Harley-Davidson (H-D) is ending its factory racing programme in MotoAmerica’s King of the Baggers after the 2026 season, shifting its focus to the FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup as its premier racing platform from 2027. The move comes after the inaugural Bagger World Cup season, a new global championship developed by H-D and MotoGP and sanctioned by the FIM.
The series is the first global racing championship dedicated exclusively to high-performance H-D baggers, bringing heavily modified Grand American Touring machines onto MotoGP circuits in North America and Europe. The 2026 championship featured six MotoGP race weekends and 12 races, visiting the Circuit of the Americas, Mugello, Assen, Silverstone, Aragon and the Red Bull Ring.
The race bikes are based on H-D’s Road Glide platform and use factory-developed competition hardware, with more than 200 hp from a 2,152 cc Screamin’ Eagle 131R engine. Unlike a conventional production-based championship, the Bagger World Cup uses a single-machine format, with H-D supplying the race motorcycles to participating teams under FIM technical regulations.
The bikes are purpose-built for circuit racing, combining the size and V-twin character of a H-D touring motorcycle with race-developed chassis and performance hardware. H-D will expand the championship for 2027 with additional teams, riders and races.
The company also plans to use the series as a development and technology platform for future motorcycles and race-derived Screamin’ Eagle performance products. The change comes after Joe Rascal Racing’s Archie McDonald was crowned the inaugural Bagger World Cup champion, following a title fight that went down to the final race at the Austrian Grand Prix.
