The 5 Fastest Pikes Peak Motorcycles of All Time – Jalopnik

A select number of events are hailed as the last bastion of their respective motorsports. For motorcycle racing this is the Isle of Man TT. For rallying this is the Dakar. And for hill climbing it’s Pikes Peak. The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, also known as the “Race to the clouds”, takes place on the Pikes Peak mountain, located in Colorado Springs. It’s certainly not for the faint-hearted, with a 20.42 kilometer road winding through the mountain. Until recently, that road was a mix of sand and asphalt. Racers faced 156 turns, many of which had no guardrails and led to a thirty-meter drop. And they climbed the mountain to a height of 14,000 feet, in an atmosphere so thin it could starve a car engine of oxygen. It was and is a real test of man and machine.

Since their very first race in 1916, motorcycles have been a fixture at Pikes Peak. The first motorcycle to do the climb was a 1914 Excelsior Twin driven by Floyd Clymer, who recorded a time of 21:58.41. Since then, motorcycles have become a lot faster. In fact, the five fastest motorcycles on Pikes Peak all clocked a time under 10:00. Then why were they banned?

Pikes Peak has experienced a high number of fatalities due to motorcycle accidents. However, Carlin Dunne’s fatal crash in 2019 seemed to be the last straw, with organizers banning motorcycles from the event. The Pikes Peak veteran was about to set a new record aboard a Ducati V4 Streetfighter prototype when he crashed just a few meters from the finish line. Banning the motorcycle class means the following records are now set in stone.

In 2019, one of the fastest motorcycles on Pikes Peak was piloted by Lucy Glockner, the only female racer on the 2019 climb. She broke the sub-10-minute barrier with a time of 9:58.878, cementing her place in history as one of the top five riders on Pikes Peak. The German racer piloted a 2019 BMW S 1000 R that had been modified with a larger and wider handlebar instead of the stock handlebar.

A BMW S 1000 R is the German motorcycle manufacturer’s naked offering in the liter class, sharing its 999cc inline four-cylinder engine with the S 1000 RR streamlined superbike. A 2019 S 1000 R, in stock form, makes 165 horsepower and 84 pound-feet of torque. The Glockner racing bike was prepared for the race by Wunderlichs Motorsport together with the ProKasro racing team, with special attention paid to the engine and chassis.

Although Lucy did not win the race, she finished second overall, behind Rennie Scaysbrook driving a 2018 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100. She probably would have won if she were driving an M 1000 R with 205 hp.

In addition to the paint scheme, the 30th Anniversary Edition of the 2015 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R also included special changes such as an Ohlins electronic steering damper and a titanium exhaust. In stock form, the 998cc four-cylinder engine produces 197 horsepower and 83 pound-feet of torque. Before the race, Jeremy’s team focused on keeping the bike light and tuning the engine to deliver better mid-range performance. Carbon fiber wheels were used, as well as aluminum and titanium parts that brought the weight to just 362 pounds.

This was also the last year that a traditional superbike could compete. Following the deaths of competitors riding streamlined sports bikes with clip-ons, organizers passed a regulation requiring participating motorcycles to have factory-installed one-piece handlebars. As a result, streamlined sports bikes and superbikes were effectively banned, with naked motorcycles and adventure tourers taking their place.

The Ducati Multistrada 1200 also won the Pikes Peak hill climb in 2010 and 2011. Some parts had been removed, such as the headlight, taillight, tail section and mirrors. The bike also featured lightweight aluminum OZ wheels, Race Tech-tuned suspension and upgraded braking components such as Brembo MotoGP brake pads, radial master cylinders and monoblock calipers from the Ducati 1198.

The Multistrada’s 1198cc L-twin produces 160 hp in standard form. It used special ECU tuning to compensate for a lack of oxygen at the higher elevations of Pikes Peak.

The KTM 1290 Super Duke R is a formidable super naked bike. The 1,301 cc LC8 V-twin engine delivers 177 hp and provides intense bursts of acceleration. To get the bike ready for Pikes Peak, Chris and his trusted mechanic started by removing unnecessary parts, such as the mirrors, rear seat covers and rear footpegs. The racing bike was equipped with KTM PowerParts such as 320 mm wave disc brakes, tuned WP forks, a stiffer WP rear shock absorber, a steering damper and a full Akrapovic titanium exhaust. A lot of time was spent drilling and locking the wiring bolts on the motorcycle to prevent them from loosening during the race, especially due to excessive vibration.

The 2018 Aprilia Tuono 1100 Factory makes a whopping 175 hp from its V4 engine, but a significant part of its record pace can be attributed to the Ohlins semi-active electronic suspension and rider aids such as APRC, cornering ABS and a bi-directional quick switch.

An honorable mention has to be the Lightning electric superbike, which Carlin Dunne raced at the 2013 Pikes Peak hill climb. Not only is it the seventh fastest motorcycle to race at Pikes Peak, it absolutely decimated the two-wheeled competition that year, recording a time of 10:00.694, which was over 20 seconds faster than the fastest internal combustion motorcycle that year. It could have broken the 10-minute barrier had it not been for slippery roads due to the previous rainstorm. In fact, the EV dominance in Pikes Peak even extends to the four-wheeler category.