THE ROKR MUZIC BLOG

Ten days on the road with a 2015 Indian Chieftain…

I got to ride a new 2015 Indian Chieftain for my first road trip of 2015. Here’s my story…

Day 1:  Pick up a new 2015 Indian Chieftain at Polaris’s huge product warehouse in southern California.

I rode my Victory High Ball from San Diego to the Polaris Industries warehouse in Redlands, California to pick up a new Chieftain for my latest road trip. I was supposed to meet with TJ, the Polaris’ Fleet Manager, but he sent me an email saying that he could not meet me since he had to take several bikes out to a promo shoot with Mark Wahlberg for his Indian T-Shirt collection.

Yes, it’s true folks…I, Motorcycle Marc, motorcycle lifestyle blogger to the average Joe, got bumped off by Hollywood actor, producer and former model, Mark Wahlberg...

Luckily, TJ put me in touch with sidekick warehouse pro, Andrew, and the bike exchange went smoothly. I conducted a 360 double-check of the bike and confirmed all was in perfect working order and off I went.

MY KIND OF CANDY STORE. THE POLARIS FACTORY WAREHOUSE IN SOCAL.

Day 2:  Riding around San Diego beaches and environs…

Headed out to explore America’s Finest City, San Diego, California.

FIRST STOP…ADMIRING THE BEACH IN LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA.

The Chieftain Today – Lost count of how many people said to me…

“Nice bike…love your bike. Is that an Indian? WOW! How do you like it?” Is that a new Harley-Davidson, said one uninitiated cager???

I stopped at a local Harley shop to check in with friends and when I came back out to leave for the next stretch of my ride, the Chieftain was surrounded by Harley riders admiring it. No kidding here folks…four Harley riders were gaulking at it!

As I approached the group they began to ask me tons of questions about the bike. I chose not to take a photo of this moment to protect the innocent but it would of made for a great promo commercial moment…Just another day out and about on a beautiful motorcycle I said to myself.

PARKED LIKE THE BEACH BOSS AT LA JOLLA SHORES.

Day 3:  Temecula Area Wine Country Ride…beautiful. Simply beautiful.

THE TEMECULA VALLEY WINE COUNTRY. GREAT RIDING AREA.

There are many excellent self-guided wine tours that are worth your consideration next time you ride the Temecula Wine Country. One of my local favorites is Orfila Vineyards and Winery. Ride on over sometime. Beautiful winery.

Day 4:  Off to Laughlin, Nevada

I’ve made the run to Laughlin regularly since the late 1990s. Some years have been better than others but one thing is for sure, fun is everywhere and there are always a few vendors who stand out going beyond offering the basic biker T-shirts.

This year’s selection of best vendor, in my humble opinion, is TRD Leather out of Cleveland, Ohio. I met the owner, Chuck Perez who founded the business over 30 years ago.

It’s a true American family business proud to say “Made in the USA”. His sons Jay and Carlos (Big Stitch), and daughter Lori, all play key roles in running the business. Best leatherwork I have ever seen folks…thick, strong, well shaped and truly roadworthy…so good I bought new saddlebags on the spot to place on my 2014 Victory HighBall.

The TRD Leather Company is known for manufacturing some of the highest quality and most creative leather work in the world. If you can imagine it, they can stitch it. Click here to view examples of their custom products.

Day 5:  Destination: The Hoover Dam near Boulder City, Nevada

The Hoover Dam is on Lake Mead about 30 miles south of Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the U.S. feeding water to Nevada, Arizona and California.

DROUGHT CONDITIONS IN THE WESTERN U.S. HAVE HAD A MAJOR IMPACT ON THE DAM AND WATER LEVELS…click image for more info.

On this day, amazed at the Colorado River and the vastness of it all, I am just one of over a million people that will tour this dam this year. Truly an amazing feat of construction engineering, it was built between 1930 and 1935.

THE FATHER & SON TEAM OF ALLEN AND DEVON LUCE. Two of the highly skilled Harley riders on this roadtrip. Thank you guys for inviting me and the Chieftain on this amazing ride. Note the shoreline water marks. Huge loss of water over the past five years.

