I could write an entire article on why I think soccer is boring and dumb. But that’s not the point I’m trying to make here. I only bring it up because my attitude toward the sport is very similar to my attitude toward motorcycle racing.
I have participated in both, and in both cases ─ albeit for different reasons ─ I came away thinking: “I do not find this to be fulfilling.”
And possibly because I find these things to be so personally unfulfilling, I find that watching other people do them is downright tedious. Though, goodness knows, I have tried.
No love for the beautiful game
Soccer, or football, as it is known here, is a big thing in the United Kingdom. When I first moved to this cold and soggy archipelago almost 19 years ago, I made a valiant effort to get into soccer, watching as many matches as I could and occasionally even suffering through the poor writing of British sport pages.
I became well-versed enough to know that there are only four teams worth watching, that I hated Didier Drogba, and that my favorite player was Cristiano Ronaldo ─ not necessarily because he was the best but because I realized that I could amuse myself by shouting, “ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling,” as he ran with the ball (when I did this in pubs no one else thought it was funny).
It was somewhere in the middle of the 2008 FA Cup Final, however, that I decided to admit defeat. That match was between Cardiff and Portsmouth, two places that have very personal relevance to me (I was living in Cardiff at the time, and a college exchange year in Portsmouth is what first made me want to move to the UK). Yet, I was bored out of my mind. No matter how hard I tried I could not force myself to pay attention or care.
Fast, tiny men
A few years later, when I first got into this whole moto-journalism thing, I found myself adopting similar behavioral patterns toward motorcycle racing. I felt that, you know, because I really like motorcycles I had an obligation to like motorcycle racing. Or to at least remain abreast of it.
And I tried. But, sweet baby Jesus, it is boring. Especially the stuff that doesn’t go in a big circle (like flat track), because you never really have an overview of the whole field. You don’t get a sense of context. Watching MotoGP on television, for example, is just a bunch of random camera angles and British or Australian guys struggling to pronounce Spanish and Italian names.
That said, I think I might be willing to give the forthcoming Bagger Racing European Cup a try.
You’ve probably heard of King of the Baggers, the US racing series that started as a marketing gimmick for Harley-Davidson and Indian, but then somehow became an actual, regular thing. Because watching colossal touring bikes squirrel their way around a track ─ constantly on the edge of total disaster ─ is more interesting than sitting through the sight of fast, tiny men curled in the fetal position for an hour (or however long it is that a MotoGP race lasts).
There’s a delightful kind of “hey, watch me do this,” boneheadedness to King of the Baggers that’s on par with tractor pulls and semi-truck racing and all the other loud and dumb and wonderful things that Americans do. And I wouldn’t have thought that it would necessarily succeed outside of the God-blessed US of A. Fortunately, no one asked me.
It’s not a joke
Back in November, Harley-Davidson showed up at Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunya to put on a kind of exhibition following the Catalan Grand Prix.
“Racing is a core pillar of the Harley-Davidson brand, showcasing our commitment to performance and innovation,” Harley’s chairman and CEO, Jochen Zeitz, was quoted as saying in a press release. “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.”
The idea of Harley-Davidson partnering with MotoGP felt like an April Fool’s joke. In fact, I seem to remember some publication (maybe it was RideApart; maybe it was Visordown) writing just such a story as an April 1st gag many years ago. With this news coming in November, however, it felt like a confused publicity stunt. One that seemed so obviously headed nowhere that you will notice very few outlets bothered to report on it.
Turns out, there’s a lot more to this. FIM Europe, the organization responsible for motorcycle sport in Europe, has announced that 2025 will see the inaugural season of the Bagger Racing European Cup.
Unlike King of the Baggers and the Bagger Racing League in the United States, the bikes racing in this series won’t be limited to V-twins from Harley and Indian. The Bagger Racing European Cup is set to be much more ridiculous and chaotic. According to a media release from FIM Europe:
“The Cup will be open to all brands that offer motorcycles that can be equipped with bags on the market, thus allowing manufacturers and customizers to compete on a terrain that has never before been the subject of competition in Europe. Here is the list of bikes admitted to the Cup:
- Harley Davidson Street Glide
- Harley Davidson Road Glide
- Harley Davidson Road King
- Harley Davidson Ultra
- BMW R18
- Honda Gold Wing
- Kawasaki VN Voyager
- Suzuki Intruder
- Yamaha Star Cruiser
- Moto Guzzi MGX 21
- Moto Guzzi California
- Triumph Rocket
- Ducati Diavel V2
- WYCHE Motorcycle”
If you’re baffled by that last one, I was too. I’d never heard of WYCHE. It appears it is also known as X-WEDGE: a Chinese outfit selling bikes that look like clones of Suzuki’s Harley clones. As best I can tell, it is a subsidiary of HISUN, which manufactures ATVs and the like. Its bikes are driven by 121 cubic-inch (1982cc) S&S engines, and hitherto ─ as best I can tell ─ they have only been available in China.
The brand made its European debut at EICMA 2024, inexplicably branded as WYCHE, which is a name that has no web/social media presence whatsoever. Probably not a great sign.
Also, I don’t see any Indian Motorcycle bikes on the list. Outrageous.
Anyhoo… bagger racing in Europe. I think it could be amusing to watch. If it actually happens. As with WYCHE motorcycles, there is no information to be found yet regarding when or where Bagger Racing European Cup races will take place, nor how many races there will be.
In the FIM Europe media release that was issued on 23 December 2024, Ruben Xaus, one of the driving forces behind the series says: “We are in the process of defining the calendar, which will be made official within a few days.”
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