INDIAN BAGGER HITS 200 MPH
Indian Challenger smashes a 58-year-old Land Speed Record at Bonneville
Who said baggers can’t haul ass? Indian Motorcycle just proved otherwise — blasting a race-spec Challenger to a record-smashing 194.384 mph average (with a top run nudging 200!) across the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats.
Two-time King of the Baggers champ Tyler O’Hara hopped on a purpose-built Challenger, tuned with help from S&S Cycle and Mission Foods. The mission? Go really, really fast — and make Burt Munro proud. (Remember Burt? The Kiwi legend hit 191 mph back in ’67 on a home-built Scout.)
Indian’s Bonneville beast started as a stock Challenger but got the full hot-rod treatment: bigger throttle bodies, ported heads, race cams, a custom exhaust, Öhlins suspension, carbon-fiber bodywork — even the saddlebags are carbon. The result? A nearly 600-lb touring rig flirting with superbike speeds.
O’Hara sums it up best:
“You’re tucked in, going 190, the bike’s dancing under you, your brain says back off, your gut says stay in it… then wooosh — finish line.”
Takeaway: Next time someone says baggers are just for cruising, tell them about the Challenger that went 200 mph on salt.
There you have it: a proper American-made touring bike offering menacing straight-line speed. Keep in mind: most of your run-of-the-mill 200-horsepower superbikes top out at about 190 mph