Indian Motorcycle to produce a run of 29 purchasable King of the Baggers race bikes

Indian Motorcycle and performance experts S&S Cycle are celebrating Tyler O’Hara’s 2022 King of the Baggers championship win in the most wonderfully ludicrous of ways, building a limited production run of the bike he raced that could be lining up on your next trackday.

Costing in the region of $100,000, the UK is set to get just one bike, with the other 28 machines split between Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, and Japan.

The reason for producing just 29 bikes is because that is the number O’Hara ran over the 2022 season – also clinching the Super Hooligan championship in the same year aboard a heavily modified FTR naked roadster.

The extreme bagger racer, which is being called the Indian Challenger RR, is based on the firm’s 1768cc Challenger V-twin cruiser, which would ordinarily produce a claimed 120bhp and 131lbft of torque at just 3800rpm.

Unlike the standard £26,795 machine, the limited-run bruisers will be built to full 2022 racing specification, allowing dedicated fans the exact experience of O’Hara and veteran racing teammate Jeremy McWilliams – meaning it’s all about going as fast as possible and can no longer be ridden on the road.

“Originally, the thought of road racing baggers was perplexing to many, and even downright offensive to some road racing purists. But in just three short years, King of the Baggers has emerged as the hottest thing in motorcycle racing as these bikes have rapidly evolved in their sophistication,” Indian’s Vice President of Racing, Technology and Service, Gary Gray said. “We thought it would be awesome to give people the opportunity to own the bike that holds the crown.

“We’re excited to embrace the fandom of bagger racing and celebrate our second title with this highly exclusive, special run of Indian Challenger RR motorcycles.”

He continued: “This bike is the real deal, much like when we released the venerable FTR750, the Indian Challenger RR is a true race bike and is not street legal. Put in the right hands, it will reach the podium in Moto America’s King of the Baggers race series.”

In order to make the bikes ready for competition, each Challenger undergoes an extensive makeover, leaving hardly any of the standard motorcycle remaining.

Take the engine, outside of the obviously visible two-into-one S&S racing exhaust, there are also new camshafts, a 112 CID big-bore cylinder/piston kit, a new air intake with 78mm throttle body and K&N cone filter, CNC ported cylinder heads, and billet adjustable rocker arms.  

Protecting that motor is an S&S belly pan, with the firm also adding sportier foot controls to assist with ground clearance. On those, you’ll also find a quickshifter and a billet clutch cover providing protection in the event of a spill.

But that’s not all, because also gone is the standard suspension, 19in front, and 16in rear wheel – replaced by 17in rims with Dunlop treaded race tyres, plus fully-adjustable Öhlins FGR250 front forks and an Öhlins TTX rear shock.

The bikes have also been converted to chain drive and the swingarm has been modified to cope with the additional power and tolerances required in the corners.

From there, you’ll also find carbon fibre saddlebags, a more aerodynamic set of bodywork, and even Brembo M4 front calipers biting onto chunky 330mm Alpha Racing discs with specialist SBS pads. To be in with a chance of owning one of these specialist machines, Indian Motorcycle say you should contact your local dealership to register an interest.