Day 6 – Laughlin to Las Vegas to meet up with my Harley buddies.

Las Vegas…everyone should visit this party city at least once in their lives…you got to see this place to believe it.

I had a visitor at the Golden Nugget…a high-powered water vacuum cleaner to suck up rain water.

Me and the boys met up at the world famous Golden Nugget Hotel around 4:00 pm…literally minutes before one of the worse rain and wind storms to hit the city in years.

The storm brought heavy rain, pea-sized hail and severe lightning strikes to downtown Las Vegas. Luckily, our bikes were safe in the covered parking area but we inside the hotel had to literally dodge water-logged signs falling in the common areas and my room, was flooded…construction quality problem or just one bad-ass storm I ask myself?

Stay tuned, I’m trying to get my room charge refunded from the Golden Nugget. Paying $256.84 for the inconvenience of a flooded hotel room just ain’t sitting well with me. Let’s see if they refund my money.

Day 7 – Destination Cave Creek, Arizona

Cave Creek is a town located at in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona about 30 miles north of the big city of Phoenix. 5,000 citizens call this small town home and I gotta tell yas, this is one friendly, laid-back and biker friendly town.

You only need to drop by The Hideaway Grill for confirmation of the friendliness.

Click here to follow the Hideaway Bar & Grill on Facebook.

Day 8 – Riding around central and northern Arizona…spectacular!

This section of Arizona has something for every rider. Roads are in good shape, scenery is diverse, forests are lush and the canyons amazing.There are mountain lookouts, clear lakes and the high desert area is full of beautiful cactus trees and other colorful plants. Truly a spectacular area for motorcycle touring.

And the locals, they may well be the most biker-friendly and helpful people in the USA. Me and the boys really enjoyed our weekday ride on I-89A and surrounding roads. Red rock canyons and red mountain scenery was just awesome.

RED ROCK COUNTRY NEAR SEDONA, AZ. Rand McNally says it’s”one of the eight most scenic drives in America.”

Using Cave Creek as our base, we set out to explore Arizona’s riding country. See the website, AZ Rider, for a good selection of motorcycle tours throughout the state. Some of the best roads and scenery anywhere.

One of our highlight stops was in the old copper mining town of Jerome, AZ. This town, pop. 450, comes with the classic history of the wild west. You simply got to make your way to Jerome next time you visit the great state of Arizona.

Rest stop at Paul and Jerry’s Saloon – oldest family-owned bar in Arizona.

Image Source: Yelp.com Reviews.

This western hangout was built in 1899. It initially operated as the Senate Saloon, with a Chinese restaurant downstairs. During Prohibition it was converted to a billiard parlor.

Paul Vojnic bought the business in 1939 and later bought the building from the Jerome Historical Society.

Vojnic changed the name to Paul & Jerry’s, and now it’s thought to be the oldest family-owned bar in Arizona. Classic old-style western bar full of history and great customer service. A must stop when visiting Jerome.

Riding throughout Arizona, one quickly finds out that old bars full of western history are easy to find. Click here for a summary Arizona’s best old saloon stops.

Day 9 – Riding through the desert heat. I-10 west to Palm Springs, California.

In a word, hot! 100 to 105 degrees plus, heatwaves from overheated hell-hot road pavement. Speed was our only friend during this part of the road trip.

Luckily, both the Harley-Davidsons and the Indian Chieftain were speed worthy so we survived the trek across the Mojave Desert. It also helps to have survival skills should you need them. Click here for desert riding tips.

Day 10 – The last 100 miles home…what could possibly go wrong?

Remember folks, one of the things you all love about my blog is that I tell it like it is. There’s no fluff, no misleading marketing stuff and no cutting corners. There’s no bullshit on my blog.

Well, I make the switch from the amazing 2015 Indian Chieftain to the Victory HighBall at Polaris’s factory warehouse and guess what? I get 51 miles down the road and the HighBall quits.

