J&P, V&H, and Indian: How a dream-team deal came together

J&P Cycles is planning to make a splash in the MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers paddock this race season as a new sponsor for an established team with a new motorcycle and three championship-winning riders. Racing starts tomorrow at Daytona International Speedway.

After two years of racing Harley-Davidsons with RevZilla sponsorship, Vance & Hines jumped at the opportunity to run the J&P Cycles/Motul/Vance & Hines Factory Indian team this season. Just as quickly, J&P Cycles (sister company to RevZilla as part of the Comoto Family of Brands) jumped in as a sponsor. It was a confluence of events that set up an opportunity that nobody wanted to miss.

the entire team lined up with the three King of the Baggers race bikes at the track at sunset — Vance & Hines has decades of success in racing, from the drag strip to flat tracks to road racing. Co-founder Terry Vance (fourth from the left) says putting together this year's effort with a new motorcycle has been a tremendous amount of work for the team, but he's confident that the Indian Challenger is a strong platform to chasing down another championship. Indian Motorcycle photo.

Terry Vance said he enjoyed working with Harley-Davidson but it's always difficult to run an independent team competing with the factory team of the same brand. So the chance to take over management of the Indian factory-backed team "was a no-brainer, really." The pieces fell easily into place because Indian is now under new ownership and CEO Mike Kennedy is the former CEO at Vance & Hines, so everyone knew exactly who they'd be working with.

"We have literally cried at the race track tighter, we have fought at the race track together, celebrated at the track together," Kennedy said of the Vance & Hines crew.

"That's why I really jumped at the opportunity to have a real factory team," Vance added, "because with Mike at the helm I know that I'm going to get dealt with straight-handedly."

side view of the race bike parked at the track at sunset — The Indian Challenger PowerPlus in race trim, ready for the opening round of competition at Daytona. And now with J&P Cycles aboard. Indian Motorcycle photo.

Similarly, it didn't take any persuasion to get J&P Cycles aboard, either. As Vance described it, he called Comoto CEO Zach Parham and the conversation moved quickly.

Troy Herfoss posing with his race motorcycle — Former Australian Superbike champion Troy Herfoss aims to repeat his 2024 King of the Baggers championship. Indian Motorcycle photo.

"I called Zach and said, 'We're thinking about moving over to the Indian factory team,' and he said, 'We're in.' I didn't even get the word 'team' out of my mouth. I said, 'Well, don't you want me to give you the pitch?' And he said, 'No, we're in.' That's the kind of support we're getting," Vance said.

"Of course I said 'Yes' when Terry called," said Parham. "It's like a King of the Baggers dream team. We have J&P Cycles, founded by my parents the same year that Vance & Hines was founded and both committed to V-twin motorcycle riders. We have the chance to run the factory team for Indian, celebrating 125 years. And we have three championship-winning riders. How could I say no?"

The team's rider lineup consists of three guys who not only have won championships, but have won those titles in different categories, proving their versatility. Troy Herfoss is a multi-time Australian Superbike champ who came to the states and won the 2024 King of the Baggers championship. Hayden Gillim won the 2023 King of the Baggers title as well as a MotoAmerica Stock 1000 championship. And Rocco Landers has won three titles in MotoAmerica Junior Cup and Twins Cup.

Hayden Gillim posing with his race motorcycle — Kentucky native Hayden Gillim won the King of the Baggers title in 2023 and has finished in the top four all three years he has raced in the class. Indian Motorcycle photo.

"Rider wise, couldn't be any better," said Vance. "If I scoured the earth and looked for somebody, Troy would be right at the top of my list. He came over here to America, never seen the tracks, and won a championship. That's a feat that's off the charts. And he's a great guy, he's really sharp, and he's a competitor. To be able to team him up with Hayden and Rocco, it's like a dream deal. Hayden is a Stock 1000 champion and a Bagger champion. He's like Energizer Bunny guy. He just keeps going. He's so tough. I'm his biggest fan on the planet. I've got years of relationship with him. And you've got Rocco, who's won more races in MotoAmerica than just about anybody and he's just 20 years old. Really, really good potential for the future."

While the team was positive following pre-season testing in Texas and Georgia, nobody knows how the Indian Challenger race bikes will stack up against the 2026 competition until the racing begins for real in Daytona. It's been a lot of work, naturally, taking over the factory race team program and beginning anew with a different motorcycle. Vance sees advantages with the modern PowerPlus engine, however.

Rocco Landers posing with his race bike — At age 20, Rocco Landers has three championships and 55 race wins, more victories than any other rider in the MotoAmerica era, due to his strong performances coming up through the ranks in Junior Cup and Twins Cup. Indian Motorcycle photo.

"The powerplant on the Indian Challenger, the PowerPlus engine, is a really good platform and we're really excited about the durability of it," Vance said. "We expect to be changing parts less often."

close view of the drive train of the race bike — From massaging the Indian PowerPlus engine to the Vance & Hines exhaust, a lot of work goes into building a King of the Baggers race bike that's slimmed down to 630 pounds and is capable of doing 185 mph on the high banks at Daytona International Speedway. Indian Motorcycle photo.

The races at Daytona on Friday and Saturday will mark the start of a seven-round, 14-race season for the Mission King of the Baggers series concluding at New Jersey Motorsports Park in September.