Some may have wondered why Loris Baz did he go astray on an Indian in the King of the Baggers championship this year, a category of the championship MotoAmerica which, seen from our side of the Atlantic, hardly corresponds to the image we have of motorcycle racing...
First of all because of the bikes themselves, which are either Harley Davidson Road Glide or Indian Challenger, in both cases HUGE machines absolutely not designed for this exercise.
Let's take for example the case of the Indian, of which the French pilot is one of the three official representatives, with the Australian Troy Herfoss and the Californian Tyler O'Hara.
At the start, we have a 112 cu-in (1934cc) motorcycle with 126 hp and 181,4 Nm of torque at 3800 rpm, which weighs 372 kilos empty. Yes, but it is mandatory to remove the rearview mirrors, the kLaxon, the ssupport de plaque registration, the bbox à tools and the bekeel lateral. In addition, thees bars de security, the supports de crutch Central et lateral welded au with a safe environment, principal may but wish to remain conscious withdrawn. We've made good progress, even if we've left the good old air-cooled rocker arm aside for the occasion...
The frame must remain original, which gives us these nice wiggles on the American tracks, even if a few very small modifications are allowed, mainly to increase the ground clearance, and the swingarm is free. This is the main weak point of these machines.
Conversely, the liquid-cooled, double overhead camshaft engine, called PowerPlus, is limited only by its fuel system, which must remain stock. Everything else, or almost everything else, can be modified: cylinder heads, camshafts, valves, pistons, connecting rods, crankshaft, etc. Enough to gain a lot, a lot, of horsepower. We are now probably not far from 200 horsepower, which remains modest given the displacement, but inevitable given the design of the engine and its limitation to 7700 rpm in racing (7000 for Harley Davidson).
We don't play with safety, so we limit the minimum weight to 281.23 kg (620 lbs.) and we authorize top-level suspensions (Öhlins) up to $8000 (front and rear) as well as brakes of the same ilk without price limit (Brembo GP4). Aerodynamically, the elements are redone in carbon but we obviously keep the bags as well as the fork crown, the latter being able to be very slightly improved in its shape.
Indian 2023
Of course, no ABS, no Traction Control, no Ride Height Device, almost free exhaust (115 dB/A measured at 3000 rpm), Dunlop slick tires, and we unleash the wild beasts, more like tigers than cats, on the Daytona ring, where the suction allows for notable improvements in top speed, especially when 3 or 4 whales tow you away, pushing the air out in front of you...
The result, according to the highly specialized journalist Sean Bice, Tyler O'Hara ( S&S/Indian Motorcycle) propelled its Indian Challenger to an impressive speed of 310 km / h (193,0 mph) on the fourth lap of the eight he completed in the second race of the Mission King Of The Baggers championship at Daytona (304,16 km/h according to the official sheet)! That's faster than the fastest participant in the Daytona 200, which allows Panigale V2s!
Did you say "the world upside down"? In any case, even if he had to be content with driving at 297,88 km/h, Loris Baz must have had a lot of fun...
Credit for the beautiful opening photo: @scottodell_motoart
Indian King of the Baggers