Five Roland Sands Design (RSD) custom Indian Scout Hooligan bikes will compete in the race piloted by Roland Sands, Red Bull racer Aaron Colton and special guest riders. Hooligan racing is a throwback to post-war era where riders took virtually any available motorcycle to race in the spirit of seeking adrenaline and camaraderie. Indian Motorcycle has partnered with Roland Sands Design to create five Hooligan racing bikes based on the Indian Scout platform.
The Hooligan Scouts will race in the RSD Super Hooligan event in Las Vegas, with a world-class team of riders that includes Roland Sands himself, Red Bull/KTM stunt rider Aaron Colton, plus some surprise guest riders. These Hooligan bikes will be revealed to the media on Friday November 20 during the International Motorcycle Shows press event in Long Beach, CA.
The street-bike races will race indoors on a short track at the Las Vegas Orleans Hotel & Casino on the evening of Saturday November 21 and are presented in partnership with Roland Sands Design (RSD) and AMA Pro Flat Track in conjunction with the “Superprestigio of the Americas” race.
“The Scout is a great machine upon which to base a custom bike with modern rider friendly performance. The engine and chassis are rock solid and don’t need a lot of work, so DIY customizers can focus on the aesthetic modifications,” said Roland Sands. “It has been a blast designing and building these custom Indian Scout Hooligan bikes and after a quick test run at the local flat track I feel we have a competitive bike that will rip on the track.”
Hooligan racing is traced back to the 1930s, at a time when legendary Indian Motorcycle dealer Clarence “Pappy” Hoel began organizing regional hill climb events and flat track motorcycle races in and around Sturgis, South Dakota.
Hoel was a founding member of the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club and he and the Gypsies are credited with starting the now world famous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in 1938.
Today the flat track Hooligan racing category is rapidly gaining popularity with riders of all ages and experience levels because it brings the fun back into a less structured environment where any rider can race virtually any motorcycle. Framers or custom race chassis machines are not allowed in the class. It’s designed to allow racers to lightly modify existing street bikes for racing.
Indian Motorcycle’s rich history in racing dates back to its inception with records in every racing category, including land speed, dirt track, transcontinental racing and at venues like Daytona and the Isle of Man TT.
In 1911 the Federation of American Motorcyclists published the records for 126 different categories of racing and different distances, and of those 126 racing records, Indian Motorcycle owned all 126.
“It is an honor for Indian Motorcycle to sponsor the Super Hooligan event in partnership with Roland Sands Design and the folks at the Superprestigio of the Americas,” said Steve Menneto, President of Motorcycles at Polaris Industries. “Given the incredible racing heritage of the Indian Scout in our DNA, it’s really exciting to have five amazing Roland Sands custom Indian Scouts racing. It’s going to be a great event.”
More information on the Superprestigio of the Americas visit Superprestigio. Fans will be able to enjoy live streaming of the event on Fans Choice TV.
Cool!
show AND go ☺
Sweet. Love the Poster!
it would be a better race with other brands of bikes.
Exciting. I wish I could be in Vegas. Go Scout!
I want to be a Hooligan! But can I?
Kind of pricy cost of admission for so new untried event.
2 Chuck, agreed in the long run, but for now it’s sponsored by Indian and is good advertising for their brand. If the race catches on and becomes popular it may go the way of Formula V or Formula Ford racing, where half the fun is limiting builders to the same basic vehicle as a starting point. No reason why H-D couldn’t have done the same thing with Sportys years ago-they could even have had separate 883 & 1200 classes. The minute you have different brands it seems you end up with sanctioning bodies screwing it all up with weight penalties, intake restrictions, god knows what-all to make sure no brand/model can dominate by daring to be better. Personally I’d rather see, “where any rider can race virtually any motorcycle” like you, but right now it’s on Polaris’ bill so they can make the rules.
How about Dressers? All different makes. The bags would be a good place for all the sponsors decals.
I can see it now, a FLHTC banging off a Victory Vision. Bodywork flying all over the place.
A Road Glide diving low on a Kawasaki Vaqureo. I’d watch!
The Super Hooligan Class will have many brands in it. It’s just being supported by Indian Motorcycle and RSD. ‘Cuz it’s fun.
I hope to see some enthusiasts out at the track –
Robert Pandya
External Relations Manager
Indian Motorcycle
Would be interesting to watch……. once or twice anyway….
-nicker-
2 RP, cool, thanks for clarifying, to my eyes the article implied it was all Scouts. Looks like great fun. An “all Scout” heat might still be cool, just like the “all VW drags” events some strips do.
Woody’s – it IS an Indian Motorcycle press release you know….we may be a little biased.
Rp
@ RP, thanks for clarifying that, I did not realize that it was written by Indian, I thought it was a story from Cyril. I have to say, the last year or two it’s been very difficult here to distinguish reporting from advocating 🙂
Anytime a motorcycle company with history does something like this, its just gotta make you smile. There is nothing negative about it.
Its an awesome idea reborn. Good on Indian for sticking to the brands heritage and for keeping it real. When racing becomes a cubic dollar race, it is not much fun and eliminates enthusiasts with a blue collar budget. ” Run whatcha brung”