An exciting thread to contribute to
Since I have owned a plethora of motorcycles...I think about 37 counting my 2015 Honda F6B, I hope I can help you decide what bike you should purchase.
First off, I categorize a motorcycle as different than most other products we buy. A motorcycle has soul, but it also has to have that look to it that you enjoy. Nothing like going for a ride, parking your motorcycle alongside a river or other photographic scene, and just staring at it because you enjoy it that much. If you don't like the looks of a bike, you can't use the more analytical approach to ownership, it is all about the visual and character of the bike that will make that decision.
That being said, I ride my F6B with a Indian Chieftain rider, and can give you some input to how the bikes compare. I traded my 2015 Victory Cross Country for the Honda F6B, and it was the best decision I have made in a while.
First off - Indian will be around for a long time! I have gone to the Polaris factory in Spirit Lake IA, as the factory is about 100 miles from my place. The Indian is a totally re-engineered motorcycle from what piece of crap they ended up with just to have the Indian name. The bike has a lot of shared component engineering from the Victory, which is a good thing. The Victory 106 Freedom engine is built like a tank, and from modification companies, they say it is a very hard engine to blow up! The transmission is a Victory 6 speed, so it is going to make a lot of CLUNK, but it is a certified 100,000 mile + transmission so abuse it if you want.
The Honda F6B is more of a practical everyday bike, it handles better and will leave the Indian in the dust (why do you think the F6B has such large mirrors?, to watch the rest of the bikes while you are pining the throttle!) Anyway, the F6B has the engine performance, and is generally smoother with a transmission that is hugely slicker when it comes to grabbing the next hear. When I say "everyday" bike, I mean the weather protection is better around your legs, and the batwing fairings always have airflow from the bottom that seems to slip up to your chest and face. The F6B doesn't have that annoying characteristic.
While riding with the Indian Chieftain, both are equally comfortable, and amazingly get about the same gas mileage if not the edge to the F6B by two or three miles per gallon. What I like is that I don't have to search for premium fuel all the time, as the F6B uses 86 octane regular. In the Chieftain manual, it states that you can use a lower octane, but for best performance 91 octane should be used.
If you ride a lot in warm weather, the F6B is going to be the bike of choice. The radiators get rid of the heat away from you for the most part, while the Chieftain...especially in stop and go traffic, is a very warm bike in that the heat radiates right at you and the engines run HOT! I had a temperature gauge for my oil on the Victory, and it would run 220 to 245 if the temperature was above 85 degrees and we ran the bikes hard, but according to the engineers I have spoke to, they aren't worried until it gets in the 270 + range and they really aren't all that concerned about that either.
The Chieftain is more top heavy, and it does NOT have reverse gear. The electronics are a little more advanced IE bluetooth from the dash, so you can link your phone to your helmet, and it does have the throttle by wire. Now, if you were talking a Harley Vs. Indian Chieftain, forget about it, the Indian is a no-brainer. But, if you like pure reliability and refinement, the Honda is the answer hands down.
The belt on the Chieftain is a 40,000 mile replacement interval, so not a big deal, they are cheap. Going between the two bikes, and other Indian riders that we swap bikes at times, most can't believe the performance and fun the F6B brings to the table. I enjoy the thump of the big V-twin as it is a single pin crank similar to the Harley, so it has that "heart beat potato-potato" sound, and it has torque out the wazoo. It is the real deal if you like big V-twin bikes.
While riding to a resort, we stopped at a popular watering hole for a cold beer on the way home, and I told my riding buddy that the attention to his bike would be insane, as it is a nice looking bike with all the chrome, and most Harley guys like Indian motorcycles. To my amazement, most people would look at the Indian and like the looks, but they were more involved with "what the heck is this...a HONDA?" and then they would go on about how they owned a Honda at one time, and thought the F6B was one cool bike.
Go figure, huh?
Low center of gravity and easy to upright
Hey lhurker!!
This is all GREAT info. Let me add one tiny detail. The F6B is very easy to lift. It weighs about 55 pounds more than my previous bike an 08 Kaw Nomad but it is sooo much easier to lift if it goes down. In fact I couldn't lift the Nomad when loaded for travel. I know, it went down in an oil puddle at a Love's fuel stop in Texas. Happily some strong employees saw me struggling and helped me upright her commenting as they lifted at how heavy it was.
On that same trip I was rear ended at low speed in San Miguel de Allende in front of two cops. The Nomad was a tank and could take it, but one of the cops had to help me lift it. So when you move to the F6B you will in effect be downsizing although to a possibly heavier but a far better bike. And if you ride alone as I do this is a biggy.
Enjoy!!
Tom