Rode 4 Indians at a Demo event today...

[VStarRider]

Jason, you are not alone. I noticed the difference in ride quality when I rented a Chieftain in D-FW in November 2016. Very smooth, and absorbent. Remember that the Chieftain has an air shock in the back, which contributes to the ride quality.

I agree with the others that the Chieftain is a loafer, but the Honda is significantly faster and better handling.

[Verismo]

Jason, you are not alone. I noticed the difference in ride quality when I rented a Chieftain in D-FW in November 2016. Very smooth, and absorbent. Remember that the Chieftain has an air shock in the back, which contributes to the ride quality.

I agree with the others that the Chieftain is a loafer, but the Honda is significantly faster and better handling.

Thanks for the solidarity, VStarRider! I know we're not the only ones who feel this way. I found an informative thread on this topic here

http://gl1800riders.com/forums/5-gl1...?action=thread

The GL1800 is an interesting platform. On a smooth surface, you really get to experience the unbelievable turbine-like powerplant and there's nothing like it. The whole bike feels like a miracle. However, on irregular or rough surfaces, that harshness gets translated right to the hands and the arse. If I had more time, I'd wrap an accelerometer around the bars and then go do the same thing to one of those Indians so we'd have some hard data rather than just the subjective experience. But since I don't, subjective will have to be good enough for now.

When I stand the bike up off the side stand, I notice that I lose at least an inch of travel on the forks. That makes me think that other observations are correct and that the bike is possibly undersprung. I think my first "fix" will be to install the Progressive Monotubes and see where that lands me. Next will be a bigger front tire that I can comfortably run 34 psi in. If it doesn't totally do the trick, I may eventually get a triple tree with more rake, and I'll do the tapered bearings at that point. My hypothesis is that if I rake the front end a few degrees, then that will center the engine weight some and spread it over front and rear suspensions more evenly. I'll lose some handling, but like I've said before, corner carving isn't my priority. A nice comfortable flat 6 is.

Jason