What Motorcycles Are in King of the Baggers?

The rivalry between Harley Davidson and Indian Motorcycles is one of the oldest in the motorcycling world, dating back to the start of the 19th Century. Indian Motorcycle was established in 1901 and Harley Davidson in 1903. However, Indian Motorcycles went through several ups and downs, economic crises, and closures until the acquisition and revival by Polaris Industries in 2011. Meanwhile, Harley Davidson successfully survived the World Wars and the Great Depression era to become the largest and most popular American motorcycle manufacturer. Both Harley Davidson and Indian Motorcycles are considered to be the true American motorcycle brands as they both carry the legacy of producing motorcycles that are loved by American riders, including cruisers, touring bikes, performance cruisers, and baggers.

In recent times, another motorcycle type, known as the performance bagger, has originated and gained popularity over time. Baggers are the American version of a touring bike and are one of the highest-selling motorcycles in America. Owing to their massive popularity, motorcycle enthusiasts have started modifying their baggers with performance-oriented and racing parts for road racing which led American motorcycling organizations to launch a specific racing event, called the King of the Baggers. This event is specially organized for American baggers in which both Harley Davidson and Indian Motorcycles take part with their specially modified performance baggers.

King of the Baggers is a recently established motorcycle racing event in which Harley Davidson and Indian motorcycle baggers participate. This racing event started in 2020 and was organized by MotoAmerica and Drag Specialties at the Laguna Seca racetrack.

MotoAmerica is an American organization that operates in North America. This organization aims to promote motorcycle racing in North America and prepare successful and talented riders for global racing events, including the MotoGP and the World SBK Championship.

Meanwhile, Drag Specialists is one of the largest aftermarket motorcycle parts distributors in the world, with its headquarters in Janesville, Wisconsin, U.S., and it is owned by Lemans Corporation.

Two of the biggest names in the American motorcycling world, S&S Cycle and Roland Sands are also affiliated with this event to prepare baggers for road racing. Both are pioneers in motorcycle engineering and design. Roland Sands, the owner of the Roland Sands Design is a renowned custom motorcycle builder and a former motorcycle racer. Whereas, Paul Langley, the president of the S&S Cycle is also a former racer passionate about high-speed motorcycle racing.

The first seasons of King of the Baggers gained massive popularity and piqued the interest of motorcycle enthusiasts, as they watched two of the fiercest and longest rivals, Harley Davidson and Indian Motorcycle, competing in a bagger race. The first season of The MotoAmerica King of the Baggers was won by Kyler Wyman, who was riding on the Screamin’ Eagle Harley Davidson Road Glide Special. The season was completely dominated by Kyler Wyman, who set several lap records in every race. Tyler O’Hara emerged to be another successful bagger racer in the King of the Baggers championship, finishing at the second spot after giving tough competition to Wyman. O’Hara was riding on his Indian Challenger, prepared by S&S Cycle.

The second season of King of the Baggers witnessed another close racing competition between the two tough competitors, including Kyle Wyman, who was riding his Screamin’ Eagle Harley Davidson Road Glide and Tyler O’Hara, who was riding his Indian Challenger. In the final race held at New Jersey Raceway, Kyle Wyman secured the first position by beating Tyler O’Hara, who finished in second place. Before the final race, the point table was dominated by Travis Wyman, brother of Kyle Wyman, but things completely changed after the final race in New Jersey. Despite Kyle Wyman’s win at New Jersey, he was not able to secure the first spot at the overall points table and Tyler O’Hara became the 2022 King of the Baggers Champion by securing a total of 123 points.

The third season of King of the Baggers was held in 2023 on Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The last-year winner of the Kings of the Bagger, Tyler O’Hara, was all set to defend the title another time on his Progressive Insurance/Mission Foods Indian Challenger. Kyle Wyman, the 2021 Kings of the Baggers Champion, was ready to take on the challenge on his Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson Road Glide.

