Let me be clear, King of the Baggers is a cool-ass racing series. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that 700-pound baggers done up to become race-spec bikes would've made for such nail-biting racing. It's just cool.
I got my first in-person experience with King of the Baggers at COTA this year during MotoGP weekend and the sound that those motorcycles made echoing off the circuit's grandstands still lives in my ears. And the riders are amazing athletes. I mean, you have to be in order to wrestle those machines around a track.
But when Harley-Davidson announced that it'd be sending series champ Kyle Wyman and James Rispoli to Barcelona for MotoGP's annual pre-season test following the series' season finale, I couldn't help but wonder "Huh? What's this for?"
Pre-season testing is nothing new for a racing series. It happens all the time and allows riders or drivers to get a better sense of next year's machine or tires ahead of the first race. But these tests are usually only for the teams and athletes. There are some spectators, but few and far between. So the idea of Harley sending Wyman and Rispoli, and their KOB motorcycles, over to Barcelona for a "test", one that has no bearing on next year's MotoGP season, nor any type of fan hype for the series to become part of each weekend's calendar of events, makes absolutely no sense.
What's the actual point?
"Racing is a core pillar of the Harley-Davidson brand, showcasing our commitment to performance and innovation," said Jochen Zeitz, Harley-Davidson's embattled CEO, adding, "Partnering with DORNA/MotoGP, we aim to expand our racing footprint globally, fueling the passions of our customers and fans. This MotoGP Test is a pivotal step in realizing these ambitions and demonstrating our dedication to racing excellence.”
OK, but why and how is this expanding Harley's racing footprint? Harley isn't testing a MotoGP bike. Nor a Moto3 or Moto2 bike. It's a King of the Baggers bike. Which, at the time of writing, isn't even a support series for MotoGP. In fact, when the baggers raced at COTA during last season's race weekend, it was actually MotoAmerica that put the event on, not Dorna.
And it isn't even testing anything, as it's the brand's race motorcycle from last season. Nor are they testing new tires, which is sometimes part of these pre-season tests. They're just riding the bagger race bikes. So Wyman and Rispoli are just doing a few laps for the hell of it? To no crowd? With no stakes? What's the actual point!?
If King of the Baggers hadn't been part of the MotoGP weekend this year, I'd have said the point was to introduce MotoGP's executives to bagger racing as a bid to become a support series. It's one of those things you absolutely have to experience in person. But they all got that chance in Austin. They saw what it could be in Austin. They watched a full race and were able to talk with the riders, teams, and brand in Austin. They've seen what it could be and could do for MotoGP fans in Austin.
They've seen it, done it, bought that t-shirt. So who or what is this "test" for?
I'd love to say I have an answer, but I've got nothing. It might just be a marketing exercise. It might just be Harley-Davidson trying to get some good PR out there at a time when it hasn't been able to do that. It could also just be a boondoggle, which would honestly be par for the course with Harley as of late.
Again, there's a host of reasons why this test could've been something real—new bikes, new tires, new suspension, new riders, introducing MotoGP execs to baggers, fans getting up close to a potential new series, etc—but it lacks every single one of those. Harley's just...in Spain for a quick ride around Barcelona.
I just don't get it.
