RIDE REVIEW I KING OF THE BAGGERS INDIAN CHALLENGER
P80
"You can carry 60° lean angle
no problem, and you can run it
around the corner at a huge rate
of knots," says McWilliams. "But,
trying to make yourself learn
that is quite difficult. Trying to
convince yourself that you're
not going to lose traction when
you're at a 60° lean angle with
the engine cases touching—it's
going to stick, it's going to stick.
Convincing myself that I could
carry that entry speed was the
hardest thing for me. Until you
no problem, and you can run it
around the corner at a huge rate
of knots," says McWilliams. "But,
trying to make yourself learn
that is quite difficult. Trying to
convince yourself that you're
not going to lose traction when
you're at a 60° lean angle with
the engine cases touching—it's
going to stick, it's going to stick.
Convincing myself that I could
carry that entry speed was the
hardest thing for me. Until you
(Top) Tyler
O'Hara ran
modified 48mm
Ohlins forks from
a 2019 Ducati
Multistrada 1260
Pikes Peak on his
2022 race bike.
The team will
change to more
race-spec units
in 2023. (Bottom)
Swingarm is a
stock unit with
heavy bracing.
(Right) The agility
of the bagger has to
be experienced to
be appreciated.
do that, you can't really go fast
on a bagger. That's why Tyler is
so good—he's prepared to step
outside those comfort zones."
It's hard not to look at the Mo-
toAmerica King of The Baggers
as the two-wheeled NASCAR,
even more so when you open
the gas and let that monster of
a motor roar. This is by far the
most masculine motor I've rid
-
den in years, and its intake roar
is something to behold.
"We're really focused a lot on
airflow," says Bailey. "It's mainly
all top-end work. We create
the camshafts, CNC-machined
cylinder heads, and the 110mm
big-bore pistons. We machined
some rocker arms, too, just for
the higher rpm limit. All four
rocker arms are different and
machined out of a solid chunk
of steel. The intake manifold on
these bikes is actually 3D-print
-
ed aluminum, which is kind of
cool, and then the outer runner