After tough competition, Tyler O’Hara on his Progressive Insurance/Mission Foods Indian Challenger secured the first position with only a difference of 0.316 secs from James Rispoli who finished in the second spot. Rispoli was riding his Vance & Hines/Mission Harley-Davidson Road Glide. Meanwhile, Kyle Wyman, the winner of the King of the Bagger’s first season came third in the race.

It was O’Hara’s second consecutive win in the King of the Baggers racing championship, winning him a cash prize of $5,000.

Two of the fierce American competitors, Harley Davidson and Indian Motorcycles are the two participants in the King of the Baggers racing competition. Both motorcycle manufacturers, with their esteemed baggers, race against each other to claim the title of the King of the Baggers.

Using the Harley Davidson Road Glide Special as the base model, Screamin’ Eagle has prepared the Screamin’ Eagle Harley Davidson for one of its factory-team riders, Kyle Wyman, who has performed exceptionally well in all the King of the Baggers championships and won the first season. The Screamin’ Eagle Harley Davidson is a performance bagger with several performance upgrades and structural changes. This motorcycle is taller than the original Harley Road Glide Special to ensure better ground clearance for improved leaning and cornering performance. As a performance bagger, the Screamin’ Eagle Harley Davidson is equipped with race-inspired parts, along with a large shark-nose fairing and saddlebags.

The Screamin’ Eagle Harley Davidson is powered by a 131 cu in Screamin’ Eagle powerplant capable of producing an impressive horsepower of more than 150 hp and a torque of 177.6 Nm at the rear wheel. A mushroom-style air filter has been installed to ensure better air intake. The engine has been tuned to provide a quick throttle response and smooth power delivery available at almost every gear level. Being a racing motorcycle, this performance bagger can lean up to 55°. Despite several changes made to the base motorcycle, the Screamin’ Eagle Harley Davidson uses the same standard Harley Road Glide frame. This motorcycle also received Öhlins suspensions and Brembo brakes for an extraordinary racing performance.

In the process of increasing the ground clearance, the Screamin’ Eagle Harley Davidson’s seat height has become exceptionally tall, measuring 36.4 inches. , This new height makes it impossible for normal and shorter riders to touch both their feet on the ground simultaneously. As a track-race performance bagger, this motorcycle lacks a headlamp, and an additional oil coolant has been placed in the headlight area of the fairing.

To participate in the King of the Baggers Championship, Indian Motorcycles collaborated with S&S Cycle to modify and customize a top-of-the-line Indian bagger, the Indian Challenger. The Indian Challenger is one of the heaviest baggers in the Indian lineup, weighing 831 lbs, and making it race-ready was one of the biggest challenges for the S&S Cycle. After several modifications and upgrades, the custom builders were successful in reducing the weight of the S&S Cycle Indian Challenger to around 620 lbs.

As per the rules of the King of the Baggers event, builders are allowed to make only a few changes to the frame to increase the ground clearance of the motorcycle. Apart from this, most of the motorcycle parts must be used in their stock form.

The S&S Cycle Indian Challenger was powered by a 112 cu in (1,835 cc) 60° liquid-cooled, V-Twin engine capable of producing a horsepower of 150 hp and a torque of 203.37 Nm. To make it race-ready, the horsepower was increased by replacing the stock intake system and 58 mm throttle body with an oval-shaped air intake fitted underneath the fuel tank.

Like all the performance baggers participating in the King of the Baggers event, the ground clearance of the S&S Cycle Indian Challenger was also increased for better leaning and cornering capabilities. For this purpose, a customized 48 mm Öhlins front fork was used. The 2023 S&S Cycle Indian Challenger for the King of the Baggers has been further upgraded with Öhlins FGR series fork installed on most superbikes designed for the World SBK Championship.

The S&S Cycle Indian Challenger is a more compact bagger than the Screamin’ Eagle Harley Davidson, with a smaller wheelbase. The large Indian Challenger’s fairing has stickers installed, mimicking headlights and turn signals to keep the overall weight low. The saddlebags are also slammed and shortened to ensure a better leaning angle. Other weight-reducing methods used by S&S Cycle include the installation of front and rear fenders, hard saddlebags, and a tank cover made of carbon fiber. The S&S Cycle Indian Challenger also used titanium fasteners to reduce the weight.

