Check Out Kyle Wyman's Custom Harley Davidson Screamin Eagle Road Glide Racebike (video included)

The growth of the King of the Baggers championship exemplifies the ingenuity and competitive spirit of American racing.  The rules format encourages all sorts of custom engineering which results in a wide variety of racing machines including turbocharged V-twins.

The bike project, which began in 2021 as an after hours project for Harley Davidson employees, became a true factory effort in 2022. 

Modifications on Kyle Wyman's Road Glide included trimming down the weight of the bike making it 200 pounds lighter than the production model, increasing seat height to 36.5 inches, and modifying the cockpit with a wide one-piece motocross handlebar which offers serious leverage.  All this allows riders 55 degrees of maximum lean angle, every one of which Wyman gladly uses.

Of course the racebike rides on Dunlop KR448 and KR451 MotoAmerica-spec racing slicks and is fitted with a top-shelf Öhlins FGR 250 superbike fork and specifically developed Öhlins shocks. Its billet aluminum swingarm is carved from solid metal.

Powering the factory built Road Glide is the Harley Davidson Screamin’ Eagle Milwaukee-Eight 131 Performance Crate Engine, modified to fit the bike.  The engine features 1,073cc pistons with a unique crown to increase compression ratio, more aggressive cam profiles, and improved fuel injectors for 150 hp and 150 pound feet of torque at the rear wheel.  

The real engine development challenge is keeping it cool-something difficult when average race rpm is over 6,000 rpmabove the production bike’s redline.  However to combat extreme engine heat, there is a forward facing oil cooler housed inside of the Road Glide’s carbon fiber bodywork in place of its headlights, extended cylinder cooling fins on the left side of the engine, and a custom cooling duct, which replaces the horn and pushes air to the rearward cylinder.

Brembo front calipers have been added to good use- a 300mm disc helps out at the rear. Habitually feathering the rear brake becomes mashing the lever in effort to squeeze out every available ounce of stopping power. The remainder of the rider’s mental bandwidth is focused on nailing downshifts; the bagger comes without an autoblipper, so precise footwork is required for smooth shifting.  Overall, Kyle Wyman's Harley Screamin Eagle is a work of superb craftmanship.