The Harley-Davidson vs. Indian rivalry is a good American traditional on par with the likes of Military vs. Navy, Lakers vs. Celtics, Ford vs. Chevy, Pepsi vs. Coke, and even…Google vs. Bing? Okay, perhaps not that final one, however you get the purpose. Harley and Indian have been at one another’s throats going again over a century, save for a 50-odd-year pause within the center when Indian initially closed its doorways. However when Polaris purchased the keys to the palace and opened the doorways once more, the battle resumed as intense as ever when the FTR750 flat tracker began beating Harley’s legendary XR750. Repeatedly.
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Naturally, the rivalry continued over to the asphalt because the King of the Baggers class – initially slated to be a one-off race at Laguna Seca – grew to become such a success that MotoAmerica tapped it to change into a part of choose rounds on the calendar. With that, the sport was on. Harley struck first, successful the 2021 championship with Kyle Wyman aboard the Screaming Eagle Manufacturing unit Highway Glide. Then, in 2022, Indian struck again, taking the title with Tyler O’Hara aboard the Challenger Bagger.
Spectacular, sure, however it’s onerous to utterly perceive what goes into these baggers to make them do what they do – therefore why Indian invited Yours Really to come back see the 2022 championship-winning Challenger baggers, and even take one for a spin.
This bike is shut, however not precisely just like the one we received to experience. The obvious distinction is the air cleaner. The bikes we rode used a distinct setup with a round air cleaner with its higher tip tucked beneath the gas tank.
A True American Scorching Rod
Reworking an Indian Challenger into not solely a race bike, however a championship-winning race bike in a position to battle – and win – towards the would possibly of Harley-Davidson is not any straightforward job. Indian teamed up with S&S Cycles to construct these bikes, with S&S Head Honcho Jeff Bailey additionally the Chief Engineer of the undertaking. By way of the modifications and engineering, these are full-on superbikes. Simply in numerous garments.
Per the foundations, the principle body remains to be inventory. The form of the frame-mounted fairing can be the identical however is constructed from lighter supplies. The headlights themselves are gone and a vinyl sticker software provides it the looks of getting the inventory lights. And that’s simply the beginning of the place the road will get blurred between inventory and modified.
The inventory Indian Challenger has enormous pistons as it’s, however in race trim it will get even greater, cast items.
Race groups are at all times coy when speaking about what’s beneath the hood, and Indian’s intelligent wordplay states that the “core engine” remains to be retained from inventory, however everyone knows there’s nothing inventory about it. For starters, the crankcase most important bearings are locked into place to assist with reliability. There are customized camshafts, 110mm massive bore pistons and cylinders, CNC ported heads, and billet handbook lash adjuster rocker arms – and that’s simply what the staff have been keen to inform us. Aside from the principle bearings being fastened, there’s no phrase on whether or not the crankshaft is inventory, modified, or totally different altogether.
Technically, the swingarm is the inventory piece, however it’s been closely braced and strengthened to deal with the added energy and cornering forces being despatched by it. In contrast to Harley-Davidson, who CNC machined an all-new swingarm out of billet, you’ll be able to clearly see remnants of the Indian Challenger swingarm nonetheless there, beneath all of the bracing.
The swingarm bracing is critical, as seen right here. You’ll discover the inventory Challenger swingarm above the weld, and every part beneath is added on for extra bracing. Be aware additionally the totally floating brake rotor and Hayes radial-mount caliper.
For reference, the 2021 Harley-Davidson bagger featured a totally customized billet swingarm.
Using a intelligent little bit of racecraft, the gas tank can be the inventory piece – technically. Nevertheless it’s been sliced in half down the center, with a bit taken out, and the 2 sides squished again collectively. The gas sender has additionally been moved from the best aspect of the tank to the left so as to make area for the air cleaner, the higher tip of which tucks beneath the tank, and massive 70mm throttle physique protruding the best aspect of the engine. For 2023, the air cleaner juts out and ahead from the throttle physique, relieving the area beneath the tank.
In accordance with Indian, the radiator and transmission are additionally leftovers from the inventory Challenger, although there’s no phrase as as to whether extra rows have been added to the previous to assist with cooling. There’s additionally a quickshifter on the transmission – one thing conspicuously lacking from the Harley.
To get correct front-end geometry, these customized billet triple clamps have been made with totally different offsets and an insert within the center to fine-tune the dealing with for various tracks.