To transform a bagger into a racing motorbike, race-inspired Dunlop road racing tires wrapped around 17-inch Performance Machine wheels were used. To improve its steering angle and handling performance, the rear end of the S&S Cycle Indian Challenger was raised slightly using a rear suspension link. To improve its sportier stance and aggressive riding posture, adjustable Klock Werks KlipHangers handlebars were installed. This motorcycle was also equipped with Brembo brakes, along with Galfer brake pads, to enhance its stopping power.

If you are a huge fan of the King of the Baggers and want to own the S&S Cycle Indian Challenger, the manufacturer has also introduced the replica version of the two-times King of the Baggers winner, called the Indian Challenger RR. Being a limited edition race-track motorcycle inspired by the S&S Cycle Indian Challenger, the Indian Challenger RR comes at a base price of $92,229.

Roland Sands Design is another competitor of the King of the Baggers Championship with its modified Indian Challenger. The RSD Indian Challenger has not yet achieved notable success in the King of the Baggers Championship, especially when it comes to outperforming the Screamin’ Eagle and S&S Cycle. However, it is just the beginning of bagger racing, and every season is expected to bring more excitement and more upgrades to improve the racing performance of baggers. The RSD Indian Challengers are ridden by Bobby Fong and Frankie Gracia, both of whom have come closer to winning the King of the Baggers title several times.

The RSD Indian Challenger uses a modified 112 cu in engine with several power-enhancement features, including the Maxx electronic control unit (ECU) to tune the motorcycle for better racing performance. This motorcycle comes with an S&S Cycle two-into-one exhaust system, modified air intake, and K&N oil and air filters. Moreover, the stock battery has been replaced with a lithium-ion battery in an effort to reduce the motorcycle’s weight.

The Sachs front forks are derived from the Indian FTR1200, and the rear suspension includes the Öhlins TTX shock, along with an RSD linkage to adjust the height of the motorcycle. The RSD Indian Challenger is installed with race-inspired Dunlop tires wrapped around 17-inch aluminum wheels by RSD. The same wheels were used in the Victory Project 156 Pikes Peak motorcycle by the RSD team. Like the S&S Cycle Indian Challenger, it also uses the headlamp and turn signal decals. The RSD Indian Challenger is designed in collaboration with S&S Cycle, which is the reason why the RSD and S&S Indian Challenger motorcycles have several similar features. The fuel tank has been modified to install a large, round-shaped air intake, with half of it positioned beneath the fuel tank. The RSD Indian Challenger weighs almost 1 lb more than the minimum weight limit for baggers eligible to participate in the King of the Baggers, which is 620 lbs.

The King of the Baggers is a great racing platform for bagger fans to witness the fierce rivalry between Harley Davidson and Indian Motorcycle on the race tracks. Both Harley Davidson and Indian Motorcycle are top American motorcycle brands with their production history spanning more than a century. Also, both brands are renowned for their cruisers and baggers lineups. To bring something exciting and cheerful for American bagger fans, MotoAmerica, in collaboration with Drag Specialists, initiated a bagger racing event called the King of the Baggers in 2020. This idea gained immense popularity among American bagger fans and enthusiasts. As a result, the event is witnessing continuous growth. The Roland Sands Design team, S&S Cycle, and Screamin’ Eagle contribute to the King of the Baggers by introducing their highly modified baggers to the race tracks, along with their dedicated racing team. The Harley Davidson Road Glide and the Indian Challenger are the two esteemed baggers that take part in the King of Baggers.

In their stock form, baggers are highly comfortable motorcycles with large fairing and saddlebags. If you don’t own a bagger or a touring bike, Viking Bags can help you enjoy comfortable long-distance rides as it offers tons of cool equipment that not only makes your motorcycle good-looking but also improves the touring performance of your motorcycle. The aftermarket parts and luggage bag options available at Viking Bags include saddlebags, tour packs, baggers bags, tank bags, trunk bags, sissy bars, backrests, fairings, and crash bars.