Yes sir, that's my Indian Roadmaster and my brother has a Chief Vintage. Both ride really nice. And I find the stock seats on both to also be too good to consider replacement, although lots of others do buy aftermarket seats. The stock seat on the R18 is HARD and it only gets worse for the pillion. Thank goodness there are alternatives and more coming from the aftermarket all of the time. As for comparing the Indians to the R18, I would consider the comparison "apples & oranges". The Indian Thunder Stroke models are big and heavy and, while they do handle very nice for their mass, you will notice their weight. The R18 IS a heavy bike at 760 pounds, but it feels much lighter because of the very low CG. That's why I like having the Indian AND the R18... I consider the R18 my "sportbike" for the tight, twisty roads. The Indian Scouts are a better comparison to the R18, even though their engines are much smaller. The BIG V-twin in the Thunder Strokes do put put a lot of heat and that rear cylinder/head radiates plenty of BTUs. It's being stopped or moving in very slow traffic when gets the hottest. But it's that catalytic converter close to the right floorboard that is the worst offender. I removed mine and "gutted it" to make a big reduction of felt heat. With that modification, I don't find that heat is a big issue anymore.
Choices for dealerships are, of course, a local & personal matter. I'm fortunate to have both BMW & Indian dealerships less than an hour away. Oddly enough, it wouldn't have been a big deal for me if they were much farther, because I'm a retired professional mechanical technician. Even so, to own and ride a great bike, I think that a rider's "heart's desire" shoot be the primary reason to choose the bike, as opposed to the proximity of the brand dealership.
Pretty cool that you and your brother both have Indians. I have wanted one for years. I currently ride an R1200GS and am reluctant to sell it unless I know for sure I am comfortable on the Chief. Heat and Suspension are the two questions for me. The R18 was the front runner to replace my GS ... am on my longstanding Cruiser trip and want to get back to cruisers ... or some variant of them like the R18 ;-) . The rear suspension on the R18 was brutal on my lower back unfortunately ... I wrote to BMW and suggested they incorporate DeSa in the next version ... they actually acknowledged that it was a good idea ... so am hopeful. Till then, I am researching seats - maddeningly the R18 Sprung heritage style "Harmony" seat is still not available with the bikes even on order here where I live (Bombay). Also it does not help that the road conditions are very demanding and one needs plush suspension if they are to protect L2L3L4 or whatever disk that gets POUNDED on our kind of roads. An aside ... if anyone wants to experience Off-world driving conditions - like say rallying on the moon or Mars surface - please come to Bombay and drive on our roads ... I am sure it will be pretty close. But I digress ... So in my quest for a Cruiser i had some years ago bought a Harley Heritage Softail classic ... lovely machine but felt like a small truck. Rear suspension was terrible on my back so I brought in "Shotgun" air shocks. Thanks to those I was able to hold on to the Harley for a couple of years ... even then the suspension just could not handle our road conditions and I sold it for the GS. While I love the GS plush ride, I still yearn for a cruiser and the Indians have been in my radar well before I even bought the Harley so its the culmination of a long standing dream .... if I acquire a Vintage . The new 2021 models come with Air shocks and rear cylinder deactivation also the Springfield chassis as well as the 116 TS engine. I estimate huge heat but also have plans to gut the cat .- been chatting with many Indian owners overseas and the boys from Singapore (same heat as Bombay) swear by that fix. Unfortunately I can't own 2 bikes :-( simply can't work the numbers because here in India the government LOOTS the people on import duties and taxes for imported heavy bikes. Its like some French Revolution where they like to guillotine "the rich" (anyone who wants a performance vehicle or a heavy bike is considered Aristocracy and fodder for the Guillotine - even though most of us have to sell everything to just own one and do so with loans etc ... that does not concern them - Hit us with Vile duties - so two bikes for me .... unaffordable) . Had hoped the R18 would be the one and waited and waited but now I find that i Am re-evaluating between chief vintage or R18. Since I can have only 1 ... I am inclined toward the Chief because of the Pillion comfort which under ANY circumstance, I do not see happening on the R18 . Simple geometry of the rear end tells me that a pillion on that bike is surely asking for trouble on anything other than the most silken of roads.
