Indian Appaloosa 2.0 Revealed In Siberia

When GP legend Randy Mamola was tapped to pilot Brice Hennebert’s Appaloosa build at the Sultans of Sprint and other events last summer, we knew it would be a raucous and flat-out fun series of races. And even though the one-of-a-kind Indian custom became a fan favorite as it competed throughout the circuit in Europe, it turns out it was just the first of such contests for the nitrous-injected, Scout Bobber-based dragbike. Now Indian has revealed the latest iteration of Appaloosa—one with new looks, more power, and more purpose. Check out Appaloosa 2.0.

Like the first version of this build, this second-generation Appaloosa is Hennebert’s doing, with his Workhorse Speed Shop in collaboration with Indian Motorcycle. But the latest dragster just unveiled by Indian and Workhorse on the frozen surface of Lake Baikal in Siberia, has a few major changes to speak of. Reengineered to now produce 150 hp from its stock sized 1,133cc liquid-cooled engine (the original Appaloosa was said to output 130 hp) and now wearing a new nose fairing, fresh paint as well as spiked ice tires, Appaloosa 2.0 is set to be raced on a straight-line 1-mile sheet of the frozen slippery stuff, piloted by Sébastien Lorentz during the 2020 Baikal Mile Ice Speed Festival from February 25 to March 1.

The Baikal Mile had its first run last March and is now set to become an annual fixture on the motorsport calendar. Run on the ice off the eastern shore of Lake Baikal, the festival is one of the most unique international motorsport events due to its setting in Siberia. Machines will make speed attempts on specially prepared 1/8-mile and 1-mile ice tracks on a variety of specially prepared vehicles. There will also be a series of stunt riding, drifting, drag racing, flat track, and freestyle motocross events going on to keep crowds entertained.

Related: Sultans of Sprint

Although there’s a Scout Bobber hidden somewhere in its bones, and you can see parts of it remining in the gas tank and chassis, the last thing Appaloosa was built for is cruising. Hennebert initially created it for the 2019 Sultans of Sprint series, but has heavily modified it for the challenges of ice racing in Siberia’s extreme conditions, requiring thousands of hours of design and fabrication with support from top-level partners Akrapovič, Beringer Brakes, Dunlop Europe, Evok3 Performance, Motorex, Öhlins, and tuning advice from Flybike. Upgrading the NOS system was a big priority so the crew replaced the original system with a Nitrous Express setup for better reliability and power on the ice. Öhlins Racing also chipped in a steering damper to the already-robust full-suspension arrangement supplied in 2019 to keep this Appaloosa stable at the higher speeds it’ll be running.

Because of the extreme temperatures, the open “mouth” of Appaloosa’s fairing was closed off with a new carbon fiber cap to better control cooling of the engine, and smaller cooling intakes were added to the side fairings. For traction on ice and to get Appaloosa the best grip down the slippery strip, Dunlop Europe stepped up with a pair of SportSmart Mk3 tires hand-fitted with hundreds of studs (a job that took days to complete). To that end, additional pilot protection was added to control the ice chunks being thrown up from those studs, with gaps around the wheels closed off inside the fairing.

With the bike’s purpose so drastically flipped from its original target of asphalt sprints, it seemed right to give Appaloosa 2.0 an entirely new paint scheme as well, which was designed by Benny Maxwell from Axesent in Japan and expertly applied by Matthias [Van Brussel] from Moto Peinture.

Creator Brice Hennebert says he is looking forward to the challenge of the ice track, “The feeling is crazy, it’s a bit like going racing on the moon. There’s absolutely no reference point, we go to a desert of ice in Siberia where it can be -40 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit) at night -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day. I’m super excited and a bit lost at the same time as we have no idea what to expect.”

Given the complexity of the task at hand, Hennebert has chosen his teammates carefully for the challenge. “I’m lucky enough to share this incredible adventure with two of my best friends. Sébastien Lorentz and Dorsan ‘DJ Peeta Selecta,’” he says. “Séb, from Lucky Cat Garage and organizer of the Sultans of Sprint championship, will be piloting Appaloosa. Dorsan, the DJ for Sultans of Sprint, will be helping me with the technical aspects.”