Well I had an awesome weekend of riding! Test road both the Street Glide...
And Chieftain...
I had about an hour on the Harley and I still have the Indian. Taking it back at lunch time today. Love they let you have weekend demo rides. Road out to and up/down Mt Macedon yesterday. Saturday afternoon was a ride around Melbourne and surrounds visiting friends who are also keen for a bike but I'm going to be the one that pulls the trigger and starts the process for all of us I think.
So the Harley was impressive. But it's also my first time riding a Harley so I have no Harley baseline so I can't relate to all the "it's SO much better than any Harley ever" hype around the new engine. I can compare it to my Yamaha V Star XVS1100 Classic from years ago though. Better overall but honestly, not $20k+ better). Lots of torque and exceptionally comfy to sit on. There's some vibration through the handlebars which was initially bothersome but I got used to it. All in all though, I wasn't as impressed as I expected myself to be. Certainly not when it comes to the prospect of dropping $38k on one.
Then the Indian. Now I love the Indians but I prefer the looks and sound of the Harley. That's not to say the Indian doesn't look are sound awesome, because it does and does. It's just a personal preference thing. And it was Harleys I had on my wall growing up...
When it comes to riding it though, WOW!!! It shits all over the Harley. So smooth, vibration free, more torque and a feeling of a far more modern bike. It's impressing what they've done - modern engineering in a classic style. It was also more nimble and wanted to turn easier. A credit to both bikes is they do a very good job of shrinking underneath you. By that I mean both of them feel like much smaller bikes when you're riding them. The only negative for the riding experience on the Indian was the tailbone ache. And without wanting to spend $1000+ on a seat to replace the stock one (I did on my $15,000 Yamaha but I don't think it's something you should have to factor in when spending $35,000+ on a bike). The Harley seat I could have sat in all day without a care in the world.
Both bikes had slip on pipes on them and both bike sounded PERFECT to me because of that. Both bikes without them sound like hair dryers (they started stock bikes in the showrooms). The noise was nice without being obnoxious. So it's RRP + pipes + highway pegs as a minimum when I decide which one to buy.
Onto the less substantial... The stereos - Indian wins this one. More powerful and impressive speed dependant volume. I almost never had to adjust the volume. Harley was very tinny and I found myself constantly adjusting the volume. In fairness I didn't spend as much time on the Harley so it may just be getting to know it better. Sat nav - Harley wins. Indian doesn't have it. Controls - Harley wins. More ergonomic and just easier to use. Fairing, in terms of looks Harley wins, in terms of extra driving lights and less buffeting, Indian wins. At 100km + I could electrically raise the windscreen on the Indian and had absolutely zero wind buffeting. Both bikes I credit for having practically no leg wind head buffeting. I had slightly more leg room on the Indian and the Harley wins when it comes to braking. I would, and have, happily ridden bikes without windscreens so the wind issue is only about long ride comfort. Not a deciding factor.
So what am I leaning towards... At this exact point in time I prefer riding the Indian. But I worry about seat comfort. Oh hang on, I forgot, suspension is a lay down mazaire to Indian. WOW! Absorbs all the bumps and just stays smooth and poised the whole time, never unsettled. The Harley is far more floaty and tends to undulate front to rear (see-saw) over bumps which then unsettles the bike. Never feels out of control, just less confident. Granted I had not set the spring tension for me so that can likely be fixed on the Harley. But as they were, I couldn't fault the Indian. But yeah, seat comfort is a worry. It's arguably the most important thing for a tourer. So would I prefer some vibrations or a sore bum?
An interesting bonus to the Indian is the electronic locking (Harley's are key) hard saddle bags. They're quick release on both bikes so you can take them off but on the Indian you still have full fairing so it looks like a Chief Classic at the back. Take the Harley's off and it exposes all the suspension and running gear. Honestly though I can't think of a time you'd want to ride without them. Dumping everything out of my pockets into one, having my jacket and gloves in the other, having wet weather gear, a clear visor, sunnies, etc. I mean, you buy a bagger because you like the bags so...... they'd stay on.
Verdict: I can sort of predict the following conversation at some point in the future.
"You said you loved riding the Indian and preferred the ride to the Harley so why'd you buy the Harley?"
"Because it's a Harley!"
And if there's some inferiorities to it, but I still have a comfortable, enjoyable experience, I can live with them...
But it is a REALLY hard decision. I'd honestly love to have either of them in my garage. I will be test riding them both again in the new year when we're back from Canada and the USA. I will ride them in reverse order this time. Indian first, then onto the Harley.
And to throw a massive spanner in the works, Indian also have the Vintage which looks AMAZING!!!
But necessary back then, no LAMS bikes back then. Was restricted to a 250 and I didn't like 2 strokes. I picked the Suzuki, because I loved the 82 Suzuki GSX1100 Katana as a kid. So this is the closest relative I could ride and afford..... I have fond memories of it, being my first bike, but reality was it was a heavy, poor handling, slow piece of crap 