Yup, it just stalls as I am enjoying the last 100 mile stretch home. The engine shuts off on I-15 near Temecula, California…in 95 degree heat…on one of California’s busiest freeways.

Luckily, I’m always in a good mood when riding so I figure I can fix it no matter the problem. Well, after an hour fiddling with electrical components and trying to outsmart the fuel pump, the bike won’t start. I had no choice but to call the good folks at United Towing Service (800-245-2429) to get me and the fully-loaded HighBall home to San Diego.

Another exciting end to a great roadtrip I tell myself.

THE LAST 49 MILES HOME ON MY FULLY-LOADED 2014 VICTORY HIGHBALL.

The Bottom Line…the 2015 Indian Chieftain is an awesome bagger.

1.  The Thunderstroke 111 is amazingly smooth.

I must admit, the 49-degree V-Twin Thunder Stroke^® 111ci engine is the smoothest counter-balanced engine I have ever tested. Little to no vibration. Lots of power…this motor is darn right impressive. In fact, the 119.2 ft-lbs of torque it puts out is quite breathtaking. Very impressive get up and go from this big, state-of-the-art 1811cc engine.

Also a plus, engine heat flow seems to be away from the rider so excessive engine heat was never an issue even after hours of street-level riding and 100+ degree temperatures in the desert.

INDIAN’S THUNDERSTROKE 111…SMOOTH!

2. Handling and riding observation…this big bike handles really well…very impressed with the lean and tight angle control in the curves. In fact, my Harley buddies (see pic below) did all they could to leave me in the dust on the twisties from Jerome to Prescott, Arizona…they couldn’t do it. I was right there with them all the way down the mountain.

Note that the Chieftain is appears quite sensitive to load weight so you need to adjust the rear air shock as needed for different weights. For example, when it’s just me and the bike (230 pounds of muscle 🙂 ), the bike handles perfectly around 30 pounds per square inch (psi). When fully loaded, at 300 pounds, I needed to increase the psi to around 45 psi to get optimal handling from the Chieftain. The bike comes with a handy pump so adjusting air pressure as needed was easy.

MY HARLEY RIDING BUDDIES…I APPRECIATE THESE GOOD PEOPLE. Left to right. Tom Murtha, Ray Figone, Devon and Allen Luce. It was just great riding with such skilled riders and introducing my friends to the Indian Chieftain brand.

3. The Chieftain Seat…will work for most riders but was not a perfect fit for my big butt. 

There’s no doubt that Indian Motorcycle has built a top quality seat for the Chieftain but the setting on my roadtest bike was too forward for my comfort and I found the seat a little too narrow for my butt. This may be because I have been riding on wider touring seats by Mustang Seats for the past 20 years and stock seats just don’t work for me. So, my personal seating preference would be to put a wider touring Mustang Seat on this bike.

TOP QUALITY STOCK LEATHER SEAT BUT POSITIONED TOO FORWARD FOR MY LIKING. MJB

4. Price to ride ratio…best overall motorcycle value in the market I tell yas…No stock bagger even comes close in my humble opinion. Starting at $22,999, you get a whole lot of touring motorcycle for this price.

The Indian Chieftain specs are impressive. Plus, you can customize this ride to your liking and make it your very own. If you want iconic, classic motorcycle styling, this is the bike for you.

RAY FIGONE, HE CAN RIDE! When not burning rubber with his RoadGlide, he helps his team go fast at High Definition Home Systems in NorCal…Click on Ray to visit his company and to learn about the quality work they excel at. Could an Indian Chieftain be in Ray’s future? Only he knows for sure. 🙂

 

Ride Safe Out There.

The Chieftain…great ride. Visit your local Indian Motorcycle dealer for a test ride. You are gonna love this bagger.

Note: Copyrights and Trademarks are the property of their owners. See footer of this blog/website for more information. 2015 Indian Chieftain motorcycle provided by the Indian Motorcycle Company. Indian and Indian Motorcycle are registered trademarks of Indian Motorcycle International LLC.