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New member in Ohio

LousyPups

LousyPups

New member
Joined
Jul 23, 2024
Messages
27
Location
Centerburg, OH
Just sayin' hi. Picked up a new Indian FTR R Carbon yesterday to add to the stable. I figured all those Indian demo ride days would get me sooner or later.

Unfortunately the bike is back to the dealer before I got to ride it. Check engine light on, stumbles at idle and quits. Diagnostic codes for cylinder misfire, cylinder 2 misfire, oxygen sensor 2, and oxygen sensor heat. Hopefully will have it back within the week. I guess I should have ridden it when I bought it, but I didn't have insurance on that day.

And what's up with that 60 wt oil? My go to stock of Rotella T-6 15w-40 I have in the shop for my other bikes apparently isn't thick enough!
 
Last edited:
LousyPups said:
I guess I should have ridden it when I bought it, but I didn't have insurance on that day.
Click to expand...
must be a US thing, but here in Aus if you want a test ride, it's on the dealers insurance not yours. You are just legally viable for the excess.

hopefully they sort out the issues quickly.
and use the Indian oil for it - the oil change kit comes with the filter and washers you need too.
 
LousyPups said:
Just sayin'hi. Picked up a new Indian FTR R Carbon yesterday to add to the stable. I figured all those Indian demo ride days would get me sooner or later.

Unfortunately the bike is back to the dealer before I got to ride it. Check engine light on, stumbles at idle and quits. Diagnostic codes for cylinder misfire, cylinder 2 misfire, oxygen sensor 2, and oxygen sensor heat. Hopefully will have it back within the week. I guess I should have ridden it when I bought it, but I didn't have insurance on that day.

And what's up with that 60 wt oil? My go to stock of Rotella T-6 15w-40 I have in the shop for my other bikes apparently isn't thick enough!
Click to expand...

Welcome from the Pyrenees mountains in Europe.

Wow, that's just bad luck, hopefully it'll be sorted in no time!
 
Yeah, I plan on using the 15W-60. It's an odd weight and not a lot of options for brands out there. It just goes against my nature to have to spend a lot for a "designer" oil.
 
K1000 said:
Welcome from the Pyrenees mountains in Europe.

Wow, that's just bad luck, hopefully it'll be sorted in no time!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the "warm" welcome. It appears my bike has bad O2 sensors. They're on order and should be replaced any day now. At least my dealer has offered to deliver the bike back to me vs me making a 60 mile round trip and trying to get it into and out of the high truck bed by myself.
 
LousyPups said:
Just sayin'hi. Picked up a new Indian FTR R Carbon yesterday to add to the stable. I figured all those Indian demo ride days would get me sooner or later.

Unfortunately the bike is back to the dealer before I got to ride it. Check engine light on, stumbles at idle and quits. Diagnostic codes for cylinder misfire, cylinder 2 misfire, oxygen sensor 2, and oxygen sensor heat. Hopefully will have it back within the week. I guess I should have ridden it when I bought it, but I didn't have insurance on that day.

And what's up with that 60 wt oil? My go to stock of Rotella T-6 15w-40 I have in the shop for my other bikes apparently isn't thick enough!
Click to expand...
I use Rotella in my other bikes as well and plan to swap the FTR to that. But I'm a risk taker. Oil viscosity is not going to be the thing that kills the FTR.
 
I have the bike back. They replaced both O2 sensors. My fantastic salesman personally delivered the bike back to my house.

Unfortunately when I started it to check it out it popped up an error code for the ABS light. I rode it around the driveway to clear the ABS start-up warning light but the code remained, even after shutting down and re-starting. Good news- the following day the error code was gone and has not returned.

First ride, finally. Noticed a crack in the left mirror, about 1/2 inch long. I kept thinking a seagull was following me. I hadn't been on the bike long enough before to notice. I called my salesman and he pulled one off a floor model, I rode down to Iron Pony, and we replaced it.

Next problem- bike pulls to the right. I tested it on both left and right road crowns with light breezes from both left and right side. Always pulls right, I have to lean left to keep it going straight with hands off the bars or keep very light constant forward pressure on the left handlebar. My demo bike did not do this. So I did the following...
1. Ordered a 36mm socket to loosen the axle nut.
2. Matched the chain tensioner adjustment markings, they were off almost 3/4 of a mark. Still didn't fix it.
3. Re-aligned again using motion pro chain alignment guide. No fix.
4. Used the string method to align the rear wheel. Better but still no fix.
5. Loosened fork bolts and re-tightened in case forks were tweaked. Nope, that didn't do it.
6. Checked for tight cables pulling on handlebars. No luck there.

