opinion it's generally the mechanical that stuffs crap up..
An Indian Chieftain is my next bike if I ever buy one, “but” I have a 2001 Kawasaki Nomad with 135,000 miles on it, I have not spent $500 on failed parts in all the years I’ve had it. Kawi is not making the Nomad right now, but this make a Vaquero look good.
Quick cheap fix! That's always nice. My brother has a Roadmaster and we almost bought one. I think they are great bikes. How many miles do you have on it?
I have 50,148 miles on my 17 Roadmaster and have had to replace the starter and a battery. GREAT, Dependable Bike with just regular oil changes and services that were needed!
The solenoid my 2021 Chieftain has just failed 2 days ago. I really wish I had found this vid before ordering the part for Indian £105.00😦. The bikes only done 11,000 miles and its still under warranty but the dealer is over 100 miles away and it would cost a lot to transport it to them. Thanks ride safe mate.
I had no idea the starter relay was by the cross over pipe. Thanks for the info. I own a 17 Roadmaster and love it. Try the mid rise bars, it’s a game changer and awesome. Ride on 🤜
@@STLNik hmmm, interesting thought ! I know they now have the stage two cams for the Challenger but I would wait for Loyds cams. I have stage two cams, air cleaner, Vance pipes along with that I pulled the header pipe off and gutted my converter. Taking the catalyst converter out was incredible. With removing the converter and changing my seat to a Ultimate as is has what appears to be a fiber base instead of a metal one, I don’t have any heat issues at all.
I got the free membership when I purchased my first indian, and didnt find much use for it. Polaris kind of implemented it poorly. But I am always up for meeting fellow riders and enjoying the open road😉
I have you beat. 2005 Harley-Davidson FLHRCI at 10,571 miles had to spend $3,000 to fix everything that went bad while still under warranty. The dealer refused to fix. So I did. Won’t let the dealer touch my bike. Oh and at 72,000 miles I am spending another $3,000 to fix a bunch of other things.
@David Alexander I could also put $6,000 toward a new Indian Challenger. If EVOs are so reliable why are there so many aftermarket repair parts available for them?
Man. Sorry to hear about the breakdowns. I assume the Roadmaster is not under warrantee, otherwise you wouldn’t be doing the work yourself. Glad you know enough about it to fix it yourself. That saves a load of cash. I hope you experience no more breakdowns.
I've been looking at Indian Roadmasters recently and love the look of them plus a few mates have Indians and swear by them versus the Harleys they had. My 2003 Road King i've had since new has 29k miles mostly done in the first 5-10years of owning it and all i've replaced is a few batteries which failed because i left trickle charger on all winter without starting the bike. You learn by your mistakes. LOL I'd be disappointed if a starter failed within 5yrs on a bike. I'm hoping that's rare for Indians. I'd never given spares a 2nd thought when looking at Indians and maybe worth checking with dealers before buying one. Love the vid and just shows if you do a bit of searching on line you can usually find spares a lot cheaper for most bikes. Gorgeous looking bike you have too. Think its time for me to have a change of bike. Many thanks for sharing.
Odometer shows 25k but when my wheel speed sensor failed I drove across 3 states with no odometer, so add a couple 1000 to that. It's been a very reliable bike, no major failures. Just a few small electrical issues.
I've had 3 Polaris off road machines and they were nothing but trouble. Polaris customer service sucks too. I swore I'd never buy another. I know Indian is it's own thing but the fact Polaris is involved makes me real nervouse. It sucks because I love the Indian bikes. They are bad ass! I just can't seem to get over my prior Polaris experiences
Anyone who rips a person for what they ride, heck with them. There is a lot more things to worry about. I ride a heritage. I’m not of the o’man lets ride cool man people because I have owned all kinds or motorcycles. I just like riding them.
Why can't America, the greatest technology country in the world, make a motorcycle that is as reliable as a Japanese bike? No wonder Japan is kicking our asses.
Merci à toi pour toutes ces informations! oui, je trouve aussi qu'ils exagèrent au niveau des prix des pièces ! Il vont s'étonner ensuite que les gens n'achètent plus chez eux...
@@STLNik that's good.always test the basics before dipping into ya wallet, been there done that. "my bike is really hard to start must be something expensive. Hello change the spark plugs, good as new lol, kia ora from new Zealand bro 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻😁🇳🇿
What are the dimensions of your jack and where is it placed underneath the bike? Are the lines running underneath on the right side contacting the jack?