S&S stepped in and, with the assistance of chassis tech Kyle Ohnsorg, an completed racer whose day job is working at Indian, made the bike deal with higher than something this massive has the best to. Huge adjustable billet machined triple clamps get the entrance wheel positioned prefer it ought to, and swingarm angle is adjusted, too. There’s Öhlins suspension entrance and rear, which additionally serve to lift the bike for extra cornering clearance. Nonetheless, Indian needed to request particular dispensation from MotoAmerica to change the underside of the body, beneath the radiator, for extra clearance since its riders have been scraping it on the bottom throughout testing.
Different goodies embody a billet entrance axle, modified air induction system (talked about earlier), a 2-into-1 stainless-steel exhaust, a billet clutch cowl with the cable pull mechanism relocated from the underside to the highest of the case for extra floor clearance, trick billet rearset foot controls (mounted basically the place the passenger pegs can be on the usual Challenger), the customized handlebar meeting to swimsuit manufacturing unit riders Jeremy McWilliams and Tyler O’Hara, customized bellypan, a sequence conversion (for extra gearing choices relying on the observe) and subsequent chain tensioner, rear brake caliper hanger, rear axle meeting, and the adjustable fairing mount.
The billet clutch cowl is reshaped to permit further floor clearance, however it additionally relocates the clutch pull from beneath the case to the highest. Be aware additionally the customized rearsets and quickshifter.
The race staff experimented with a number of totally different brake choices from virtually each producer beneath the solar. The 2022 bike we rode wore Brembo Stylema calipers on twin Brembo T-Slot rotors, Spiegler brake strains, and a Galespeed 19×19 grasp cylinder. A Hayes caliper is used within the rear. A sequence of wheel producers have been used, too, however the bikes we rode have been sitting on Dymag UP7X cast aluminum wheels measuring 17” x 3.5” in entrance and 17” x 6” within the rear. For this specific take a look at, which was carried out in chilly and windy situations, the wheels wore Dunlop This fall trackday tires. Usually they put on Dunlop slicks. Rounding out the trick bits are a customized seat by Saddlemen, carbon fiber saddlebags, a fiberglass rear fender, and an AIM DL2 sprint show/datalogger.
Driving The Beast
There’s nothing that may actually put together you for the expertise of using a bagger that’s been closely modified to not solely race – however to win. It is a world the place 520-something kilos is taken into account mild, the place the sensation of piloting a faculty bus is taken into account regular, and the overwhelming sensation that none of that is proper… is totally good. I used to be assigned the quantity 99 bike, piloted by Jeremy McWilliams – one among my childhood heroes. Having raced every part beneath the solar, together with two- and four-stroke MotoGP bikes, McWilliams is almost 60 years outdated and nonetheless tearing it up on no matter he’s in a position to get his fingers on, together with manufacturing unit baggers. It was an honor to get a style of his workplace.
It could not appear like it, however it was chilly and windy throughout our trackday. With such a priceless machine at my disposal, the very last thing I wished to do was toss it down the highway. Therefore my timidness.
Driving a motorcycle this massive and this uncommon on a racetrack is horrifying and intimidating sufficient as it’s. The chilly and windy situations zapped my confidence much more. With solely quarter-hour with the bike at my disposal, there can be lots to perform in a brief period of time.
The largest adjustment was merely accounting for the way giant the Challenger actually is. In a world the place sportbikes are attempting to be as small and slender as attainable, sitting on the Indian and looking out on the tank, bars, and big entrance fairing in entrance of me introduced me again to grade faculty, the place I’d sit at enormous desks giant sufficient to suit all my third grade arts and crafts proper on prime. It made no sense, and but it made good sense. The attain to the bars is farther away than I keep in mind on the Harley bagger I rode a yr prior, exacerbating that feeling of largeness.
You can begin to get an concept for the way large the cockpit space is on the Challenger racebike. The froth pad on the finish of the tank is a welcome place to latch the skin knee whereas cornering. A simple answer for footpeg placement was to relocate the pegs and controls to the mounting factors that might usually be used for the passenger on a inventory Challenger.
Concurrently, whereas adjusting to the dimensions of the bike is acclimating to the facility. Or, extra particularly, the torque. Certain these bikes are making energy (I wasn’t instructed immediately, however the estimation is round 150 hp), however massive V-Twins are all about torque. The Challenger Bagger scoots together with an urgency you don’t anticipate from one thing this massive, however years of sportbike using engrained the behavior of revving an engine as excessive because it’ll go earlier than altering gears. To Indian’s credit score, the slick-shifting transmission is comfortable to do it as its quickshifter makes rowing up by the gears very easy – regardless of me taking a full lap to regulate to the tiny shifter McWilliams prefers on his bike (downshifts are nonetheless carried out with the clutch).
