BAGGING A GOOD'UN

There are some things in life that just don’t make much sense, but never let that be said of baggers on a race track, banging bars and scraping panniers.

- RENNIE SCAYSBROOK

It might sound like a concept that’s been dreamed up down a pub over a pint or 10, but as our friends across the pond have shown over a few seasons in the MotoAmerica ‘King Of The Baggers’ series, taking luxury cruisers, trimming them down in weight, cranking up the horsepower and hitting speeds of up to 160mph is a sight and sound that race fans the world over very much need in their lives. Yep, it’s every bit as bonkers as it sounds, as has been validated by our Aussie mate and TT racer Rennie Scaysbrook, who took last year’s championship-winning Indian out for a spin...

Chuckwalla Raceway is my local track in California. It’s a bit of a goat track, but it’s got some decently quick bends and elevation changes that always keep you on your toes.

Conservatively, I’d say I’ve completed 3000 laps here over the last eight years, way more than any other racetrack I’ve ridden. I know this place like the back of my hand, but on the Mission Foods/S&S Cycle/Indian Challenger of Tyler O’Hara that won the 2022 MotoAmerica King of The Baggers championship, I may as well be on Mars.

O’Hara’s beastly bagger sounds like one half of a NASCAR and goes almost as fast, but that’s not the scary bit. It’s the way the chassis moves under me like it’s permanently got a teeny tiny spray of oil on the street-spec Dunlop Sportmax Q4 rear tyre—you know, just enough to keep you on your toes but not enough to throw you down the road—that has me worried.