I know I normally don’t cover recalls, but this one made me laugh. Indian just announced that they need to bring back 3,341 bikes built between Oct. 25, 2016 to Nov. 17, 2017 (but sold as 2018 models) because they’ll turn themselves on. Sexy.
Seriously though, what’s happening in certain cases is that the right combination switch (which includes the starter button) is letting water in, and after time corrosion may occur in a way that basically hotwires the bike. So if you park your bike and certain “safety interlock conditions” are met (for example, if you parked in neutral and the wireless key fob is nearby), your Indian may spontaneously start. Apparently the NHTSA looks down on this, but I think it’s just a nice way for your bike to remind you that you need to go for a ride!
Photo by Aaron Schasse
Officially, the recall started yesterday and Indian will be notifying owners so that they can get their free fix. There is actually a potential danger of carbon monoxide poisoning if for some reason you keep your bike in the same room as a human or a pet, so please make sure you address this if you own an affected bike. But come on – this is the kind of thing that happens in sci-fi/horror movies!
Feature photo by Aaron Schasse, who snapped me on an Indian Chieftain with the upgraded 116 kit. I still owe you a review on that bike, but the short version is that it makes a slow bike less slow. That might sound negative, but if I had the money to buy a brand new Chieftain, I’d splurge for the kit. With that said, in the last few days Indian announced a stop sale because it may…ruin your motor. There’s an internal investigation that should conclude by May 7th, so hopefully we’ll know what the issue is in a few weeks. Not a great recent run for them – even ignoring how stupid I think the new Scout Bobber is.