Tyler O’Hara becomes not quite the world’s fastest Indian
Indian’s Tyler O’Hara set a new Bonneville record at 194mph on a Challenger bagger - quick, but still not quite fast enough to steal Burt Munro’s unofficial crown.
Racing has been baked into Indian Motorcycle’s DNA since the company was founded in 1901, and you can’t talk about Indian and speed records without mentioning the late, great Burt Munro.
The Kiwi legend took his heavily modified 1920 Indian Scout to the Bonneville Salt Flats and, in 1967, recorded an unofficial 205.67mph, earning him the title of “The World’s Fastest Indian”.
Fast forward to 2025, and Indian is back at Bonneville. This time, instead of a battered Scout with homemade pistons and a Kiwi accent, the weapon of choice was a full-fat King of the Baggers race bike. Built by S&S Cycle and ridden by two-time Baggers champ Tyler O’Hara, the Challenger was sent charging across the salt to see just how far modern engineering could push it.
The result? A new AMA 2000cc APS-AG record of 194.384mph, smashing the long-standing mark of 169.828mph set back in 1972 on a Triumph. Respect where it’s due: O’Hara and the Indian Wrecking Crew pulled it off in style, and 194mph on something the size of a small shed is not to be sniffed at.
But, and here’s the rub, he’s still a few miles per hour shy of Munro’s legendary 205mph. Yes, Burt’s run wasn’t officially certified (his fastest 'official run was clocked at 184.087mph), but the legend looms large, and O’Hara has effectively become not quite the world’s fastest Indian.
That said, he did it on a bagger. With panniers. On the salt. At nearly 200mph. Burt made his runs on a svelte streamliner which was featherlight and highly modified. If anything, that makes it even madder than Burt’s Scout. And let’s face it, Burt never had to wrestle a fully-faired Challenger through the shimmering horizon at wide-open throttle.
Indian says the run was about celebrating history and “the timeless pursuit of speed”, and on that front, job done. Whether or not O’Hara toppled Burt’s ghost, he’s definitely written himself into the Bonneville story.
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