Well that wasted another good day of riding opportunity. I guess It'll go back for profession evaluation.
 
Well, the bike is back at the dealer's service department. Barely have 300 miles on it.

I'll have them check it out for the right turning tendency. I don't want to move the rear wheel so for that the chain doesn't run straight.

Also, when I went to test ride it after some more adjustments, the bike just shut down, quit. After coasting to a stop it started right back up and ran fine the remainder of the 5 minute ride.

I love this bike but I'm not sure I can take much more of this. Every time I ride something new pops up. I sure hope it can be fixed.
 
Update:
Service manager called. Said engine problem with bike shutting down while riding couldn't be replicated and should clear up with 500-600 miles on it. this is the first bike (of many) I've ever owned with kind of issue.

As far as the bike needing constant (light) pressure on the left side of the handlebars to keep it going straight, he said to keep both hands on handlebars at all times. They can't feel it and will not take their hands off the handlebars to check it.

He did note the chain adjusters being unmatched, which is how I received the bike when new, and said they can align them for $50. I said I won't pay and will just return the bike per lemon law.

After speaking with the sales manager I said we have 3 choices-
1. Fix the bike
2. Replace the bike
3. I return the bike per lemon law.

Still waiting to hear back from them. It's been another week without the bike.
 
LousyPups said:
I have the bike back. They replaced both O2 sensors. My fantastic salesman personally delivered the bike back to my house.

Unfortunately when I started it to check it out it popped up an error code for the ABS light. I rode it around the driveway to clear the ABS start-up warning light but the code remained, even after shutting down and re-starting. Good news- the following day the error code was gone and has not returned.

First ride, finally. Noticed a crack in the left mirror, about 1/2 inch long. I kept thinking a seagull was following me. I hadn't been on the bike long enough before to notice. I called my salesman and he pulled one off a floor model, I rode down to Iron Pony, and we replaced it.

Next problem- bike pulls to the right. I tested it on both left and right road crowns with light breezes from both left and right side. Always pulls right, I have to lean left to keep it going straight with hands off the bars or keep very light constant forward pressure on the left handlebar. My demo bike did not do this. So I did the following...
1. Ordered a 36mm socket to loosen the axle nut.
2. Matched the chain tensioner adjustment markings, they were off almost 3/4 of a mark. Still didn't fix it.
3. Re-aligned again using motion pro chain alignment guide. No fix.
4. Used the string method to align the rear wheel. Better but still no fix.
5. Loosened fork bolts and re-tightened in case forks were tweaked. Nope, that didn't do it.
6. Checked for tight cables pulling on handlebars. No luck there.

Well that wasted another good day of riding opportunity. I guess It'll go back for profession evaluation.
Click to expand...
2019 same here pulls to the right,anyone know why? weight distribution ,might be a benefit on the oval track,but a real pain on the street!
 
motoman said:
2019 same here pulls to the right,anyone know why? weight distribution ,might be a benefit on the oval track,but a real pain on the street!
Click to expand...
About the only thing that hasn't been tweaked and adjusted on my bike is the possibility of the frame being tweaked a little (overcooked while welding?) during assembly. One Indian dealer suggested this as a possibility but did not pursue it, probably after conferring with Polaris (very expensive recall/fix if it is found on multiple bikes). I've decided to live with it, it's not horribly bad and is un-noticeable if you never take your hands off the bars, or if you do, just lean way off the side of the bike to keep it on the road.

I still love the bike, the motor, the looks, but it will be the last Indian I ever buy.
 
LousyPups said:
Update:
Service manager called. Said engine problem with bike shutting down while riding couldn't be replicated and should clear up with 500-600 miles on it. this is the first bike (of many) I've ever owned with kind of issue.
Click to expand...
I have had the cut out problem on both my FTRs. A decent bench tune will eradicate this completely. Unfortunately these bikes do not come in a good state of standard tune out of the showroom.
 
Really feel for you, a few of us have had things to work through, once you know that your bike is right, it's such a terrific, easy to use/enjoy with minimal ongoing costs -checking tyre's and chain occasionally
 
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