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Even though I recently wrote about the proliferation of limited-edition models and Patrick Garvin, in our annual predictions story, speculated about the possibility of a King of the Baggers model hitting U.S. showrooms, I have to admit I did not see this one coming.
Just in case you want to have the biggest, arguably baddest (though not necessarily fastest) machine at your next track day, Indian is offering a Challenger RR edition built in conjunction with S&S Cycles, that you can buy for your very own closed-course use, for the not inconsiderable sum of $92,229.
Only 29 examples of the Challenger RR will be built by the team at S&S that built the Indian Challenger that Tyler O'Hara used to win the 2022 MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers series. The bike was unveiled today at Daytona Bike Week, where the baggers are about to start their season.
"This bike is the real deal," said Gary Gray, Vice President – Racing, Technology and Service for Indian. "The Challenger RR is a true race bike and not street legal. Put in the right hands, it will reach the podium in MotoAmerica's Mission King of the Baggers race series."
As our own Zack Courts found out when he test rode this Indian's competitor from Harley-Davidson, these race bikes may have a silhouette similar to the baggers you see on the street, but the resemblance is not even skin deep. The list of S&S parts on the Challenger RR goes far beyond hotting up the engine, adding Öhlins suspension, and switching to a chain final drive. Just to cite two reference points, the seat on the Challenger RR is a full 8.5 inches higher than the one on the typical Challenger touring unit and the RR weighs 220 pounds less. From the adjustability built into the engine management to the vestigial carbon fiber saddlebags (don't expect to pack much in them, but also don't expect them to drag at lean angles your street-legal Challenger could never dream of), the RR is a bagger for racing, not a bagger for doing typical bagger things.
Despite the incredible amount of engineering that goes into making a bagger a real racing motorcycle, you still have to be a rider of a very particular mindset to choose something that costs this much and reportedly weighs 620 pounds for your track-day mount. Of course Indian mentions not just "die-hard track riders" but also "collectors" as potential buyers of these 29 bikes. One has to wonder how many of the 29 will ever get the chance to put all those specially made S&S billet parts, Öhlins suspension pieces, and Brembo front brakes to their intended use and how many will merely lounge in splendor on a pedestal.
Despite being a company that mostly sells lumbering cruisers, Indian has a significant racing pedigree, and not just in the distant past. In addition to winning the MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers series last year, Indian has also won the American Flat Track championship the last six years. That's on top of historic racing achievements such as victory at the Isle of Man TT in 1911 to the original Wrecking Crew's dominance of Grand National flat track racing in the 1950s and Burt Munro's land-speed records retold in the popular movie "The World's Fastest Indian." I'll give Indian credit for capitalizing on that racing history and the current interest stirred up by the King of the Baggers series by building something the public can aspire to own... if only we had a spare 930 Benjamins lying about unencumbered.
And give them credit for building the 2023 motorcycle I did not see coming.
| 2023 Indian Challenger RR | |
|---|---|
| Price (MSRP) | $92,229 U.S.; $113,399 Canada |
| Engine | 1,834 cc, liquid-cooled, 60-degree V-twin |
|
Transmission, final drive |
Six-speed, chain |
| Claimed horsepower | N/A |
| Claimed torque | N/A |
| Frame | Cast aluminum |
| Front suspension | Öhlins FGR250 inverted 43 mm fully adjustable fork |
| Rear suspension | Öhlins TTX fully adjustable shock |
| Front brake | Dual Brembo M4 calipers, 330 mm discs |
| Rear brake | Hayes caliper |
| Rake, trail | 23 degrees, 4.5 inches |
| Wheelbase | 65.75 inches |
| Seat height | 35 inches |
| Fuel capacity | Six gallons |
| Tires | Dunlop Q5 120/70R17 front, 200/60R17 rear |
| Claimed weight | 620 pounds |
| More info | indianmotorcycle.com |
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