Harley-Davidson Snow Hill Climb debuts at X Games Aspen.. wait, what?

reded
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1/28/2018 8:24pm
X-Games just jumped the shark. As much as I love the sport of hillclimb, that shit tonight isn't what it's about.
JM485
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1/28/2018 8:33pm Edited Date/Time 1/28/2018 8:34pm
reded wrote:
X-Games just jumped the shark. As much as I love the sport of hillclimb, that shit tonight isn't what it's about.
I think the event itself has potential, but the fact that they just blatantly lied throughout the whole intro segment just pisses me off to no end. That whole thing was an infomercial for Harley, what they showed in the intro was NOTHING like a modern hillclimb is now adays, not even close. Also, this was not even close to the first ice climb as I've found out throughout the week, apparently they've been doing this back east and in other countries for years.

I think had they shown the qualifiers it would have been a much better event, but just showing the medal rounds was kind of lame. If they do it again, I think everyone will be a lot more prepared since this was a pretty last minute thing as far as I've been told. The real hope is that they expand this into summer X Games so it's a little more of a traditional event. Verticross races like you just saw can be incredibly exciting with the right hill and few jumps, not to mention enduroclimb could really be a next level style of event they could grab onto.
racer495a
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1/29/2018 5:04am
I'd love to see them get after a nasty mogul section
1/29/2018 8:34am
Watched the whole thing in about 3 minutes. I know you need sponsor time, but the video without ads was 45 minutes. 8 runs, which each took 10 seconds. None were terribly close or exciting. If you want to be generous, it was 90 seconds of action and 43 minutes of filler.

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mauidex
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1/29/2018 8:54am
weak, and thats being niceSad Sad
Asimo
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1/29/2018 9:22am
Where was the hill? It was a slight slope drag race.

They need to bring back real hillcross like in 2000-2003. It wasn't as good in 15 or whenever they brought it back once before. They failed on what fans want to see.
1/29/2018 11:34pm
I just got back from Aspen and was following the athletes taking photos and videos as they did qualifying Saturday night and the race last night. Yes it wasn't the most challenging race ever, and this sport rarely races in the snow, but it gave motorcycle hillclimb the single biggest mainstream exposure boost of it's 100+ year history. Harley-Davidson did take a little more credit than made me comfortable, almost claiming ownership of a sport they haven't been involved with in almost a half century, but they were the ones who put it on TV and gave these top athletes the exposure they deserve, so huge props to them for making it happen.

To say the least, it was one of my most memorable experiences in racing to date. Going to France with Austin Teyler last year was my most, but this is a close second. Getting access to the front and seeing the fans/workers/other athletes (a Red Bull snowboarder couldn't contain himself over the bikes haha) flip out over these bikes was priceless. RV2 even came to the pits for a solid 30 minutes checking out the bikes and talking to the riders, maybe he will hop on a 200 HP machine in the future.. who knows! But it was a huge shot in the arm and it was a honor to be there to see it all go down live. The X Games crew treated the teams and athletes so well, and really pulled this off successfully, considering less than a month ago they called the athletes about the event...

Summer X is a very very long shot because of the onsite venue challenges. But now that the sport and athletes hit mainstream, it can only go up from here. And how cool it is that Travis Whitlock won it!! 38 years of racing and he still beats all the young bucks. Not many extreme moto disciplines can see a 48 year old dominate over the field. See his tire? 220 ice studs he installed the night before he drove out, completely insane. Big props to the other riders Logan Cipala and Austin Cardwell who won Silver and Bronze, Dan and Louie Lauters on the Harleys, Josh Mueller on all the promo videos, and top-circuit riders Logan Mead and Jake Anstett.

It might have looked a little funky and semi-lame, but it was actually way cool and a unique concept for Harley and X Games to partner with. This sport needed this badly. And before the finals, they were already talking about how they could make it bigger and better for next year.... I'll post the link to my online gallery soon, but you can see all my weekend coverage at https://www.facebook.com/motoclimbnation/
reded
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1/30/2018 8:30am
The hour long X-Games HD advertisement was too little, too late for the Sportster plant.

KC Plant to Close
Asimo
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1/30/2018 12:26pm
Travis Whitlock won it!! 38 years of racing and he still beats all the young bucks. Not many extreme moto disciplines can see a 48 year old dominate over the field.

That's like saying John Force beat his daughters. This was far from an "extreme moto discipline."
I mean 200+ MPH drag racing was never considered an extreme sport.

There were more KTMs than Harleys. And I'd bet most had aftermarket engines.


526
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1/30/2018 2:12pm
Forty wrote:
Harley Davidson is bleeding as their buyer pool goes away....they have to make some moves to get another group interested....the group they're after doesn't tolerate poor...
Harley Davidson is bleeding as their buyer pool goes away....they have to make some moves to get another group interested....the group they're after doesn't tolerate poor performance or old tech.....time to step it up Harley.

Anyone ridden the Yamaha FZ-09? I like the direction Yamaha is taking their road bikes, the line has vastly improved.
RABnasty wrote:
I work for Harley-Davidson. We are doing just fine. Have you ridden the new bikes?
Are you sure they are doing fine? Like you really know deep down they are doing fine? I would spruce up the Resume.

