Fresh off the factory floor, the custom-built 2023 Indian Challenger RR is one of only 29 in existence worldwide and the only one to have made its way to New Zealand.
The bike is an exact replica of the machine used by United States racer Tyler O’Hara to win the 2022 King of the Baggers Championship, a recently formed contest that pits long-standing rivals Indian and Harley-Davidson against one another.
Indian’s decision to make 29 bikes was not arbitrary, but rather a nod to Mr O’Hara’s original racing number.
Wānaka Powersports general manager Daniel Irwin said he had leapt at the opportunity to acquire the bike when it became available late last year.
"We've got a couple of private collectors that we’ve dealt with in the past that I know will be interested in this, so we were able to grab it and stitch it up for the shop here in Wānaka."
He said there was certainly some novelty in owning a bigger model of bike "not known for going around around tracks or around corners so well" that was now competing in a class of its own.
"They’re out there lapping almost as fast as the big leader race bikes now, so it’s pretty impressive."
Prospective buyers keen to flaunt their purchase around town may want to think twice, as the motorcycle is not street-legal. Key features such as headlights are absent, replaced with decals.
"It’s a race-only bike, you can’t use it on the street," Mr Irwin said.
"It really is a collector’s item."
He said the decision to fill the bike with petrol, or even turn it on for the first time, would be at the buyer’s discretion.
While the bike would not be making any runs to the grocery store, Mr Irwin said the opportunity to show off its power would come at track days, which motorcycle clubs around the country held fairly regularly.
"Turn up with your bike, put some fuel in it, away you go."
Mr Irwin encouraged anyone interested in viewing the bike to stop by the Wānaka Powersports showroom.
The bike would also be on display at the E. Hayes & Sons store at the Burt Munro Challenge, which runs in Invercargill between today and Sunday.
"You never know, if we’re lucky we’ll find a purchaser down there that wants to kick it in the guts and we can all hear it run."
