Screamin' Eagle Factory Team to Contend King of the Baggers Series
Despite having stated that it was to withdraw from direct racing involvements, Harley has announced a new Screamin' Eagle factory racing team for the MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Series as well as providing a contingency program for independent Bagger teams.
The team is preparing a Harley-Davidson Road Glide Special powered by a race-modified Screamin' Eagle M-8 131 performance crate engine for pro rider Kyle Wyman. In addition to its factory team effort, Harley-Davidson will offer a nearly $30,000 cash contingency program for qualified Harley-Davidson racers competing in the three-race King of the Baggers Series.
"Competing in the King of the Baggers Series gives Harley-Davidson an opportunity to showcase our Screamin' Eagle performance products in the heat of competition," said Jochen Zeitz, chairman, president and CEO Harley-Davidson. "Nobody knows more about building Harley-Davidson performance than our Screamin' Eagle engineers. Harley-Davidson created the first factory hot rod baggers, the Road Glide Special and Street Glide Special models, for riders craving performance and touring comfort."
Harley says that its Screamin' Eagle M-8 131-inch performance crate engine is the most powerful street-compliant performance engine offered by Harley. Built from the bottom up in Milwaukee, this street-tuned, 131 cubic-inch (2,147 cc) Screamin' Eagle crate engine delivers 131 ft-lb of torque to the rear wheel. It can be installed in 2017-later H-D Touring models.
Veteran road racer Kyle Wyman, 31, from Macedon, N.Y., formed Kyle Wyman Racing at the age of 21 to compete at the highest level of professional road racing in the United States. He started racing XR750s in flat track at the age of 15. Wyman was a contender and won six races in the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XR1200 series, the Daytona 200 in 2019 and placed seventh overall in the 2020 HONOS Superbike series - the premier MotoAmerica road racing class. Wyman is the son of Kim Wyman, owner of Harv's Harley-Davidson in Macedon, near Rochester, in upstate New York.
"I am very excited and honored to be the rider of the Harley-Davidson Screamin' Eagle Road Glide Special," said Wyman. "To be a Factory rider for Harley is something I've dreamed of since I was little, watching my hero Scott Parker win Grand National Championships on the Harley-Davidson XR750. I look forward to our first race at Road Atlanta and competing aboard this amazing machine."
The MotoAmerica King of the Baggers series kicks off April 30-May 2 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and continues June 11-13 at Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and July 9-11 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, California.