MILWAUKEE — Harley-Davidson's sales fell sharply in 2017 and the company will move ahead with a plan to consolidate manufacturing operations, including the closure of its Kansas City, Mo. plant.

The world's largest maker of heavyweight motorcycles has struggled to reverse a four-year sales slide, with growth overseas somewhat helping offset a decline in the U.S. bike market.

The Milwaukee-based company said its net income fell 82% in its fiscal fourth quarter to $8.3 million, compared with a year earlier. Earnings per share were 5 cents, down from 27 cents a year earlier. Revenue was $1.23 billion, up from $1.11 billion.

The earnings drop came in part because of a charge associated with President Trump's tax cut and a $29.4 million charge for a voluntary product recall.

Harley-Davidson worldwide retail motorcycle sales fell 6.7% in 2017 compared to 2016. The company's U.S. sales fell 8.5% and international sales were down 3.9%.

Harley has taken steps to counter what's been a prolonged downturn, including tightening motorcycle inventories.


"Our actions to address the current environment, through disciplined supply and cost management, position us well as we drive to achieve our long-term objectives to build the next generation of Harley-Davidson riders globally," Matt Levatich, president and CEO, said in a statement.

The company's manufacturing consolidation includes plans to shift production from Kansas City, Mo. into its plant in York, Pa. About 800 jobs in Kansas City will be cut.

More: Women help rev up the motorcycle industry

More: Harley-Davidson needs to rev up Millennials about motorcycles

More: Amid sales drop, Harley-Davidson wants to teach more to ride

Harley expects restructuring and other consolidation costs of $170 million to $200 million over the next two years.

It expects ongoing annual cash savings of $65 million to $75 million after 2020.

"The decision to consolidate our final assembly plants was made after very careful consideration of our manufacturing footprint and the appropriate capacity given the current business environment. Our Kansas City assembly operations will leave a legacy of safety, quality, collaboration and manufacturing leadership," Levatich said.

Levatich did not make any mention of the company's Wisconsin operations, including its large manufacturing plant in Menomonee Falls and a smaller plant in Tomahawk.

Harley and other makers of cruiser and touring motorcycles have seen their sales tumble as the economy has weakened in some areas and interest in motorcycling, overall, hasn't been as strong.
1/30/2018 2:53pm
Asimo wrote:
[i] Travis Whitlock won it!! 38 years of racing and he still beats all the young bucks. Not many extreme moto disciplines can see a 48...
Travis Whitlock won it!! 38 years of racing and he still beats all the young bucks. Not many extreme moto disciplines can see a 48 year old dominate over the field.

That's like saying John Force beat his daughters. This was far from an "extreme moto discipline."
I mean 200+ MPH drag racing was never considered an extreme sport.

There were more KTMs than Harleys. And I'd bet most had aftermarket engines.


Very true, John Force is a good analogy of this past weekend's race.. but Travis still remains a top 5 rider at most races on the circuit, which include some really challenging hills. The guy is so smooth and good, he's an animal.
PFitzG38
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2/2/2018 1:46pm
BobbyM wrote:
You can't even ride a fucking bike fast.
lol....that was kind of my point. Thanks for pointing out the obvious
PFitzG38
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2/2/2018 1:57pm
JM485 wrote:
I meant an actual hillclimb, this is such a one-off deal I don't know if I'll ever even get to run one. If you finished mid...
I meant an actual hillclimb, this is such a one-off deal I don't know if I'll ever even get to run one. If you finished mid pack you aren't going to win anything, but my point was these are the same guys winning races on the national level so facing them here wouldn't be an easy deal either. I have absolutely no idea how much money is into any of these bikes, but for a regular hillclimb all you need is a 450 and a set of extensions at minimum. It's hard to compete on stock stuff, but I do it and have won a couple classes before. The 451-700 class is where the big money comes in, and to be honest for a regular guy it's just too damn hard to compete against $10k motors now a days. You used to be able to pull off a good finish on a 500, but those days are over.

As for tonight's event, I think traction is going to be the main decider. Whoever gets tire/spike/paddles selection figured out is probably going to take it, but you just never know. Your average moto guys could probably run pretty well, but when you have all the pressure on you and you know you have to be absolutely perfect in your run, it's kind of a different deal. It's not like a moto race where if you blow a corner or something it's not all that big of a deal, if you screw up and some a tenth or two in a hillclimb run its pretty much over, that's where the difficulty lies.
Yeah, I get it now - I had to think about this for a couple days. Just because I don't get the fun:adrenaline:danger:cost ratio dosn't mean someone else doesn't. I get that a lot of dirt bike riders probably don't get gate drops, railing ruts and hucking triples like I do.

It reminds me of the old skiier/snowboarder animosity back in the day. I could never understand that. I always believed in the "Spirit of Glisse" It doesn't matter how you get down the hill as long as you are outside going down the hill.

So after thinking about it, I believe I was a little harsh and a bit of a dick. My bad. Looking forward to watching this somewhere even if it doesn't showcase the discipline like the participants would like and especially the disciple that RV is doing

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