Baggers are steadily evolving into better racebikes, with lap times continuing to improve. Fans are drawn to the class for its wild incongruity—"touring" bikes reaching 273 km/h and achieving impressive lap times. The raw, electronics-free nature of these bikes, along with the visible effort riders put in to manage big slides and slip-wiggles, adds to the excitement.

However, there's a potential contradiction. Teams aim to prove which brand and rider are the best, necessitating the elimination of poor bike manners that distract from winning. This could mean that as the bikes become smoother and faster, they might lose some of their raw appeal.

Currently, this isn't a problem. Indian has introduced a new swingarm and narrowed the forward engine hangers to avoid crashes caused by wider edges digging into the pavement. This allows for higher lean angles without either disaster or the need to raise the bike so high that riders need significant lifts in their boots to remain upright on the start grid.

Dunlop engineer John Robinson has revealed that the tyres used in the Baggers class are standard Superbike slicks, not specially designed for these bikes. This adds a challenge, as these tyres have to support bikes with a minimum weight of 281 kg. Despite the short length of Baggers races, riders often run wide in the latter halves due to tyre wear.

Troy Herfoss's performance in Race 1 at COTA was notable. Starting in sixth, he moved up as the leaders' tyres wore down, ultimately winning by conserving his rubber. This strategy mirrored Marco Lucchinelli's approach in the 1981 500 championship. However, in Race 2, Herfoss couldn't maintain the same pace, finishing 0.6 seconds behind Kyle Wyman, who set a new track record with a 2:14.890 lap on a Harley-Davidson.

This highlights the renewed Indian-versus-Harley rivalry, with these two domestic makers being the only factory teams in the series. Historically, in 1978, an early AMA Superbike team blamed handling issues on Goodyear, which led Goodyear to instrument the bike's chassis to demonstrate the flexing, thus ending the dispute.

This incident marked the beginning of the second generation of AMA Superbikes, similar to how the industry-wide use of mass properties rigs can be traced back to Honda's 1984 NSR500 experiment with fuel placement. Racing provides manufacturers with a wealth of information quickly, leading to improvements that benefit production models.

The Baggers' presence at COTA during the US MotoGP energised the paddock, much like the AMA dirt-track did at the Indianapolis Mile in 2009. This crossover of racing experiences continues to influence and enhance the development of these motorcycles.