Indian Motorcycle and Workhorse Speed Shop have announced the comeback of Appaloosa at the 2020 Baikal Mile, an extreme test of rider and machine on the ice surface of Lake Baikal, Siberia. Appaloosa v2.0 will make its 2020 racing debut in Russia, revealing a radical new look, from February 25 to March 1.
The Baikal Mile first took place in March last year 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 and racing culture events due to the extreme conditions of Siberia. With specially prepared 1/8-mile and 1-mile ice tracks, teams will be challenging themselves to set speed records on a variety of specially prepared vehicles alongside stunt riding, drifting, drag racing, flat track and freestyle motocross.
The Scout Bobber, originally transformed by Brice Hennebert for the 2019 Sultans of Sprint series, has been modified for the challenges of racing on ice and the extreme Siberian conditions with continued support from top-level partners Akrapovič, Beringer Brakes, Dunlop Europe, Evok3 Performance, Motorex, Öhlins and tuning advice from Flybike.
To grab the ice and propel Appaloosa down the strip, the SportSmart Mk3 tyres supplied by Dunlop Europe, have been hand-fitted with hundreds of studs, a task which took Brice’s mechanic, Dorsan, four days of work. To control the cooling of the engine from the extreme temperatures, the “mouth” of the fairing has been closed off with a new carbon fibre nose cap and smaller cooling intakes have been added to the side fairings.
Upgrading the NOS system was a priority for better reliability and power with the original system replaced with a Nitrous Express setup. Öhlins Racing has added a steering damper to the full suspension suite supplied in 2019 to keep Appaloosa stable at the higher speeds targeted. Finally, to protect the pilot and to keep a clear view ahead, areas around the wheels have been closed off inside the fairing to control the ice thrown up by the studded tyres.
