Indian Bike Week Lives On — And What It Says About the New Era
Some stories are about more than their headline. This is one of them.
Indian Bike Week — the largest grassroots Indian Motorcycle gathering in the United States — has secured its future. After a period of uncertainty, organizer Arturo Eguia (Art) and the leadership of Indian Motorcycle under CEO Mike Kennedy have reached a formal agreement that protects the event's name, its identity, and its future on both sides. The details of the contract remain confidential, but the outcome is not. Indian Bike Week lives on.
For the thousands of riders who have attended over the years, that is good news. For anyone watching how Indian Motorcycle conducts itself under Carolwood's ownership, it is something more significant than that.
The Man Behind the Event
Art is one of the most important figures in the modern Indian Motorcycle grassroots community. A former dealer and passionate advocate for the brand, he created Indian Bike Week from nothing — driven by a conviction that Indian owners deserved their own major gathering rather than always being a sideshow at Harley-centric rallies. He was, by many accounts, doing things to promote the Indian Motorcycle brand that the previous corporate marketing team had not thought of.
In 2016 the event set a Guinness World Record with more than 250 Indian motorcycles participating in a parade ride. It grew year after year, attracting riders from across the country and becoming a cornerstone of the Indian Motorcycle owner community. Built by a rider, for riders. That has always been its strength.
How We Got Here
Like many independent events built around a major brand, Indian Bike Week navigated a complex relationship with the trademark holders over the years. What began as a communication issue between the event and the corporate side gradually escalated into something more formal — the kind of situation that can happen when passionate, independently-minded people and large organisations are not always talking directly to each other.
Under the previous ownership structure, resolving that kind of situation was not always straightforward. Indian Motorcycle was one part of a much larger business, and the channels for genuine dialogue between an independent grassroots organizer and the people who actually made decisions were not always clear or accessible.
That has changed.
The Conversation That Changed Everything
Since Carolwood LP completed its acquisition of Indian Motorcycle in February 2026, Mike Kennedy has made direct, personal engagement with the riding community a cornerstone of his leadership. He rides to events. He visits dealers on motorcycles. He sits down with riders. And when Art reached out to discuss the future of Indian Bike Week, Kennedy engaged directly and personally.
Over a series of meetings between Art and the Indian Motorcycle leadership, the two sides worked through the situation and found common ground. A formal agreement has now been signed. The finer details remain confidential — but the outcome is clear.
Indian Bike Week is back. The name is safe. The event moves forward.
What This Year's Event Looks Like
Indian Bike Week 2026 runs from Saturday 15 August to Sunday 23 August at Rivers Edge Apple River Campground, 1820 Raleigh Road, New Richmond, Wisconsin — set in the beautiful St Croix River Valley spanning the Minnesota and Wisconsin border. Always held the week after Sturgis, it is the perfect way to extend the riding season into the heart of Indian Motorcycle country.
The week begins with early arrivals gathering in Stillwater, Minnesota from Thursday 13 August. The full programme includes group rides, live music, raffles, a trading post, food trucks, vendors, a Blessing of the Bikes, and the Military and First Responders Appreciation Ride led by motorcycle influencer Adam Sandoval of Scootin America.
And one very special guest has already been confirmed. Pat Cornell — known across the riding world as Vroom Old Man — will be attending Indian Bike Week 2026. Pat completed one of the most extraordinary charity rides in motorcycling history earlier this year, covering over 200,000 miles on his Indian Pursuit PowerPlus to raise funds for the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation. His presence at IBW 2026 will be a moment the community will not forget.
The centrepiece of 2026 is something extraordinary — a Guinness World Record attempt for the longest parade of Indian Motorcycles ever assembled. The 2016 record was set with more than 250 bikes. The 2026 attempt is aiming to shatter it completely.
This is a registered event — anyone attending must register. Non-Indian riders are welcome as guests. The T-shirt registration deadline is 24 June 2026. Register now to guarantee your shirt and your place at the biggest Indian Motorcycle gathering in America.
The Indian Bike Week website is currently being updated with all the latest information and will be live shortly at indianbikeweek.com. In the meantime you can register directly at the link below.
Register here: eventbrite.com/e/indian-bike-rally-2026-world-record-attempt-for-longest-parade-of-indians-tickets-1510512787409
Why This Story Matters
Indian Bike Week is not just a rally. It is a measure of how the Indian Motorcycle brand relates to the people who love it most.
What the resolution of this situation under Carolwood's ownership demonstrates is something riders will judge more meaningfully than any press release. When given the choice between continuing a difficult situation and finding a way to work with one of the most passionate advocates the Indian Motorcycle community has ever had, the new leadership chose partnership. That is consistent with everything Kennedy has said publicly about building a rider-first culture and a company genuinely connected to the community it serves.
Words are easy. This is evidence.
Five months into the Carolwood era, Indian Bike Week lives. A Guinness World Record attempt is planned. And an organizer who has spent years building one of the most loved events in the Indian Motorcycle calendar is now working alongside the people who own the brand.
That is a story worth telling.
IMRGlobal and Indian Bike Week
IMRGlobal has been part of the Indian Bike Week family since our foundation. Stewart Quinney has been involved with the IBW committee since 2019 and attended in both 2022 and 2023 before illness prevented further travel. The connection between IMRGlobal and Indian Bike Week runs deep — and we are proud to help tell this story and share it with our global family around the world.
We will be bringing the full story of IBW 2026 to our global community as it unfolds — including the Guinness World Record attempt, which we hope will bring Indian Motorcycle riders from around the world to Wisconsin in August.
If you are in North America and you have not yet registered — this is the year to be there. The T-shirt deadline is 24 June. Do not miss it.
Register now at through the Eventbrite link above or indianbikeweek.com which will be back up and running from the 11/6/26.
Ride. Connect. Grow. Together.