However using it this fashion has two downsides. First, this engine is burdened sufficient as it’s. When these two enormous jugs get spinning near redline, the vibrations arising by the bars is one thing fierce. Sufficient to make my imaginative and prescient blurry. Second, revving that prime doesn’t allow you to reap the benefits of all of the torque at your disposal. As I let the bike keep a gear excessive, I rapidly discovered I wasn’t within the mistaken gear in any case. There’s loads of torque to drag me alongside, even when the auditory cues of a motorcycle loping alongside aren’t what I’m used to on a racetrack.
At 58 years of age, and having ridden every part beneath the solar in his storied profession, Jeremy McWilliams doesn’t must be doing this nonetheless. When requested why he’s nonetheless at it, he replied, “I don’t know what retirement is. I can’t see myself doing that. I nonetheless love the problem of pushing myself and the motorbike to the max. That’s why I rise up within the morning.”
After two laps to wrap my head across the dimension and energy, and to offer the tires time to heat up, I began to really feel extra comfy pushing just a little extra. That is when one other shock hit me: the bike was extremely straightforward to show. Actually, it initiates a flip and adjustments course faster than something this massive has a proper to. Moving into I anticipated an enormous, burly motorbike. The Indian’s nimbleness is spectacular – and never only for one thing so massive. It’s merely spectacular.
If there’s a chink within the armor, it’s the bolted body building between the principle body and the subframe. None of that is allowed to be modified, and in contrast to the strong one-piece body building of the Harley, with the Indian, you’ll be able to really feel the chassis twisting when you get shifting at a critical tempo and mix lateral cornering forces with big V-Twin torque. It’s an eye-opening expertise the primary time you encounter it since you assume one thing is mistaken, like a tire that’s nonetheless chilly. I’d have fallen for that entice if chassis tech and racer Kyle Ohnsorg hadn’t warned me about it earlier within the day.
The Challenger in race trim handles surprisingly nicely, however it’s nonetheless a psychological problem to construct the arrogance to scrape the knee on the bottom after solely a handful of laps.
As soon as I used to be pretty assured the tires had some temperature in them, I might anticipate the flexing within the body, and although I used to be by no means totally comfy with it, I might modify my using to mitigate its results. After all, that is straightforward to say for somebody with no intentions of racing one among this stuff. It actually highlights how heroic (or silly) McWilliams, O’Hara, and actually anybody who races a bagger is, that they will push this stuff to some mightily lap occasions.
Brakes can get ignored as a pivotal piece to the racebike puzzle – till you really need them. Clearly, with this a lot mass to sluggish, solely the most effective brakes will do, and lap after lap I might get the Indian slowed with no reservations or worries. The braking really feel was agency, suggestions was crisp, and there wasn’t a touch of fade to be discovered. As soon as once more, spectacular is the most effective phrase that involves thoughts.
Right here, Bobby Fong is exhibiting simply how far over a bagger can go.
Kudos to the Champ
As my temporary time with the Indian Challenger bagger got here to an finish, I laughed at myself for being so intimidated by it. Sure it’s massive and burly, however it rides like an absolute sweetheart. The V-Twin thrust is ridiculous, and the nimble dealing with simply shouldn’t be attainable. After all, this comes after using the bike at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, which doesn’t have a lot when it comes to lengthy straights. Exchange Chuckwalla with Daytona and my thoughts is as soon as once more boggled at what these bikes – and their pilots! – are in a position to do.
As one of many few very fortunate individuals who have had the privilege of with the ability to experience each the Harley and Indian baggers, drawing comparisons is simply pure. With solely a short while on every (though each in chilly situations, satirically sufficient), it’s onerous to drill down micro variations. On a macro stage, nonetheless, it felt to me just like the Harley had the extra secure chassis due to its strong building, and fired out of corners higher. To the Indian’s credit score, it wins on preliminary turn-in, top-end velocity, and has a greater transmission. Contemplating each O’Hara and McWilliams have had the most effective seats in the home in relation to analyzing their competitors, they each echoed the identical sentiments when evaluating their bike towards their rival’s.
When the bagger sequence was first introduced, critics have been in all places. Hell, I used to be one among them. A couple of years in and a number of other races later, I can say I’m a convert. The equipment is tremendous trick, the riders are tremendous human, and better of all, the racing is definitely actually good. It simply goes to point out that in case you strive onerous sufficient, you’ll be able to race just about something.
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