Hill-climbers are gods among men.
- Thread starter lonesoldier84
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n1one
RIP Tom Eden
NUTZ!!!:spank:
You have to be crazy to do that stuff!
You have to be crazy to do that stuff!
FZ6drummer
Junior Member
that is some intense riding. i wonder who first thought "hmm...i wonder if i can take this motorcycle up this steep dirt hill? it's probably a good idea" lol. cool stuff!
barijack
Junior Member
I don't remember when but if I'm not mistaken, I believe this sport was created at the Sturgis bike ralley in South Dakota back in the 60s. Don't really know who started it though. It seems like the show I saw a while back on TV mentioned something about it starting after several guys got bored and just started going up the nearby hills and eventually tried to go farther and farther. Now there are actually courses and events to enter for the "sport".
Bruce McCrary
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You could be right about Sturgis and the 60's, I'm not real sure either, but...
The most famous (in-famous?) hill climb event in the US is The Widow Maker in Utah. I tried to do some quick on line research and came up with some bogus facts. Wikipedia claimed the event has only been running for the past 6 years, which is simply not so.
In the 70's cult film "On Any Sunday" which was made in '71, Bruce Brown visited and filmed the Widow Maker and gave it quite a bit of coverage in the film. Even then there were comments made about "longest running", "historic", etc. I'm sure it was said how long it had been going on, but I don't recall. '71 was the first year that anyone ever made it to the top too. I don't remember the riders name but he was riding a stretched, nitro injected Harley powered purpose built machine and that too is in the movie.
With suspension technology advancing as it has been for so many years the sport literally turned into a drag race up a hill. So much so that several years ago Pro Circuit built a bike using two Honda CR500 engines fueled by a methanol. It's my understanding that the twin engine bikes were outlawed along with any fuel except gasoline.
I've seen some modern day hill climbs on TV, the most recent was an event held in California at the Glen Helen Raceway. Interesting stuff, the hill wasn't terribly long but extremely technical. Most of the participants were making it to the top so timing was the tie breaker.
Bruce
The most famous (in-famous?) hill climb event in the US is The Widow Maker in Utah. I tried to do some quick on line research and came up with some bogus facts. Wikipedia claimed the event has only been running for the past 6 years, which is simply not so.
In the 70's cult film "On Any Sunday" which was made in '71, Bruce Brown visited and filmed the Widow Maker and gave it quite a bit of coverage in the film. Even then there were comments made about "longest running", "historic", etc. I'm sure it was said how long it had been going on, but I don't recall. '71 was the first year that anyone ever made it to the top too. I don't remember the riders name but he was riding a stretched, nitro injected Harley powered purpose built machine and that too is in the movie.
With suspension technology advancing as it has been for so many years the sport literally turned into a drag race up a hill. So much so that several years ago Pro Circuit built a bike using two Honda CR500 engines fueled by a methanol. It's my understanding that the twin engine bikes were outlawed along with any fuel except gasoline.
I've seen some modern day hill climbs on TV, the most recent was an event held in California at the Glen Helen Raceway. Interesting stuff, the hill wasn't terribly long but extremely technical. Most of the participants were making it to the top so timing was the tie breaker.
Bruce
chunkygoat
Member
Whats up with the guy with the mullet half way through?
Hill climbs are cool events!! I have been going to the KMSR (Kettle Moraine Sport Riders) hill climb for 17 years. It has been held every Fathers Day for as long as I can remember. Here are some pics from '08.
KMSR Hill Climb 08 Photo Gallery by jimcam at pbase.com
KMSR Hill Climb 08 Photo Gallery by jimcam at pbase.com
