Harley Davidson Dominates ‘King of the Baggers’ Race at Road America
Screamin’ Eagle factory riders finish 1-2.
Who says Harley Davidsons aren’t fast?
Check out the latest results of the MotoAmerica King of the Baggers series race, held Sunday in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, about an hour’s drive from Harley headquarters in Milwaukee.
Two HD Road Glides dominated, finishing 1-2 across the Road America track finish line. They beat a field of American V-Twin touring motorcycles made by such well-known industry names as S&S Cycles, Vance and Hines, Saddlemen and Big Bear Performance.
Brotherly Love
To make it even sweeter, the top two finishers were brothers: Travis Wyman finished first and brother Kyle Wyman finished less than a second behind him.
Road America is a sprawling, 640-acre motorsports facility that features a race track slightly over four miles, with a rolling and undulating landscape and high-speed turns. On Sunday, the course was made even trickier because of the rain that preceded the competition.
The weather caused the race to be delayed and shortened to a four-lap sprint.
“This is really an emotional win for me,” said Travis, in a press statement after his victory. “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.”
Costly Infraction
Brother Kyle, who won the overall class title last year, didn’t exactly have anything to be ashamed of. He had the fastest qualifying time for the race when he set a Road America class record of 2:22.701 on Saturday. He also had the fastest lap of any class on the day’s racing.
But, while brother Travis started the race on the front row, Kyle began the action in the fourth position on the starting grid because of a technical infraction involving loose bolts on an external cover.
Souped-Up and Race-Ready
The bagger race series features true baggers, complete with saddlebags and fairings, just like the Road Glides you see on the street and sitting at the dealerships.
Of course, these are souped-up, race-ready bikes. The Screamin’ Eagle factory team features Road Glides powered by modified Milwaukee 8 131 performance crate engines. These are based on the M8 131 engines any HD owner can buy from the motor company.
Those of you who follow motorcycle racing probably know Harley Davidson won the King of the Baggers road racing championship last year with these same two riders.
Popular With HD Fans
It’s a popular race series among many HD owners and fans because, according to Harley President and CEO Jochen Zeitz, everyday HD owners can relate to it.
“The lessons we learn on the track benefit the performance parts we develop for Harley Davidson customers around the world,” Zeitz said.
Also, some of the performance parts developed by the team are for sale to qualified racers at Harley dealerships.
Track Record
The seven bagger races are part of the Superbike series, which is promoted by MotoAmerica and HD itself.
The next race will be held at Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca at Monterrey, California on July 8-10.
Finally, just for fun and comparison’s sake, the track record at Road America is 1:39.866, 145.924 miles per hour, set by Dario Franchitti in an open-wheel, Indy-type car in 2000.
Photos: Harley Davidson
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