V-Twin Racing At An Inflection Point?
This is another of our ' race heavy ' AMD editions, and it comes at a critical juncture for the race industry itself – both V-twin and ' mainstream '. In ' Mainstream ' terms the story du jour is the ' Sino creep ' as Chinese manufacturers increasingly drop anchor in the international race scene( especially the MotoGP and the WorldSBK series). Yamaha in particular has taken a kicking lately from both CFMoto and QJ Motor. The news that Harley-Davidson has put its withdrawal from MotoAmerica ' s King Of The Bagger series at the heart of a reimagining their Factory Racing Strategy came as no surprise to many( apparently). Never normally slow to pick-up on rumors, personally it came as a complete shock to me. The plan instead is to increase the investment into the Bagger World Cup. There will likely be an expansion in the number of teams and rounds to an as yet unknown number in 2027( from total of four teams and 6-rounds / 12-races in 2026. Rumors suggest two more teams and two more race weekends( four extra races) for 2027, with possible further expansion thereafter. However, nobody should lose sight of the fact that, as anticipated, cosying up to MotoGP, and series owner Liberty Media, was ever going to be something that lives in the bargain aisle of racing involvements. The MotoGP Calendar was released at the end of September, but at the time of writing neither Harley nor Dorna Madrid / Liberty Media had released the details of which additional MotoGP rounds will become ' Bar-n-Shield ' fests. The inaugural 2026 schedule started at COTA Texas, then went to Italy, Netherlands, UK and Spain, en route to a season finale in Austria. If you drill down into the cost structures faced by Harley( and its teams), the numbers really are eye watering. There is no way that the ' Mo-Co ' could ever liquidate the investment from additional Tee Shirt and existing Big Twin model range sales. But with a beefed-up suite of ' entry-level ' and ' price-point ' solutions( in displacement, MRSP and customising potential) due to be unveiled to the public any time now( EICMA? November 24? November 27?) maybe there is, after all, the prospect of ROI on both the Bagger World Cup investment, and on the high level of increasingly expensive low return margin capital that lower cost and, potentially, higher volume machines involve. The later date for the US MotoGP in 2027( April 4) is four weeks later than in 2026, and an earlier date for the Red Bull Ring Austria MotoGP( August 2027 vs September 2026) means that there will have to be changes in the schedule for next year anyway. Meaning new venues in March, hosting an ' hors-série ' round at Daytona, going to Thailand, Qatar, Brazil or Argentina before or around the time of the COTA race, with somewhere in Asia hosting the season finale not later than October. Meanwhile, although MotoAmerica was still ' talking up ' the possibility of there being a 2027 KOTB series( while simultaneously venting its disappointment) the chances of the series going ahead, especially in the context of what is likely to be a reinvigorated ' grass roots ' Bagger Racing League( BRL) series, strikes me as unlikely. With ' Company Cups ' being the ' new black ', if MotoAmerica isn ' t already talking to Indian Motorcycle CEO Mike Kennedy about a ' spec ' bike series, then they should be. Though costs, teams and riders would all be a challenge. Equally though, if
Kennedy isn ' t talking to Rob Buydos about support for BRL, then he should be doing that too, or instead. S & S Cycle is to be applauded for rediscovering its roots by supporting the AMRA. All and any initiatives to grow motorcycle racing ' s available ' feed stock ' are to be welcomed. Especially at a time when the race industry, including the V-twin market, need a reminder of where all the great racers, machines, teams and achievements have come from – the bottom, not the top. Racing should be about sporting jeopardy, not budgets. In our industry it is about " trickle up ", not " trickle down ". It is not about dominance by ' The Man '. I ' m quite sure that BRL wouldn ' t let anything detract from its ' neo-maverick ' status- Rob Buydos is too attuned to ' real world roots ' to run that risk. There could still be ways in which Indian could bask in the reflected glory of being seen to speak ' authentic ' though, and it ' s no coincidence that BRL is another investment that S & S has started making too. It was interesting( ironic?) that Harley ' s News Release about its ' Evolved ' Factory Racing Strategy pointed to an awareness that grass roots racing support was important. The announcement was short on detail but there was a statement of intent there(" Develop accessible racing opportunities for riders across a range of disciplines and experience levels). But supporting dealers and enthusiasts was among the reasons Jochen Zeitz gave for pulling Harley out of Drag Racing and AFT – and we all know what happened there don ' t we. Since he became CEO of Indian Motorcycle earlier this year, Mike Kennedy has shown himself quite prepared to put his head into the Lion ' s mouth where his opinions about his bigger rival( and former employer) are concerned – or has it been ' his foot in his mouth '? His latest remarks concern Harley ' s decision to quit KOTB. RideApart reports him as stating that " we are disappointed that Harley-Davidson would quit American bagger racing and walk away from something that has unified so many American V-twin riders regardless of which brand of motorcycle they ride. " Rivalry, and the inherent possibility of losing, is what makes competition truly meaningful and what drives brands to rise, innovate and prevail. Ultimately, it ' s our industry and American V-twin riders that benefit most from this." This time round he ' s being widely applauded for his remarks, and I share the sentiment in terms of the sporting jeopardy that is at the beating heart of competitive motorsport. Given the huge cost of its MotoGP involvement, the primary driver behind the decision to pull out of KOTB must have been a short-term combination of financial and the very real likelihood that the Genie of KOTB Wins was not going to go back into Harley ' s bottle any time soon.
Robin Bradley
Co-owner / Editor-in-Chief robin @ dealer-world. com
4 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER- NOVEMBER 2026 www. AMDmag. com