You have to be a bit of a fan and loyalist to own an Indian motorcycle. We are not saying they are bad products; on the contrary, they are some of the best motorcycles that you can buy on the planet. It is just that whenever you consider an Indian, there is always an elephant in the room, and that is the other American motorcycle manufacturer. The ‘other one’ has been around continuously since its inception, whereas Indian has taken more than a few breaks, albeit through no fault of its own. That doesn’t stop it from making truly great products like the Roadmaster.
A Brief Summary Of The Roadmaster
The Roadmaster is a flagship touring bike from Indian’s portfolio. It is a full dress tourer with a fork-mounted fairing, and Indian has thrown pretty much all its technology at the Roadmaster. You do get a few variants. The main differences between them are not just feature sets. You get a choice of two engine types: there is the Thunderstroke air-cooled engine and the PowerPlus liquid-cooled engine, the latter available in two variations. However, the Roadmaster has not received a significant update in the last few years other than the addition of the PowerPlus engine. This makes it easy to argue that the Roadmaster has fallen behind in at least a few respects compared to the competition from the likes of Harley-Davidson.
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The Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited Is The Tourer Indian Owners Won’t Admit Beats Their Roadmaster
The Roadmaster has a more than equal challenger in the Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited. In the Harley portfolio, a ‘Limited’ means that it gets more than the usual standard features. In this case, it gets the trunk and the backrest for the pillion. It being the Road Glide means that it gets the frame-mounted fairing rather than the fork-mounted one. While both these motorcycles are built for long highway rides, it is the frame-mounted fairing of the Harley that will feel easier than the fork-mounted Roadmaster one on an all-day ride. However, when you look at the overall package, it is easy to say the Road Glide Limited beats the Roadmaster, and it is quite obvious that Indian owners will not be willing to admit this easily.
The Pricing Is Six Of One And A Half Dozen Of The Other
The Harley-Davidson also exhibits better technology while offering a base price of $32,999, which is only a few hundred dollars more than the Roadmaster’s $32,499. We also need to acknowledge the fact that the Roadmaster has much more standard equipment with the base model, whereas the Road Glide Limited will need a few options added to it to get to the level of the Roadmaster. But to be fair, to get the H-D in these images, you’ll have to bump the price to $34,999, while the Roadmaster PowerPlus 112 without the audio upgrade will set you back by $36,999.
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The Milwaukee-Eight Engine Straddles Both Worlds
The Road Glide Limited is powered by the Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine, one of Harley’s best engines in its history. This engine has variable valve timing, which has broadened the torque and no doubt helps it with emissions as well. It has a compression ratio of 10.3:1, and it is a long-stroke design. It also needs to be mentioned that this is primarily an air-cooled engine, which means that the cylinders have fins that make it air-cooled, whereas the heads alone are cooled by water.
The water cooling routes the water to the exhaust valve of the rearward cylinder first and then toward the front, which helps even out the cooling. There is also a radiator for this water. In the horsepower and torque figures, it stands at 107 horsepower at 5,020 RPM and 129 pound-feet at 3,500 RPM. It runs through a six-speed gearbox and final belt drive, and Harley claims 45 MPG, which is quite impressive for such a big motorcycle.
The Roadmaster Has Three Engine Options!
We should mention that the Roadmaster is available with three different engines, as opposed to the single option of the Road Glide Limited. One is the entirely air-cooled Thunderstroke 116 engine. This engine is quite a torque monster, generating 126 pound-feet at just 2,900 RPM. This is a wholly air-cooled engine with a two-valve design, but it has conveniences like rear cylinder deactivation. Surprisingly, it has a higher compression ratio than the Harley at 11.0:1. You can also have the Roadmaster with one of two different displacements of the liquid-cooled PowerPlus engine.
The 108 cubic-inch engine generates 122 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque. But we shall stick to the PowerPlus 112 engine for the sake of this comparison. This engine generates 122 horsepower and 133 pound-feet at 3,800 RPM. This might be the most modern engine here, but the Harley engine has a longer and better track record of reliability so far.
