Indian motorcycle made history this past weekend. A new production 2015 Indian Scout and the modified Chief named “Elnora” tore across the El Mirage dry lake bed in the final Southern California Timing Association event of the season. It was the last chance for the factory to earn an SCTA certified run, and both machines proved their durability with strong debuts by the rookie land-speed riders.
The Indian Scout was ridden by Gary Gray, Director of Indian Motorcycle Products. Gray leads a team that interacts with both the design and the engineering groups to define the current and future products for the brand. Gray spent several weekends in 2014 racing vintage Scout motorcycles in FIM and USCRA, and twisted the new Scout’s throttle to 128.447 mph on the dusty 1.33-mile course. The motorcycle Gray rode had a stock engine, and was built to the P-P 1350 class with just modified handlebars to race. This same motorcycle will be tweaked by the engineering team for a return to the venue just to go faster and “see what she will do.”
Elnora was piloted by Indian Motorcycle PR Manager, Robert Pandya. The very same Chief that traced Cannon Ball Baker’s centennial route from San Diego to New York City in May, was refitted with stock fenders (though the back of the front fender was cut off), an accessory air cleaner and a custom 2-1 exhaust pipe. Slotting into a modified class (A-PG 2000), Elnora also had custom 17-inch wheels and racing rubber, relocated footrests and different handlebars designed to tuck the rider into the wind. She ran a stock Thunder Stroke 111 however, including the stock belt drive system, and despite being a hard-ridden development bike (ultimately destined for the crusher) she pulled out a 130.227 mph top speed.
Indian Motorcycle would like to thank the many friends of the brand who made the weekend possible. Team Klock Werks’, Lloydz Motorworkz, RC Components, Dunlop, Fox Shocks, IndianMotorcycles.net, Conquest Customs, Ricochet Customs, Saddlemen, the IMC Engineering, Dynojet and the people at the SCTA, especially the Gear Grinders club for hosting us.
With both a 2014 Chief and a 2015 Scout officially running a sanctioned race event, Indian Motorcycle continues the tradition started by its legendary founders Hendee and Hedstrom—to build great products and to show the world what they can do.
Elnora will be on display in the customs showcase at the Long Beach International Motorcycle Shows event November 14-16, 2014, alongside the “Spirit of Munro” tribute motorcycle. For more information, visit motorcycleshows.com.