Harley-Davidson Announces Strategic Partnership with MotoGP
Race-prepped Road Glides tackle Catalunya
The Harley-Davidson Factory Racing team completed a demonstration test of its bagger racing Road Glide at Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunya ahead of this week’s MotoGP post-season tests.
The test marks the first time the Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide has tasted a European track, eating up laps of the 2.894-mile circuit on the off-day before the official MotoGP test began. Harley-Davidson and MotoGP promoter Dorna confirmed the start of a new collaboration, and while they stopped short of announcing a grand prix bagger racing series, that does appear to be the end goal.
"Racing is a core pillar of the Harley-Davidson brand, showcasing our commitment to performance and innovation," says Jochen Zeitz, Chairman, President and CEO, of Harley-Davidson. "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.”
For MotoGP, it’s a step towards regaining some of the luster it has lost in the U.S. market in recent years. Where at one point, MotoGP held rounds in California, Indiana, and Texas, the Laguna Seca and Indianapolis Motor Speedway rounds lost their spots on the tour in 2014 and 2015, respectively, leaving Circuit of the Americas as the lone American stop. With Colorado-based Liberty Media soon to acquire a majority stake in Dorna, re-establishing a presence in the U.S. will become a priority.
Cool and overcast weather prevented the track from heating up enough to get outright lap time attacks, but Harley-Davidson Factory Racing riders Kyle Wyman and James Rispoli still managed to reach measured speeds of 171mph on the fastest part of the track. They were then joined by a roster of former MotoGP riders in Simon Crafar, John Hopkins, Randy Mamola, and Marco Melandri, who each got a turn on the Road Glide.
“What an amazing day for Harley-Davidson. To be on track at the same weekend as MotoGP was incredible,’ says Rispoli. “And to share this project with some legends of the sport was unreal. Their reactions after riding our bikes were priceless.”
“The torque is amazing, and the smoothness. This is why I’ve loved motorcycles since I was 12 years old,” says Mamola, a California native and 13-time GP premier class race winner. “It’s a motorcycle. And it’s a freaking race bike. Everything is so sweet about the bike. Everything is in the right place. It stops really well. The transmission is insane, and it’s smooth. She’s just a big [bike].”
The big Screamin’ Eagle Milwaukee-Eight 131 V-Twin offered a different feel than the high-revving engines the retired racers are used to, while the sheer size of the 620-pound racing baggers also presented some challenges.
“My laps were better and better as we go,” says Melandri, who retired in 2020. “Once I tested the lean angle, I feel much better. It’s not so heavy, and not so big when you ride it. And the engine and the torque is amazing.”
“I was just enjoying it, and trying to figure out how it works. It’s so different. It takes a lot to get your head around it,” says Crafer, a former GP and WSBK racer from New Zealand. “The engine is just amazing, and I really like the sound. The engine is so good. It’s unreal, and I want one as a street bike.”
“Man, that was so fun. It was so good. Just getting the feeling of it. I was riding tight. But it handles so good. It’s so wild,” says Hopkins.
Of course, it wasn’t all fun and games in Barcelona. The Catalunya circuit was brought in to host the 2024 MotoGP season finale after the flooding in Valencia. Harley-Davidson donated a Road Glide motorcycle which will be auctioned off to raise money for relief efforts.
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Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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PAN AMERICA SUPERSPORT LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
I give it one season. They'll find out the sort of people interested in MotoGP are not the sort of people interested in Harleys. Love the use of the word innovation- the antithesis of their core customer base's interests.