It takes a certain type of person to compete in motorcycle hillclimb events. Not all of us are willing to launch ourselves at a near vertical slope. But if it means we get to ride this bonkers BMW R nineT Scrambler hillclimb special, we might be persuaded. It somehow got buried in our email inbox a while ago, but was too good not to finally share.
The utterly bonkers BMW R nineT Scrambler hillclimb special was comissioned by exhaust company Dr Jekill and Mr Hyde. They had competed in an event named Harley & Snow on the snow-covered ski slopes of Ridnaun in South Tyrol in 2017. Having entered stunt riding champion Chris Pfeiffer on a bike named ‘Project Snowsucker’ in 2017, they wanted to go further this year. So they collaborated with German custom bike builders Nagel Motors, and parts company Wunderlich to produce this beast, named the ‘Husky’.
It’s quite hard not to stare at the custom long swingarm. So let’s start there. It’s a basic requirement for a hillclimb special to try and get more traction. And to also try and stop it flipping over, which is never good. Using a tubular welded cage design means it should be stiff and light. So that makes sense. But it also means that Nagel Motors needed to also create a custom shaft to still get power to the rear wheel. Which is a bit more effort than a longer chain, and shows some impressive skills to get it all working properly.
The basic shape of the rest of the BMW R nineT stays largely the same. But with various parts coming from the Wunderlich catalogue. Which should mean if the bike does flip, it stands a better chance of remaining largely intact. Looking at the engine, it’s largely been kept standard, which is a good idea for reliability. But it did gain a new exhaust and filters. Obvsiouly Jekill and Hyde wanted to show off their twin silencer exhaust system for the Husky. And to keep them clear of that long swingarm, they’re mounted a bit higher than the xamples you can actually buy from the firm for your own BMW. Prices, including the system and modeswitch, start from around £1,500 if you want something similar.
If you want a similar look, you’ll also need some tyres with snow spikes. And a custom tail unit with what appear to be skateboard wheels. Presumably to help it roll if the seat ends up in contact with the ground.
The Harley and Snow event started back in 2013, and has now opened up to other manufacturers. There are no limited on engine size, but you do have to stick to a total length of 2500mm, with classes for Harley-Davidson and Buell motorcycles and All Bikes. Plus an Open Bikes class with no max length, and a special Celebrity class.
And while it’s a bit hard to find any English language results for the event, which took place in March, we did find a rather nice video of the action.
Definitely looks like fun to us. Anyone fancy lending us a bike, a hill and some cold weather towards the end of the year?
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