Indian Chief Dark Horse Safety Advisement

The following is a copy of an e-mail I sent to Indian Motorcycle. I also posted it on their Forum. Their response has been “Your IP address has been banned”. Be careful starting your Indian. The kickstand safety on my bike did not work. It had worked on previous start-up attempts.
On April 20, 2018 I was injured while ‘riding’ one of your motorcycles, 2016 Chief Dark Horse. I was sitting on the bike, parked, engine off, transmission in first gear, kickstand down in a parking lot. Intending to move the bike to join my riding group in another part of the lot, I turned on the electronics by the button on the gas tank, pulled in the clutch lever, shifted into neutral (confirmed by the dash light), left the kickstand down, and pressed the start button. The motorcycle immediately surged forward, eventually falling on its right side, slamming me against the pavement. The motorcycle righted itself, continued forward, fell to its left side, throwing me clear. I sustained a concussion, a broken collarbone, a broken rib, and a collapsed lung. I was still wearing my Arai Profile full face helmet, my Olympia riding jacket and pants and padded gloves, and leather 8 inch boots, which I believe prevented further injuries.
I was transported by air ambulance to the Palomar Medical Center, Escondido, Ca. where I stayed for five days in their trauma unit before I was discharged. Now that I am home, I am continuing my treatment at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Boise, Idaho. My total medical expenses are approaching $200,000. I’m hopeful my medical insurance will cover three-fourths of this amount. This is all due to the fact that your motorcycle moved from a parked location, while the transmission indicator light showed ‘neutral ‘ and the kickstand was down. This is contrary to what you state in the manual, which, unfortunately, I believed. I no longer trust what your company says, and I tell everyone I meet, that they should not trust you either. You make a ‘pretty ‘ but unsafe motorcycle.

The motorcycle was trailered by friends to my home, where it still sits on the trailer in my garage. My intention is to have it inspected by an independent investigator to confirm my statements.

 

Only when I shifted into neutral. But you are right, in the end, it was my fault. The bike is set up to look like one of my old bikes, saddle bags and a windshield, and I should have treated it like an old one, and not believed in or relied on new technologies. Another few weeks and I’ll be back on it.

 

No, I was pretty much out of it. A concussion will do that.

 

I wasn’t planning on moving it immediately, I was still hoping the others would move to my shady area. The bike has a safety switch on the kickstand, which is supposed to prevent the bike from starting if the transmission is in gear. I wanted to start the bike, not move the bike.

 

The insurance investigator took pictures of the bike at my house, no one responded to the scene. CHP arrived an hour later after I had left.

 

I agree, pictures would have been nice. Take care, I’ll see you out there in a few weeks.