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Similar Chassis On Both Bikes, But More Reliability On The Harley
The Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited has a cradle frame with conventional suspension. The front forks are Showa 1.9-inch dual bending valve forks. The rear shocks are twin outboard shocks with remote preload adjustment on the left shock and threaded preload on the right one. There are twin front brake discs with four-piston fixed calipers, and the rear brake has a single axial rear caliper. A 19-inch front wheel and an 18-inch rear wheel set made of aluminum are present with bias-ply tubeless tires. This might sound like a simple combination, but it is great for sitting all day at 80 MPH.
In comparison, the Roadmaster has components like inverted front forks and Brembo front brakes. It features a single rear shock with electronic preload adjustment. However, what the Harley has going for it is simplicity. Out on the road, you want technology to help you, but you don’t want to overcomplicate things. Should something break down, it will be very easy to repair on the Harley compared to the Indian. The fact that it chooses simple, but robust parts means that there is less likelihood of a breakdown as well.
Both Are Equally Big And Heavy, And Miss Out On A Crucial Feature
We usually put down exact figures when it comes to dimensions, but here it doesn’t really matter because both the Harley and the Indian are within a few inches of each other. When it comes to length and width, they are both a little over 100 inches in length and around 40 inches in width. They both weigh a little over 900 pounds, with a difference of 20 pounds in favor of the Harley-Davidson.
Neither is going to be very friendly in traffic, and neither offers a reverse gear, which means you either need strong quadriceps to back it up or a helping hand. The Harley, though, takes the win in terms of cargo, with a luggage capacity that is 0.2 cubic feet more than the Indian’s.
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The Features Comparison Is A Heavyweight Fight
The features compare like a heavyweight boxing match. These are both flagship full-dress tourers, so you can expect everything possible. The Harley-Davidson makes a much better impression with its massive 12.3-inch TFT screen. Whatever information you require is in one place and clearly laid out thanks to the Skyline OS.
The Indian chooses to have a mix of a seven-inch TFT display that shows you your navigation and Bluetooth information via Apple CarPlay and analog clocks as well. It can seem a little busy compared to the Harley’s display. Apple CarPlay is also present on the new generation of Harley-Davidson touring bikes, which makes connectivity that much easier.
The Road Glide Limited has heated seats and grips; Rockford Fosgate offers 6.5-inch speakers for the audio system. The windscreen and fairing lowers allow you to duck behind the wind on the highway. There are USB ports, and the trunk has great cushioning for the pillion’s back. The Roadmaster hits back with seats that are heated as well as cooled and an electrically adjustable windshield. And keyless ignition with remote-locking saddlebags.
Coming to the electronics package, the Harley-Davidson has Harley’s entire electronics suite, which means there is cornering-enhanced traction control and drag torque control. The brakes are electronically linked; there is hill hold assist, and there is a tire pressure monitoring system as well. The Indian also has a six-axis IMU, so it has cornering traction control, ABS, and drag torque control. This package offers blind spot warning, hill hold, linked brakes, and warnings for your condition and tailgaters. Overall, while the Indian’s feature list is more impressive, the Harley has a great mix of features and restraint, and gets it just right.
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Why Is Harley Such A Thorn In Indian’s Side?
There are only two truly prominent American brands, with all due respect to other stalwarts like Buell Motorcycle. For every Indian motorcycle, there is an alternative from Milwaukee, and more often than not, the option from The Motor Company makes more sense. Not because it is necessarily a better bike every single time, but simply because you are assured of a better ownership experience in the long run. After all, the kind of motorcycles you buy from these two manufacturers are the kind that you buy once and hold on to for a very long time.
With Indian’s chequered past changing only recently with the Polaris group, it has managed to catch up a fair bit. However, just earlier this year, Polaris sold a majority stake in the Indian brand to Carolwood LP, a private equity firm in Los Angeles. A motorcycle like the Roadmaster is built to keep going for a very long time, but it needs ongoing support from the manufacturer to do that, and a brand sale can herald big changes at the company, which is another big reason for the Indian falling behind.
Sources: Indian Motorcycles, Harley-Davidson USA, CycleWorld