---
title: "Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Halfpipe Hill Climb Racing Debuts at Winter X Games"
description: "From snowmobiles to shovels, the winter X Games has never gone without some good old racing in between all the extreme sport competitions. And for 2018, the Games debuted a solid addition to the slate on Sunday night: a motorcycle snow hill climb featuring riders racing each other up the belly of the Superpipe on highly modified Harley-Davidson Sportsters."
date: "2018-01-29"
modified: "2018-01-29"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/18050/harley-davidson-motorcycle-halfpipe-hill-climb-racing-debuts-at-2018-winter-x-games"
categories:
  - "Motorcycles"
  - "News"
  - "The Garage"
tags:
  - "harley-davidson"
  - "Hill Climb"
  - "motorcycle"
  - "snow"
  - "Sportster"
  - "winter"
  - "X-Games"
---

# Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Halfpipe Hill Climb Racing Debuts at Winter X Games

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/01/snow-climb.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

From snowmobiles to shovels, the winter X Games has never gone without some good old racing in between all the extreme sport competitions. And for 2018, the Games debuted a solid addition to the slate on Sunday night: a motorcycle snow [hill climb](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/17808/harley-davidson-snow-hill-climb-to-debut-at-2018-x-games>) featuring riders racing each other up the belly of the Superpipe on highly modified [Harley-Davidson Sportsters.](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/17442/harley-davidson-trademarks-two-more-names-hinting-at-new-models>)

These aren't your [dad's Harleys,](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/15214/harley-davidson-sales-and-profits-fall-again>) of course—even if the gold medal did go to 47-year-old father of four [Travis Whitlock,](<https://billingsgazette.com/sports/legendary-hillclimb-champion-travis-whitlock-ready-to-ride-in-columbus/article_7d1b557d-8909-5ac9-b91b-bce0b301220f.html>) a perennial hill climb champion. The road-going Sportsters have essentially been rebuilt as dirt bikes, packing an elongated frame, swingarm off-road suspension, and a big old power boost. The competitors faced of in head-to-head heats, running up the slope while staying balanced on the curve of the gigantic halfpipe.

https://twitter.com/_/status/957835021993365509

If you're scoffing at the relatively shallow 18-degree angle of attack here, consider how hard it must be to balance the demands of traction and speed in this situation. Too much wheelspin and the back end will kick out; not enough, and you won't be making it to the top.

https://youtube.com/embed/nW1KWVOLvzc

With Whitlock capturing the gold, fellow Americans Logan Cipala and Austin Cardwell snagged the silver and bronze respectively.

Unfortunately, we won't be seeing a repeat when the 2018 Winter Olympics kick off in a couple weeks, which have never featured any sort of motorized activity. But if this has whet your appetite for the boutique world of professional motorcycle hill climb racing, consider booking a flight to Billings, Montana this summer, when the city [will play host](<https://bmcmontana.com/event/great-american/>) to the 100th Annual Great American Pro Championship Motorcycle Hill Climb.

https://youtube.com/embed/-_JHpXZ-PvE

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)