RoadVitals

2009 Indian Chief Roadmaster Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
1
Latest Sep 18, 2009
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
1
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Sep 18, 2009

What this page shows

Our database holds 1 NHTSA owner-reported complaint for the 2009 Indian Chief Roadmaster. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–1 of 1

Body & structureSteering
Filed Sep 18, 2009
Crash reported1 injury reported

WELD FAILURE ON THE FORK STOPS ON A 2009 INDIAN MOTORCYCLE. CAUSED THE MOTORCYCLE TO LOSE CONTROL ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS AND RESULTED IN A RIDER LOSING CONTROL AND CRASHING THE MOTORCYCLE. THE WELD ON THE FORK DOWN TUBE THAT PREVENTS THE HANDLE BARS FROM TURNING TOO FAR BROKE OFF AND CAUSED A RIDER TO CRASH. UPON INSPECTION OF THE WELD AFTER THE CRASH IT IS CLEARLY VISIBLE THAT THE WELD IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO HOLD THE FORK STOP IN PLACE. REVIEW OF THE CALL OUT SHEETS FOR THE ASSEMBLY OF THE BIKES CALLS FOR A 1/4 INCH WELD ALL THE WAY AROUND THE FORK STOP LUG. THIS LUG HAS A 1/16TH TACK WELD ON 3 SIDES. IT APPEARS TO BE A TACK WELD THAT WAS PUT ON TO HOLD THE LUG IN PLACE PRIOR TO FINAL WELD. THE PROBLEM ENCOUNTERED IS THAT WHEN THE WELD BREAKS IT ALLOWS THE BARS TO BE TURNED TOO FAR RESULTING IN AN ABILITY TO OVERSTEER THE MOTORCYCLE. I HAD THIS OVER STEER HAPPEN TO ME ON 3 OCCASIONS AND COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED. THE OWNER OF THE BIKE WAS NOT SO LUCKY. IT CAUSED HIM TO CRASH IN A LOW SPEED TURN. I KNOW OF 1 OTHER INCIDENT WHERE A RIDER WENT DOWN IN A LOW SPEED TURN WHILE ON A DEMO RIDE IN THE NORTH EAST AREA OF THE UNITED STATES. I CAN PROVIDE PICTURES OF THE LUG AND WELDS AND I CAN PROVIDE CALL OUT SHEETS FOR THE WELD FROM AN EARLIER VERSION OF THE FRAME THAT WAS ASSEMBLED IN GILROY, CALIFORNIA. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS. THIS ISSUE REALLY CONCERNS ME AS THERE IS NO WAY TO TELL WHEN THE LUG MIGHT BREAK. IN THE WRONG CIRCUMSTANCES THE OVER STEER CAN RESULT IN SERIOUS POTENTIAL FOR BODILY INJURY. I HAVE CONTACTED MR. CHRIS BERNAUER THE GENERAL MANAGER OF INDIAN MOTORCYCLE ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS ABOUT THIS INCIDENT AND HE REFUSES TO DISCUSS IT WITH ME. I CAN ALSO TELL YOU INDIAN MOTORCYCLE COMPANY BOUGHT THE MOTORCYCLE BACK FROM THE OWNER MR. JOHN WHITE AND NOW HAS IT IN THEIR KINGS MOUNTAIN FACILITY. I SUSPECT PART OF THE BUY BACK AGREEMENT WAS AN NDA. I AM NOT BOUND BY ANY NDA AND RODE THE MACHINE 8700 MILE. *TR

NHTSA ID
10284497
Incident
Jul 17, 2009
Mileage
8,700 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .