King of the Baggers - Rides and Culture

Motorcycle News: Harley’s Ready For 2023 King of the Baggers Season

March 23, 2023March 6, 2023 by Staff

The Harley-Davidson MotoAmerica King of the Baggers racing team is prepared to open the 2023 racing season.

The season starts March 9-11 at Daytona International Speedway, site of the first two rounds of the MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers roadracing series. Kyle Wyman and his brother Travis Wyman return to ride the team’s race-prepared Harley-Davidson Road Glide motorcycles powered by modified Screamin’ Eagle Milwaukee-Eight 131 Performance Crate Engines. The Harley-Davidson factory team will leave nothing on the track as they fight to bring the championship title back to Milwaukee.

Harley-Davidson Road Glide motorcycles powered by modified Screamin’ Eagle Milwaukee-Eight 131 Performance Crate Engines.

“In our 120th Anniversary year, we’re coming at it bigger and better than ever before, as we compete to win the championship and bring back the #1 plate to Milwaukee where it belongs,” said Jochen Zeitz, Chairman, President and CEO, Harley-Davidson. “Our Screamin’ Eagle factory racing team is ready for the season – and with Kyle and Travis on the track, I’m excited for what is set to be a great season of racing for our community of racers and fans alike.”

The King of the Baggers series offers exciting competition between American V-Twin touring motorcycles prepared for competition and equipped with a fairing/windscreen and saddlebags. The 2023 season will see the King of the Baggers series expanded from seven to 14 races over seven double-header weekends held in conjunction with the MotoAmerica Superbike Series.

Harley-Davidson factory team will be sporting custom designed 120th anniversary race-modified Road Glide motorcycles

A fan feature for the 2023 season is the Harley-Davidson 120th Anniversary VIP Ticket Package. Offered as a three-day or one-day package, these special VIP passes include admission with fan zone and paddock access, all the MotoAmerica races including the Mission King of the Baggers practice sessions, qualifying and racing action. Each pass also includes access to premium parking reserved for Harley-Davidson motorcycles on all three days of the race weekend, and participation in Harley-Davidson parade laps around the track on Friday and Saturday.

For the 2023 season, the Harley-Davidson factory team will be sporting custom designed livery, honoring Harley-Davidson’s 120th anniversary aboard their race-modified Road Glide motorcycles, Milwaukee-Eight 131 Performance Crate Engine. The team bikes also feature upgraded suspension components, including Screamin’ Eagle/Öhlins Remote Reservoir Rear Shocks, plus competition exhaust, race tires and lightweight bodywork.

Kyle (left) and Travis Wyman ready to big a championship title back to Milwaukee

Harley-Davidson invites you to kick off the 2023 MotoAmerica King of the Baggers season with some adrenaline pumping action. Today, Harley-Davidson is premiering ‘Push the Limit,’ a film that shares the story of defending champion Kyle Wyman, teammate Travis Wyman and the Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle race team’s 2022 championship pursuit. Check it out on Harley-Davidson’s YouTube channel.

Harley-Davidson 2023 King of the Baggers team rider Travis Wyman

The Wyman Brothers
Travis Wyman, the owner of Travis Wyman Racing based in Las Vegas, finished second in points during the 2022 King of the Baggers season, with one race win (Road America) and three second-place finishes. The 31-year-old racer returns for his second full season with the Harley-Davidson factory team.

“I am excited about my second season on the factory H-D team and ready for the expanded schedule this year,” said Travis. “My consistent finishes last year put me in contention for the title going into the last round. With the two-race format, if Saturday does not go well, you get another shot on Sunday rather than waiting for the next race weekend. As other teams get these bikes figured out, I expect the level of competition to be tougher this season. Our Harley team is going to need to be on its game at every race.”

Harley-Davidson 2023 King of the Baggers team rider Kyle Wyman

Kyle Wyman, 33, won three 2022 King of the Baggers races (Atlanta, Monterey and New Jersey) and had two other podium appearances to finish third in season points. Wyman began racing professionally in flat track aboard a Harley-Davidson XR750 and formed Kyle Wyman Racing at the age of 21 to compete at the highest level of professional road racing in the United States. Kyle Wyman is the 2019 Daytona 200 winner. He was King of the Baggers champion in 2021, riding for the Harley-Davidson factory team.

