Debut in 1995, the X Games is an annual extreme sports event hosted, produced, and broadcast by ESPN. A couple of years later, they started the winter edition of these games where the most celebrated winter action sports athletes from around the world compete in a myriad of sporting activities on the icy Buttermilk Mountains in Aspen, Colorado.
Events include Shovel Racing, Snow Mountain Bike Racing, Skiboarding, Ice climbing, Snow skating, and other such sports on the snow. The 2018 edition is right around the corner, and this time Harley Davidson has decided to be part of the action and is introducing a new event: The Snowhill Climb.
In its recent adventures, Harley Davidson has been seemingly busy with increasing involvement of snow and ice competition. Recently, the Milwaukee brand entered the Snowquake 2018, a snow dirt event in the Italian Alps. Now, they have officially entered the Winter X Games with their purpose built Snow Hill Climb Sportster.
Harley partnered with the organizers to introduce a new event, the Snow Hill Climb, at this year’s Winter X Games. It is going to be a medaled event where riders will climb onto modified Harley-Davidson Sportsters and race up the snowy hill in a drag-race style competition. In every segment, one rider will be eliminated and three riders will stand on the podium eventually.
The bikes will have an extended swingarm, studded tires, and widened dirt-bike styled frames, full-flow exhaust, and shorter gearings to get it off the ice in a jiffy. The motor will get a huge bump with having double the horsepower than the stock Sportster to take it up the SuperPipe course as fast as possible.
“For 115 years H-D riders from all walks of life have expressed their freedom from the seat of America’s favorite motorcycle, so it’s natural for us to continue to blaze trails – this time off the road and in the snow,” said Scott Beck, Harley-Davidson director of marketing.
He also gives a reason why Harley is trying to enter into this sport. “We’ve raced the ice and climbed virtually every kind of hill, and the Harley-Davidson Snow Hill Climb is another way for us to grow the sport of motorcycling. We know our riders, and X Games fans and athletes alike share a passion for adrenaline and speed.”
This could be Harley’s strategical approach towards enticing more new riders onto the stride. Given its down run in the industry, Harley wants to revamp its position and outlook by attaching itself to events such as this Winter X Games and the Snowquake.
Catch the preliminary & qualifying rounds LIVE on Harley Davidson’s Facebook page Jan. 28 at 8:15 p.m. MDT (10:15 PM EST). The gold & bronze-medal rounds will air at 8:45 p.m. MDT (10:45 PM EST) live on ESPN.