World record Indian motorcycle parade attempt this Saturday
Around 700 Indian motorcycles are expected to visit Hot Springs this weekend as the motorcyclists attempt to set a world record for largest Indian motorcycle parade.
Wendell Roberts, board member of Arkansas Honor Ride, said the idea of the record attempt started as a joke at last year’s Hot Springs Indian Get Together, an unofficial gathering of Indian motorcycles. Some of the motorcyclists looked up the record for an all-Indian parade and discovered that, on Aug. 18, 2017, in Minnesota, one was set at 274 Indians. Roberts said last year’s gathering already had almost that many Indian motorcycles.
Roberts said they took the idea to Rob Gregory, owner of Gregory Polaris in Jacksonville, which also sells Indians, and he was enthusiastic about the plan.
Named Gregory’s Indian 500, the goal was to get 500 Indian motorcycles to appear in the parade. The event snowballed, Roberts said, and now they have close to
700 Indian motorcycles registered for the attempt. People have registered from all over the country, and Roberts said several people are flying in from other countries to participate. Those motorcyclists, he said, will be driving borrowed motorcycles.
Roberts said a representative of Guinness World Records will attend the attempt. The parade will start at
10:30 a.m. at the Barrett Center, 2231 E. Grand Ave., and take a three-and-a-half mile circular route that will end back at the Barrett Center.
Roberts said that as long as no other vehicles cut in on the parade, they should be successful on their first attempt. “I think it’s going to be an amazing thing to see,” he said.
This will be the sixth Indian Get Together. Roberts said the record attempt will be good for both the event and for Hot Springs, as it will help bring more attention
to the event, causing more people to attend future Indian Get Togethers.
Roberts said the attempt is also raising money for five charities — Arkansas Honor Ride, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Hillcrest Children’s Home, Shriners Hospitals for Children-St. Louis and Alzheimer’s Alliance Tri-State.