“It will be an honor to represent the Harley-Davidson brand during this 120th Anniversary season,” said Kyle Wyman. “It is incredible to be a part of the enduring history of Harley-Davidson. I’ve spent much of the off season working with the team to further develop our Road Glide race bikes, and I have a lot of confidence going into 2023. We will continue to see lap records fall this season, and everyone on the grid will be quicker.”

Harley-Davidson king of the Baggers race team anticipate a winning season

Available Support
In addition to competing in the series, the H-D Screamin’ Eagle team continues to work directly with MotoAmerica to promote the series by supporting all Harley-Davison competitors. Select performance products developed for the 2022 factory team bikes are available to all qualified racers. Teams should reach out directly to their local Harley-Davidson dealership for availability and pricing.

Top squads expected to run Harley-Davidson bikes at the front of the field include the four-rider Team Saddlemen effort with returning veteran racers Cory West and Patricia Fernandez-West along with Frankie Garcia and class newcomer Jake Lewis, all competing on race-modified Harley-Davidson Road Glide motorcycles, prepared with the assistance of Hoban Brothers Racing. The Vance & Hines Racing team returns to the King of the Baggers series with proven series front runners James Rispoli and Hayden Gillim, also campaigning race-prepared Road Glide motorcycles.

Harley-Davidson is tuned to have a wheel up on the competition this season

MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers Contingency
Harley-Davidson will offer more than $185,000 in cash contingency for qualified Harley-Davidson racers competing in the Mission King of the Baggers series, with a contingency payout from first to 10th place in all 14 races and a $35,000 series championship bonus. Terms and conditions apply; please see www.MotoAmerica.com for full details, eligibility requirements and deadlines.

Milwaukee-Eight 131 Performance Crate Engine
The Screamin’ Eagle Milwaukee-Eight 131 is a powerful street-compliant performance engine offered by Harley-Davidson. Built from the bottom up in Milwaukee, this 131-cubic-inch (2147cc) Screamin’ Eagle crate engine delivers 131 ft-lb of torque to the rear wheel, and may be installed in 2017-later Harley-Davidson Touring models. RC

Motorcycle News: Kyle Wyman Leads Harley-Davidson KOB Sweep

March 23, 2023July 12, 2022 by Staff

Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle factory rider Kyle Wyman led his brother and factory teammate Travis Wyman, and Vance & Hines racer James “Hogspoli” Rispoli to a sweep of the podium positions in the MotoAmerica Mission Foods King of the Baggers race on Sunday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA. Kyle passed early leader Tyler O’Hara on the second lap of race and crossed the finish line 3.063 seconds ahead of Travis. Rispoli finished third, a half-second ahead of O’Hara’s factory Indian Challenger. Six of the top 10 finishers were aboard Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Harley-Davidson King of the Baggers Sweep

Travis Wyman was the fast qualifier on Saturday, setting a new class record of 1:29.748 on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course. But it was Kyle Wyman who won the King of the Baggers Mission Challenge 3-lap sprint race and winner-take-all $5,000 purse immediately following Q2. Both factory Harley-Davidson riders started from the front row along with Rispoli.

In the 8-lap King of the Baggers feature race, O’Hara jumped out into the lead from the second row of the grid. But Kyle Wyman kept the pressure on him with inside and outside moves at several points around the course and then passed him cleanly in turn 9 on the second lap. From that point, Kyle broke away and was never challenged for the lead.

“It was really greasy out there today, and I was cautious with how the edge grip was,” said Kyle Wyman. “O’Hara lost the rear coming out of turn nine and that allowed me to go by. I was happy to get clear and run my own race and manage the gap to the finish. It’s just great to get a 1-2-3 for Harley-Davidson and to reward the entire Harley-Davidson factory team who made this possible.”

“To come home second to Kyle is pretty amazing,” said Travis Wyman. “We did it the other way around at Road America. And now we’re tied in points. So these last two rounds are going to be pretty awesome for the fans.”

The Mission King of the Baggers series features race-prepared American V-Twin touring motorcycles. Harley-Davidson Factory Team Road Glide motorcycles are powered by modified Screamin’ Eagle Twin-Cooled Milwaukee-Eight 131 Performance Crate Engines.

After five of seven rounds on the 2022 MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers series, Kyle and Travis Wyman are tied for second in the series standings with 86 points. O’Hara leads by one point with 87. The Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle factory team returns to the track July 29-31 at the MotoAmerica Superbikes in Minnesota at Brainerd International Raceway.

MotoAmerica King of the Bagger Race Results – Laguna Seca

Kyle Wyman (H-D) Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson
Travis Wyman (H-D) Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson
James Rispoli (H-D) Vance & Hines Racing
Tyler O’Hara (Ind) Mission Foods/S&S Cycle
Jeremy McWilliams (Ind) Mission Foods/S&S Cycle
Bobby Fong (Ind) Roland Sands Design
Taylor Knapp (H-D) Vance & Hines Racing
Frankie Garcia (Ind) Roland Sands Design
Danny Eslick (H-D) Nowaskey Extreme Performance
Andrew Lee (H-D) Big Bear Performance
Patricia Fernandez (Ind) Saddlemen/Lloyd’z Garage
Zack Nation (H-D) Zack Nation Racing Revolution Performance
Eric Stahl (H-D) Jiffy Tune Racing

Motorcycle News: Harley-Davidson’s 1-2 Finish in King of The Baggers Race

March 23, 2023June 8, 2022 by Staff

Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle factory rider Travis Wyman led his brother Kyle across the finish line in a 1-2 sweep of the top positions in the MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers race on Sunday at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. It was the first win in the King of the Baggers series for Travis Wyman, who started the rain-delayed race from the front row aboard a race-prepared Harley-Davidson® Road Glide® motorcycle. Travis passed for the lead on the second lap of the four-lap race and crossed the finish line 0.942 seconds ahead of Kyle.

Harley-Davidson's 1-2 sweep of the top positions in the MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers race

“This is really an emotional win for me,” said Travis Wyman. “I’ve never won a race on a Harley. It means so much to win here in Harley-Davidson’s back yard in front of all these fans and people from the factory who stuck out the day in the rain. I was really nervous at the start because the dry line on the track was so narrow, but as the race progressed, I felt more and more confident in the bike, especially in the middle sections where I was able to pass. The hard work of the entire Harley-Davidson factory team made this possible.”

Kyle Wyman was the fast qualifier for the race, setting a new Road America class record on Saturday of 2:22.701 on the 4.0-mile, 14-turn course. Following the Sunday morning warm-up session he was bumped back to fourth position on the race starting grid as the team was penalized for a technical infraction due to loose bolts on an external cover.

By the time the race began about 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, the rain had ended and the racing line on the track was dry. Travis passed Tyler O’Hara for second place on lap 2 and then took the lead from Jeremy McWilliams on lap 3. From there Travis put his head down and opened a gap on the field. Kyle Wyman passed O’Hara and McWilliams as well but could not catch his brother. Kyle Wyman posted not only the fastest lap of the race at a 2:24.50, but the fastest lap of any class on the day.

“This feels as good as a win for me,” said Kyle Wyman, the defending King of the Baggers champion. “This is great for the team because while Travis might have joined the team in the middle of last year, everyone has been working equally as hard to make Travis as comfortable on his Road Glide as I am on mine. Today Travis out-rode all of us and showed some real courage in these mixed conditions.”

Kyle and Travis Wyman are the sons of Kim Wyman, owner of Harv’s Harley-Davidson in Macedon, N.Y. and grew up around Harley-Davidson and flat track racing.

The Mission King of the Baggers series features race-prepared American V-Twin touring motorcycles. Harley-Davidson® Factory Team Road Glide® motorcycles are powered by modified Screamin’ Eagle® Twin-Cooled Milwaukee-Eight® 131 Performance Crate Engines.

After four of seven rounds on the 2022 Mission King of the Baggers series, Travis Wyman is in third place in the series standings with 66 points. Kyle Wyman is fourth with 61 points. O’Hara leads with 74 points, with McWilliams second with 67 points. The Harley-Davidson® Screamin’ Eagle® factory team returns to the track July 8-10 at the Geico Motorcycle MotoAmerica Superbike Speedfest at Monterey at Laguna Seca Raceway, Salinas, Calif.

