Polaris, which acquired Indian Motorcycle in 2011, has entered into an agreement to sell a majority stake in the iconic American motorcycle brand to Carolwood LP, a private equity firm. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.
While Carolwood will take over the business, Polaris will maintain a small equity position in Indian. The majority of Indian’s team will be retained under the new deal, including 900 employees.
“Polaris and Indian Motorcycle both stand to benefit from this deal, which will enable each business to move faster, deliver industry-leading innovation, and lean further into our respective market strengths,” said Polaris CEO Mike Speetzen.
Indian will retain engineers, designers, and other staff, as well as manufacturing resources. Indian’s manufacturing facilities in Spirit Lake, Iowa, and Monticello, Minnesota, will transition to the new company, as well as the industrial design and technology center in Burgdorf, Switzerland. Polaris states that Indian Motorcycle will continue to provide sales, service, and support for dealers and customers through the transition.
Taking over as CEO of the new Indian Motorcycle company is Carolwood-selected Mike Kennedy, who has more than 30 years of experience in the motorcycle industry. He’s served as CEO of RumbleOn and Vance & Hines, and he spent 26 years in various positions at Harley-Davidson, including as vice president and managing director of Americas.
Upon the closing of this deal, Mike Dougherty, Polaris president of on road and international, will retire after a 28-year career with Polaris. He will stay on until the deal is finished to assist with the transition.
Carolwood, founded in 2014 and based in Los Angeles, is a private equity firm with the objective “to acquire a diverse portfolio of assets with long-term growth opportunities.”
“Indian Motorcycle is an iconic brand built on American heritage, craftsmanship, and most importantly, a community of riders,” said Andrew Shanfeld, principal at Carolwood. “We’re honored to help usher in its next chapter as an independent company and to support its continued growth as a symbol of performance and pride. At Carolwood, we target iconic brands that we can passionately impact. Indian Motorcycle allows us to do just that.”
The final three doubleheader King Of The Baggers events for 2025 concluded by late September, but it only took Harley-Davidson’s Kyle Wyman three of the six races to claim the championship.
During the weekend of Aug. 16-17, the KOTB race teams headed to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where Vance & Hines H-D racer Hayden Gillim scored his first podium and win of the season. The second race saw the Indian rider and 2024 champ Herfoss atop the podium.
At the Circuit of the Americas doubleheader on Sept. 13-14, Wyman’s 4th-place finish in the first race secured him the championship. It was a good thing for Wyman because he ran into the curbing on the last lap of the second race and did not finish. Instead, Herfoss finished in 1st.
With Wyman already in possession of the KOTB crown, the final doubleheader took place at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Sept. 27-28, where Gillim and SDI Racing’s Cameron Petersen each scored wins. With all the points tallied, Indian’s Loris Baz finished the season in 2nd overall, followed by Herfoss.
Congrats to Wyman and Harley-Davidson for winning the 2025 KOTB championship! The schedule for the 2026 season is already out, kicking off March 5-7 at Daytona International Speedway.
In our last AFT update, Dallas Daniels and Briar Bauman had been swapping the points lead back and forth. A late-season mechanical mishap would alter the course of the championship.
The Peoria TT saw another 1-2 in the Bauman-
Daniels rivalry, but the script was flipped at the Springfield Mile I & II doubleheader. The first event saw Daniels earn the win with Bauman finishing in 4th, putting Daniels within two points of series-leader Bauman.
The Springfield Mile II, the second-to-final round, was the turning point, with seven riders crossing the finish line within one second of each other. Daniels finished a respectable 2nd behind Trent Lowe, but Bauman suffered mechanical issues that resulted in a black flag and a 14th-place finish, vaulting Daniels into a 13-point lead with only 23 points left in play.
Predictably, Daniels held steady in the season’s final race at Lake Ozark with a 3rd-place finish. Bauman finished in 1st, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Daniels’ points lead. The Estenson Racing team celebrated Daniels’ first Grand National Championship, and Harley-Davidson celebrated a highly competitive year with the most 1st-place finishes of the season.