Kyle Wyman's cryptic comments were founded as Harley-Davidson pulls factory King of the Baggers team
Harley-Davidson will end its factory King of the Baggers effort after 2026 and shift its focus to the FIM Bagger World Cup, leaving Kyle Wyman's future unclear.
Harley-Davidson has confirmed that it will end its factory racing programme in MotoAmerica King of the Baggers at the end of the 2026 season, just a day after Kyle Wyman made a cryptic statement about his future in the championship.
The announcement provides some context to Wyman's comments, although plenty of questions remain unanswered about what happens to the most successful rider in King of the Baggers history.
Harley-Davidson says it will end its Factory Racing participation and official team support in KOTB after this season, instead shifting its factory racing focus towards the FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup.
That championship, which runs alongside selected MotoGP rounds, will be expanded for 2027 with more teams, riders and races. Harley says it will become its premier racing platform, with the technical knowledge gained through racing feeding into future motorcycles and Screamin' Eagle performance products.
What Harley hasn't said is whether it will continue to have any involvement in King of the Baggers through other teams, or what this means for Wyman.
The 35-year-old has been the dominant rider in the championship since its introduction, with 27 individual race wins and three national titles to his name. Harley-Davidson's announcement specifically praises that record, describing Wyman as the most successful rider in the history of the category – albeit one that has only been running for seven years.
However, there is no mention of Wyman's plans for 2027, nor any confirmation that he will move across to the FIM Bagger World Cup.
That is particularly interesting given comments made by Wyman yesterday following the final round of the 2026 KOTB season. He suggested that there would be more to say about his future, without confirming whether he would remain with Harley-Davidson or continue in the championship.
The timing now makes those comments rather more significant.
Harley insists that the technical expertise developed through its KOTB programme will not disappear, saying that Factory Racing's engineering knowledge and performance development will instead support the Bagger World Cup, future motorcycles and race-derived Screamin' Eagle parts.
The company is also introducing a separate grassroots racing programme, covering disciplines including drag racing and flat track.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
