Who Won the King of the Baggers Race?

The thought of a pack of V-twin baggers wallowing and scraping their way down Laguna Seca’s infamous Corkscrew section just didn’t seem to make sense to plenty of race fans at first. But as top names signed up to pilot the bikes and big-time aftermarket companies stepped up to offer support, MotoAmerica’s King of the Baggers Invitational turned out to be much more than a sideshow to MotoAmerica’s season finale. The eight-lap race on Saturday, October 24, was an intense, immensely watchable contest, and when the smoke cleared, it was Tyler O’Hara mounted on the S&S Cycle Indian Challenger who took the checkered flag.

Related: RSD To Enter King Of The Baggers Race With Indian Challenger

Of course there were mishaps and drama galore, including one for the eventual race winner. In an interview on MotoAmerica, O’Hara said, “Three or four laps in, I was going into (turn) two, and I didn’t have any moments [there] the whole weekend, and just ended up tucking the front,” resulting in his going all the way off the track and allowing second-place rider Hayden Gillim on the Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to take the lead. “We didn’t have any rear brakes at all either, so that was a little interesting. We just did our homework and I was very fortunate that I was able to keep it on two wheels in the sand.”

In addition to holding titles in motocross, flat track, and supermoto racing, O’Hara also had experience on V-twins, which no doubt helped him get comfortable in the KOTB. In an earlier interview, he said, “[My] racing XR1200 twins for five to six years I think is going to transition over as far as racing a two-cylinder and a heavier bike. I think it’s going to be unique, but when it comes to racing, the same techniques and fundamentals apply to whatever you’re riding.”

Related: Indian Motorcycle Teams With S&S For King Of The Baggers

As for prepping the Indian Challenger for the race, S&S focused on key refinements. S&S’s lead project engineer, Jeff Bailey, explained early on, “With just a little bit of tweaks I think we’re going to be very competitive. We’ve got a ton of experience with air-cooled, pushrod V-twins. It’s where our history is, which also leads us to knowing what their disadvantages are.” Which, loosely translated, likely meant they knew how to beat the Harleys on the track, though Gillim did secure the second slot on the podium with his Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Standard, and in fact swapped the lead position with O’Hara for much of the last few laps.

Related: Outlaw Baggers: Racing Baggers on the street

The other Indian-mounted competitor was veteran flat track and roadracer Frankie Garcia, on an Indian Challenger built and prepped by the Roland Sands Design team. Garcia also made a good showing, grabbing third place in the race, giving Indian two of the three steps on the podium.

After the race, winning rider O’Hara summed up the vibe of the event: “It was just fun to put on a show with these guys. My hats off to everybody who rode a bagger this weekend because some of the bikes out there didn’t look too fun to be on. So hats off to the team.”

Of the 14 teams entered, 9 completed the race. The final results are as follows:

1. Tyler O’Hara, S&S Indian Challenger

2. Hayden Gillim, Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Standard

3. Frankie Garcia, Roland Sands Indian Challenger

4. Travis Wyman, Trask Performance H-D Road Glide

5. Cory West, SlyFox Performance H-D Road Glide

6. Eric Stahl, Alloy Art Mfg. H-D Road King

7. Tony Sollima, The Speed Merchant H-D Electra Glide Standard

8. Josh Chisum, Barnett Clutches H-D Street Glide

9. Logan Lackey, Arlen Ness H-D Road Glide

For more info see: motoamerica.com.