Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup bikes explained

Archie McDonald’s opening weekend in the new FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup did greater than ship an Australian win within the class’s inaugural race. It additionally supplied the clearest indication but that these bikes usually are not novelty acts.

The Bagger World Cup lap occasions had been quicker than the quickest Moto3 lap on Sunday, lower than six seconds off racing-winning tempo in Moto2, and ten seconds off MotoGP race winner Marco Bezzecchi’s quickest lap on Sunday.

The opening spherical additionally underlined the class’s core premise. These are equal-spec bikes equipped by Harley-Davidson, with groups successfully leasing the equipment slightly than creating bespoke packages of their very own. That retains the concentrate on setup, tyre administration and rider execution slightly than ongoing engineering spend, whereas additionally making certain that the look and id of the sequence stay unmistakably Harley-Davidson.

Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup bike
Key numbers

• 2152 cc Screamin’ Eagle Milwaukee-Eight 131R V-twin
• Greater than 200 horsepower
• Greater than 220 Nm
• Round 280 kg race-ready
• Prime velocity over 300 km/h
• Equal-spec Harley-supplied race-prepared Highway Glide
• Round US$175,000 to lease per bike

What precisely are they?

The bikes are Harley-Davidson Manufacturing facility Racing race-prepared Highway Glides, designed and in-built Milwaukee across the Harley-Davidson Highway Glide manufacturing metal body.

Energy comes from Harley’s Screamin’ Eagle Milwaukee-Eight 131R V-twin in race specification, displacing 131 cubic inches or 2152 cc. Harley quotes an output exceeding 200 horsepower and greater than 220 Nm, with a high velocity of as much as 310 km/h.

That absurdity is a part of the enchantment, however additionally it is what makes the bikes technically fascinating.

2152 cc and 200 hp-plus

The center of the bundle is the large Milwaukee-Eight 131R. Greater than 220 Nm is a gigantic quantity of twisting drive to ask a rear tyre to deal with, particularly when the bike weighs 280 kg.

At COTA, that was apparent from each the lap occasions and the race format. The races had been solely seven laps lengthy, and even inside that distance, tyre preservation remained central to the story as riders struggled to get a 280 kg motorbike with over 220 Nm and 200 horsepower to hook up via a tall 200/70-17 Dunlop rear slick.

The exhaust is a full titanium Akrapovič system, and the engine is managed by a racing ECU with devoted mapping and data-acquisition functionality. Nevertheless, there isn’t any wheel-speed-based traction management.

What electronics…?

In fashionable racing, electronics typically do the invisible sharpening. They trim wheelspin, regulate launch, tidy entries and exits with corner-by-corner engine braking and torque maps that may disguise errors. Within the Bagger World Cup, the electronics can assist groups perceive what is going on, however the traction management is right down to the rider.

That issues as a result of it helps clarify the form of the racing we noticed at COTA. McDonald led most of Race One and far of Race Two via clear, managed execution slightly than via brute-force domination.

Granado’s crash within the first race, McDonald’s second with observe limits and penalty publicity within the second, and Gutierrez’s capability to capitalise all strengthened the identical level: these bikes reward precision and strictly managed aggression, whereas punishing overreach.

Gearbox, clutch and ultimate drive

Harley matches the bikes with its Screamin’ Eagle Racing King 6 racing transmission, plus a quickshifter and blipper.

The clutch is an STM dry anti-hop racing unit, whereas Regina supplies a sequence that should deal with the Baggers’ excessive torque and appreciable weight.

Chassis and suspension

The manufacturing Highway Glide metal body stays the inspiration, however the suspension bundle is full race-spec Öhlins. On the entrance, there may be an Öhlins FGR 253 pressurised racing fork with full adjustability for compression, rebound and journey top.

On the rear, Harley makes use of Öhlins twin nitrogen-charged racing shocks with exterior piggyback reservoirs and full adjustability for compression, rebound and journey top. Wheels are Marchesini solid aluminium 17-inch race gadgets.

The riders had been carrying some severe lean angle via lengthy, loaded corners at COTA.

The tyre a part of the equation

The entrance tyre is a Dunlop Sportmax Slick 120/75R17 accessible in R5 medium and R7 medium-hard compounds.

The rear is a Dunlop KR108 200/70R17, made in France and supplied in MS1 tender and MS2 medium compounds.

Moist-weather tyres are a separate Dunlop bundle, with KR189 entrance and KR405 rear specs manufactured in Japan.

Brakes constructed for a heavy, quick motorbike

Stopping a 280 kg motorbike from velocity repeatedly is just not a minor engineering problem, so Harley has gone with a Brembo racing bundle headed by twin 330 mm T-Drive entrance discs, nickel-plated billet Moto2 four-piston calipers, Z04 racing pads and a radial grasp cylinder.

On the rear, there’s a 320 mm devoted racing disc and Brembo calliper, with each foot and thumb brake actuation. Rear brake management is essential in controlling these bikes and performs a a lot larger half than simply serving to to cease the machine in a straight line.

So what are these bikes, actually?

They’re very particular Harley-Davidson Highway Glides engineered round a tightly managed equal-spec idea, utilizing severe suspension, severe brakes, severe tyres and a really severe engine.

They weigh about 280 kilograms, make greater than 200 horsepower, generate greater than 220 Nm, run slicks, quickshifters and anti-hop clutches, and ask riders to do a lot of the work with out traction management. And at the COTA season opener, it was an Aussie teenager who showed them how to do it!

Bagger World Cup Harley Specs

Bagger World Cup Technical Regulations Here

Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup Calendar

1. Austin, USA: March 27–29
2. Mugello, Italy: Could 29–31
3. Assen, Netherlands: June 26–28
4. Silverstone, Nice Britain: August 7–9
5. Aragon, Spain: August 28–30
6. Pink Bull Ring, Austria: September 18–20