Riders comments hint at a potential withdrawal
Photos by Brian J. Nelson.
Photos by Brian J. Nelson.
Kyle Wyman mastered a soaked New Jersey Motorsports Park track on Sunday to win the final race of the 2026 MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers championship – but could this prove to be the last race for Harley-Davidson’s factory Road Glide?
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Nothing in Harley-Davidson’s own press release confirms a withdrawal outright, but the language coming from its factory riders reads with a distinct sense of finality, particularly with Wyman’s comments after his win.
is harley davidson done with king of the baggers
“This team has changed my life and changed my career. This one’s going to feel really good for a long time,” Wyman said. “How can you sum up what we’ve done with this program? You just can’t. We’ve created a lot of memories and impacted a lot of people in a positive way.” Wyman, a two-time King of the Baggers champion whose 27 career wins top the series, added: “The fans have been incredible. It’s great to give them one more win.”
Again, there’s nothing official at this point, but Wyman’s comments do sound like a goodbye. Or at least, a gentle break-up. Meanwhile, Wyman’s teammate Bradley Smith, who finished second overall in this year’s championship, hinted at some “unforunate” developments in an interview with Road Race Report.
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“There’s an unfortunate situation that is unfolding, and it probably means I need to look elsewhere for next year,” Smith said, seeming to choose his words carefully. “I’d like to stay under the Harley umbrella with what I was able to do at the Bagger World Cup at Silverstone.”
is harley davidson done with king of the baggers
The King of the Baggers started as a one-off race in 2020 at Laguna Seca, with Tyler O’Hara piloting an Indian Challenger to victory. From 2021 onward, it became a full series for MotoAmerica. Since its inception, King of the Baggers has been a battleground Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle, the only two manufacturers in the class. The rival manufacturers swapped the championship between them, with Harley-Davidson winning it in 2021, 2023, 2025, while Indian won in 2022, 2024, and 2026.
Meanwhile, Harley-Davidson partnered with MotoGP to create the Bagger World Cup, bringing bagger racing to an international audience, with itself as the sole manufacturer. Looking at the situation objectively, it would make sense for Harley-Davidson to concentrate on a single-spec racing series with a larger global stage instead of competing with Indian in MotoAmerica’s domestic championship.
is harley davidson done with king of the baggers
Should a Harley-Davidson withdrawal materialize, factory-level competition in the class would be left to Indian, whose Vance & Hines squad took the 2026 title with Hayden Gillim. It’s worth noting both Gillim and the Vance & Hines team switched to Indian for this season, after racing on Harley-Davidsons since the inaugural race in 2020. A big part of that move was Indian’s new Chief Executive Officer, Mike Kennedy, who served that role with Vance & Hines for four years, but could a potential Harley-Davidson pullout have added further motivation for a change?
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For MotoAmerica, losing a factory bagger effort would sting. Privateers may continue representing the Bar and Shield on their own, but the long term outlook could see King of the Baggers become a spec-series as well, only with Indian Challengers. Indian has already announced it is bringing back Gillim and 2024 Champion Troy Herfoss back for the 2027 season
Harley has not made an official statement about the 2027 season.
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