Indian Motorcycle has made a serious statement in the American V-twin scene with the launch of its new in-house performance arm called the American Racing Operations, or ARO. It wouldn’t be incorrect to say that this will take on Harley-Davidson’s long-dominant Screamin’ Eagle lineup.
ARO (pronounced “arrow”) is set to deliver factory-developed performance parts, race-inspired upgrades and tuning solutions for Indian’s V-twin machines. It’s a natural next step, especially given the brand’s growing credibility in racing, particularly through its Challenger-based efforts in the King of the Baggers championship.
The division pulls directly from Indian’s race programme, developed in collaboration with Vance & Hines. In fact, ARO makes its public debut with a new two-into-one race exhaust system, already being used on Indian’s factory race bikes.
For road riders, the first offering is a GP Slip-On exhaust designed for PowerPlus-powered touring models. Developed with input from Vance & Hines co-founder Terry Vance, the system borrows styling cues straight from road racing, complete with race-style outlet screens.
While Indian has offered performance upgrades before, ARO signals a bigger ambition – a unified, factory-backed performance identity. More exhausts, intake systems and hard parts are already in the pipeline.
