The 5 Fastest Pikes Peak Motorcycles Of All Time – Jalopnik

A choose few occasions are hailed because the final bastion of their respective motorsports. For bike racing, it is the Isle of Man TT. For rallying, it is the Dakar. And for hill climbs, it is Pikes Peak. Also generally known as the “Race to the clouds”, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is ready on Pikes Peak mountain, situated in Colorado Springs. It’s actually not for the faint-hearted, sporting a 12.42-mile street snaking by the mountain. Until just lately, that street was a mixture of filth and tarmac. Racers needed to take care of 156 corners, with many missing guardrails and resulting in hundred-foot drops. And they climbed the mountain to achieve 14,110 ft in an environment so skinny that it may starve a automobile’s engine of oxygen. It was, and is, a correct take a look at of man and machine.

Motorcycles had been a common fixture in Pikes Peak since their very first race in 1916. The first bike to do the climb was a 1914 Excelsior Twin ridden by Floyd Clymer, setting a time of 21:58.41. Motorcycles have gotten so much quicker since then. In reality, the highest 5 quickest bikes at Pikes Peak all clocked a sub 10:00 time. So why did they get banned?

Pikes Peak has confronted its share of fatalities resulting from bike accidents. However, Carlin Dunne’s deadly crash in 2019 appeared to be the final straw, with organizers banning bikes from the occasion afterwards. The Pikes Peak veteran was about to set a brand new report aboard a Ducati V4 Streetfighter prototype when he crashed only a few meters from the end line. Banning the bike class means the next data are actually set in stone.

In 2019, one of many quickest bikes on Pikes Peak was piloted by Lucy Glockner, the lone feminine racer within the 2019 climb. She broke the sub-10-minute barrier, a time of 9:58.878, cementing her place in historical past as one of many high 5 quickest riders on Pikes Peak. The German racer piloted a 2019 BMW S 1000 R that was modified with taller and wider handlebars instead of the usual ones.

A BMW S 1000 R is the German bikemaker’s liter-class bare providing, which shares its 999cc inline four-cylinder engine with the S 1000 RR faired superbike. A 2019 S 1000 R, in inventory type, delivers 165 horsepower and 84 pound-feet of torque. Glockner’s race bike was ready for the race by Wunderlichs Motorsport together with the ProKasro race staff, with particular consideration being given to the engine and chassis.

While Lucy didn’t win the race, she got here second total, putting behind Rennie Scaysbrook piloting a 2018 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100. She in all probability would have received if she was piloting a 205 horsepower M 1000 R. 

American street racer Jeremy Toye set a time of 9:58.687 within the 2014 Pikes Peak hill climb aboard a 2015 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. Though Jeremy did profit from your complete stretch being paved with tarmac at this level, he didn’t break the last word report set by Carlin Dunne in 2012. Still, he received the general Open Class that yr. What’s much more spectacular is that it was Jeremy’s first time racing at Pikes Peak, a feat that earned him the 2014 Rookie Of The Year title in addition to King of the Mountain. Just earlier than the race, Jeremy even had a crash throughout a qualifying run.

Besides its livery , the thirtieth Anniversary Edition of the 2015 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R did characteristic particular alterations like an Ohlins digital steering damper and a titanium exhaust. In inventory type, its 998cc inline four-cylinder motor delivers 197 horsepower and 83 pound-feet of torque. For the race, Jeremy’s staff centered on holding the bike mild and tuning the motor to ship higher mid-range efficiency. It used carbon fiber wheels, in addition to aluminum and titanium elements that introduced the load to a scant 362 kilos.

This was additionally the final yr a standard superbike may compete. Following the deaths of contributors using faired sport bikes with clip-ons, the organizers handed a regulation mandating collaborating bikes to have a factory-fitted one-piece handlebar. Faired sports activities bikes and superbikes have been successfully banned consequently, with bare bikes and journey tourers taking their place.

Carlin Dunne, the winner of a number of Pikes Peak runs, set the third-fastest bike report time of 9:52.819 aboard the 2012 Ducati Multistrada 1200 S. This report stood unbeaten for 5 years earlier than lastly being taken down in 2017. Dunne pushed speeds of over 144 miles per hour over filth and tarmac sections to realize this feat. This bike’s efficiency was so particular that the corporate behind it later made the Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak as a strategy to have a good time (and capitalize on) its varied wins.

The Ducati Multistrada 1200 additionally received the Pikes Peak hill climb in 2010 and 2011. It had some elements eliminated such because the headlamp, tail lamp, tail part, and mirrors. The bike additionally had light-weight aluminum OZ wheels, suspension tuned by Race Tech, and upgraded brake elements like Brembo MotoGP brake pads, radial grasp cylinders, and monoblock calipers lifted from the Ducati 1198.

The Multistrada’s 1198cc L-twin delivers 160 horsepower in inventory type. It made use of particular ECU tuning to compensate for a scarcity of oxygen on the larger altitudes of Pikes Peak.

The second-fastest bike on the Pikes Peak hill climb was a 2017 KTM 1290 Super Duke R. It was used through the 2017 version of the hill climb occasion with racer Chris Fillmore on the helm, and it was the one which broke the Multistrada’s five-year streak with a report time of 9:49.625. 

The KTM 1290 Super Duke R is a formidable tremendous bare bike. Its 1,301cc LC8 V-twin engine delivers 177 horsepower, providing intense bursts of acceleration. To prep the bike for Pikes Peak, Chris and his trusted mechanic began by taking off pointless elements such because the mirrors, rear seat cowls, and rear footpegs. The race bike featured KTM PowerParts comparable to 320mm wave disc brakes, tuned WP forks, a stiffer rear WP shock, a steering damper, and a full Akrapovic titanium exhaust. Loads of time was spent drilling and lock wiring bolts on the bike to stop them from coming off through the race, significantly resulting from extreme vibration. 

The report for the quickest bike on Pikes Peak is 9:44.613, and that point is held by a 2018 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory. It was ridden by Australian rider Rennie Scaysbrook through the 2019 climb. Like the Ducati Multistrada Pikes Peak version bikes that commemorate the hill climb race bikes, Aprilia launched a Tuono V4 1100 Factory “Summit Attack” version superbike that is unique to the US and restricted to only 25 models. 

The 2018 Aprilia Tuono 1100 Factory pushes a formidable 175 horsepower from its V4 motor, however a good portion of its record-breaking tempo might be attributed to its Ohlins semi-active digital suspension and rider aids comparable to APRC, cornering ABS, and a bi-directional fast shifter. 

An honorary point out needs to be the Lightning electrical superbike, which was raced by Carlin Dunne through the 2013 Pikes Peak hill climb. It isn’t solely the seventh quickest bike to race Pikes Peak, it completely decimated the gas-powered two-wheeled competitors that yr by fetching a ten:00.694 time, which was over 20 seconds faster than the quickest combustion engine bike that yr. It may have damaged the 10-minute barrier if not for slippery street situations as a result of earlier downpour. In reality, EV domination in Pikes Peak even extends to the four-wheeler class.