MotoAmerica King of the Bagger Race Results – Road America

Travis Wyman (H-D) Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson
Kyle Wyman (H-D) Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson
Jeremy McWilliams (Ind) Mission Foods/S&S Cycle
Tyler O’Hara (Ind) Mission Foods/S&S Cycle
Taylor Knapp (H-D) Vance & Hines Racing
James Rispoli (H-D) Vance & Hines Racing
Cory West (Ind) Saddlemen
Ben Carlson (H-D) Suburban Motors
Scott Beal (Ind) Mad Monkey Motorsports
Andrew Lee (H-D) Big Bear Performance

Motorcycle Review: We Ride the New Harley-Davidson Performance Baggers!

March 23, 2023March 25, 2022 by Tom Keifer

The new 2022 Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST get the monstrous 117-inch Milwaukee-Eight v-twin, Harley’s most powerful production engine ever.

Taking its cues from fender-scraping wheelie artists and knee-scraping racetrack heroes, for 2022 Harley-Davidson upgraded its most popular models. The Street and Road Glide STs are true performance baggers through and through, powered by the 117-inch, 106 horsepower Milwaukee-Eight v-twin.

With 127 ft.-lbs. of torque, plus linked Brembo brakes and a longer rear suspension for a deeper lean angle, the fairings of Harley’s two most popular motorcycles are now trained directly at the track. Fresh off Screamin’ Eagle factory rider Kyle Wyman’s 2022 King of the Baggers championship, these new baggers crank up the performance factor to 11.

Reviewed: Harley-Davidson Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST

We recently had the opportunity to ride these killer baggers before they hit the dealerships, and we’re here to testify. These are probably the most powerful and best-riding Harley-Davidson baggers we’ve ever had the opportunity to flog. Handling is phenomenal. We’ve never ridden a better-braking Harley, bagger or otherwise. And of course, all the touring amenities are appreciated, especially the fantastic in-dash touchscreen infotainment system.

riding Harley-Davidson Road Glide ST — The new Road Glide ST tears up the desert. Photo by Kevin Wing, courtesy of Harley-Davidson

But the real pleasure of riding these new Harley baggers is in the saddle. Throttle response is crack, braking is excellent, and the suspension and handling are among the best we’ve ever experienced on any Harley.

This new engine features a high-performance camshaft, a high-flow intake, and high-performance exhaust tuned to maximize engine performance. Screamin’ Eagle Stage Upgrades are available to boost engine performance even further. And if you’re feeling particularly ballsy, the Screamin’ Eagle 131-inch crate engine is also available.

Performance Baggers Extraordinaire

Performance baggers are all the rage these days. Harley could have gone in a completely different direction with these bikes, kowtowing to the wheelie-popping, fender-scraping “Nitro Circus” crowd. While those gravity-defying feats are no doubt impressive (and/or foolish and crazy), we’re glad Harley chose to lean hard into the racing side of performance baggers with these two new models. Because while not all of us can (or want to) rock a wheelie down the road, all motorcyclists can appreciate the thrill of diving into and throttling out of a sweet curve on a twisty road. And the Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST are built for just that. The linked Brembos are particularly satisfying.

riding harleydavidson Street Glide ST — The new ST should inspire plenty of existing Street Glide owners to trade up. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy of Harley-Davidson.

The new STs are dressed in dark and black colors with bronzed finishes throughout for a menacing look. Both feature the complete suite of Harley-Davidson Grand American Touring features, including Harley’s Boom! Box infotainment system with color touch screen and navigation, cruise control, and LED headlamps. And of course, a full slate of optional accessories and rider enhancements are available.

The new Milwaukee-Eight 117″ is the powerplant these big bikes have always deserved. If you own a pre-2016 Street or Road Glide with the Twin Cam 103B motor—and judging by the amount of them parked at rallies and bike nights nationwide, there are a lot of you out there—the time to upgrade is now.

The new 2022 Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST on racetrack — The racetrack is the perfect setting for these new Harleys. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy of Harley-Davidson.

Both models are available now at your local Harley-Davidson dealer for an MSRP of $29,999.