Daytona Bike Week 2026—Motorcycle Racing Galore
Daytona Bike Week always delivers world-class racing. Just five miles inland from the chaos of Main Street, the real action was found inside the high banks of Daytona International Speedway, where the 2026 MotoAmerica racing season was underway. Aptly named, King of the Baggers has become one of MotoAmerica’s most popular and fastest-growing classes, built around heavily modified American V-twin touring bikes.
King of the Baggers started as a one-off invitational in 2020. It was well received and quickly grew into a full MotoAmerica championship. Now, it’s a staple on the national calendar with dedicated factory programs from both Harley-Davidson and Indian. Past titles have bounced between the two brands—Kyle Wyman, Tyler O’Hara, Hayden Gillim, and Troy Herfoss all have their names on the roll—and their rivalry is a big part of why seats fill up early on Bagger race days.
By the rules, the bikes must keep the big touring fairings and hard bags, with a minimum weight of 620 pounds. But everything else gets the race treatment. Tall ground clearance, superbike-spec suspension, aggressive rearsets and clip-ons, and engines tuned until those baggers start hitting 180-horsepower on the dyno are standard issue in these races.
Down in the pits at Daytona, the race transformation is on full display. The bikes are stripped and shrouded in data cables, laptop screens glowing with suspension traces and engine control unit (ECU) maps while crew members dive in for between-session adjustments. They fit on radial Brembo brakes, stuff wide race slicks under stretched fenders, quick-change rear ends, and cycle through tire warmers, brake bleeds, and clutch swaps like a superbike team.
It’s wild enough watching heavy touring motorcycles drag knee and sweep in a five-bike draft at triple-digit speeds from the grandstand. But from the paddock fence, the skill level is even more obvious. You can see the riders working the bars to hustle these big twins through Daytona’s infield, rear wheels breaking loose, and screaming V-twins heading into the banking. It’s a spectacle that pulls cruiser riders and sportbike purists to the same fence line. That crossover may be the best thing that’s happened to motorcycle racing in years.
When the checkered flag fell on the baggers, the story at Daytona shifted to the 84th running of the Daytona 200, the traditional middleweight endurance sprint that remains the crown jewel of the event. The 200 is a very different flavor of racing—lighter machines, longer distance, and pit strategy instead of brute V-twin torque. Supercross, flat track, and hooligan racing take it to the track, too. Altogether, they deliver a weekend packed with every flavor of motorcycle racing.
With the 2026 MotoAmerica championship kicking off here and a full calendar still ahead, there’s a whole season of high-speed, elbows-out warfare and classic heroics waiting. Stay up to date on the schedule, as your next racing fix might be closer than you think.