It's just a standard motorcycle jack, I position it near the swing arm watching to not catch anything with it. It was intimidating at first, but I've lifted several indians without damaging the brake lines. MAKE SURE TO STRAP THE BIKE DOWN. It will teter without straps
With what you pay for these bikes brand new, they should give you a brand new loaner biker to use if they ever break down in the first 3 years. When summer rolls around, if you have a bike that's broken, there goes your whole summer. Been there, done that.
As a professional mechanic I dont understand how slow the motorsports industry moves. If we moved that slow in automotive people would flip their lid. I carried in a wheel and tire to a local dealer on a monday, they told me that it might be done by friday!
@@STLNik Takes about 20 minutes to change and balance a tire, you get charged for an hour, but still have to wait over a week before they get off their butts and do it.
Thanks for the video, nice job. My 2015 Indian Roadmaster won’t start. When I try to start it I hear a pop noise. One single pop, and it doesn’t turnover. Would this be the battery and or starter solenoid? Thanks
Nick, you should always put the black probe from the COM port in place first, otherwise you risk getting shocked if you touch the black probe while the red one is hot.
Hello, I am french and I will probably buy a 2018-19 roadmaster in few months. I am used to ride a Yamaha 900 xjs for 18 years and I never have to fix something, so I am a little bit worried about the issues you are talking about. Am i wrong to choose an indian? Should I have to rather choose a Goldwing? Thank you for your advices.
Ok. 2016 Springfield. 50k miles. Very strong motor. But the 5 years that I've owned her I've gone thru 2 ECMs, 3 v regs, a wheel speed sensor and now I need a new stator. I'm done. Goodbye Indian
Thinking about a roadmaster, thanks for the video, confirms what I heard about maintenance with these bikes. Is that a harbour freight special bike jack? It looks like a boss holding up that bike!
That is about 2000 dlls in repairs in dealership prices, I rather get me the new Honda Rebel 1100, it has the best tech, the best looks, reliable, and the new 2021 is only 9,300 bucks🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸😎🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
@@STLNik I witnessed a guy ride in a brand new 2020 Chief with the 116 that he had less than a week back to the dealership with engine loud engine noise....I dont think Indian has that 116 dialed in...Just my opinion...
There's lemons with everything. I cant tell you how many brand new Hondas I've torn apart over the years. Overall the TS111/116 have a low failure rate
@@STLNik Dont i know it...Ive had Harleys and Victorys and Yamaha Royal Star... And the Yamaha was the most problem free...If i could find a almost brand new Eluder i will go back to Yamaha
@@bradlozano2571 I have the big bore kit in my 14 Chieftain @ 51,000 miles. It has been flawless and will have been in the bike 2 years in April. I think the bike is bullet proof, I have 30,000 miles on the BBK and it runs better than new.
Keep in mind that is a "Made in China" solonoid. It did not look like it had any protective coating on it to prevent it from rust and corrosion. I might add that the stock part may have also been made in Ching Chang as well.
I'm not disagreeing that a schematic wouldnt be helpful. I'm a professional mechanic so I understand how the circuit works. If I have hot on one side of a solenoid, and I have both power and ground at the connector while being commanded the problem is an obvious one. When diagnosing problems I tend to go to the end of the problem and work backwards because component failure is far more common than wire or computer failure.
Why would you cruise that fast? You can't enjoy the ride or see anything while your on the road running that fast. Sides that you got a little girl there that sure don't need you to have a blow out or some damn car pull over on you. I know when I was young I was the same way, the faster the better. But I finally figured out why the hell am I always in such a hurry. Always stressed out that something might happen when flying. Just a thought ain't messing with you.
I dont go that fast with her on, but I do enjoy speed and good turns when it's just me. Nothing like dragging the floor boards on a nice road. Here in st.louis you'll get run over on the interstate doing the speed limit.
Excuse me what fail code have in your screen ? I have a fail in my 16 Chief,DarkHorse dont start up any more, my code faill is 524046...Excellent video, Regards from Mexico.
Thanks for sharing its great info to know. The only thing is i refuse to support Made in China anything. I know its difficulct these days so many of our products are made in china. I personnaly would opt for the more expensive part just to avoid Made in China parts. aJust my thoughts....thanks again for sharing the info.
Are all new bike's just junk? I got an 07 kawasaki vulcan 2000! The only problem I've ever at 20k is i just don't have the time i want to ride more! Was thinking of a new dark horse! Perhaps i need to rethink it!
@@STLNik i don't have any luck cheaping out. I didn't use original OEM Honda parts on my outboard. And paid the price. Twice. Should of just paid for the OEM parts.
Polaris has ruined the Indian brand. I had a pursuit that was terrible and got rid of it after 3 days. Day 1, died 3 times going through corners and once at a dead stop in neutral. Day 2, tuned with the Lloyd's map flash, still did it. Day 3, took it back.
