Thunder Press story about Whitney Brothers sidecar racing

A Winning Combination
Motocrossing a Harley ! ?
By Daniel Yaryan

It was their 1997 invite to the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, also known as the “Race to the Clouds”, that inspired the Whitney brothers to track down their old family racing sidecar rig with its 1972 H-D Sportster engine and resurrect it into a modern, motocross demon. A decision that garnered them first place at Pikes Peak last July 4, and a big win at the Desert Vipers 19th Annual Adelanto Grand Prix this February.

In a field of 17 motocross and dualsport sidecars, Scott and Pete Whitney brought their custom-built sidecar racing rig to a first-place finish at Adelanto. Second place went to the specialized Zabel 2-stroke motocross rig of Marc Claus and Perry Melillo. The Whitneys decided to set aside their 2-stroke Honda CR500-based motocross sidecar (which has landed them in the winners circle at the event three previous years) and raced their Harley-Davidson with new Bartels-built 1200cc Sportster motor, fitted with Buell heads and cams. They were up against typical 2-stroke motorcycles that are usually found in contemporary motocross racing.

“I like the fact that we were able to take a motor that’s not expected to be out there, and surprise a lot of people,” said Pete Whitney, who admits that the sheer weight of their Harley can be a bit of a handicap on a rough track. Yet, “because of the pure acceleration of the machine, as we reached the straightaway, we waved goodbye and motored on past,” he said.

According to Sidecar Industry Council Chairman Doug Bingham, seeing the Harley competing in the sidecar motocross sport in the early '60s up to the early '80s was commonplace. Although today, its a different story. “I think its great what the Whitneys are doing. It’s made quite a few believers out of people on the straightaways.”

Bingham often raced sidecar motocross against Ralph Whitney, father of the Whitney brothers, back in the '60s. They raced Harley-Davidsons, Nortons, and BSAs in those days. Bingham remembers all four of Ralph’s sons would always go to the track to watch their dad race, and eventually, they all began racing sidecar motocross themselves. “They’re well-respected good racers, just like their father. They’re a real asset to the sport,” he said. Bingham, an AMA National sidecar champion in 1969, claims there’s a special camaraderie in the roots of sidecar motocross unlike anything he’s ever witnessed in any other competition. “We all helped each other. If we were in the desert, and someone broke down, we wouldn’t say ‘tough shit.’ We would never take their position. That’s the way sidecar riders were and still are today. If the hill was too hard to climb, we’d wait for the them to go around. It was out of respect, and that’s why we’re all friends today,” he said.

“A lot of the old guys like myself still race the events. I get all my senior citizen friends out to race, and were trying to get old man Whitney to come out and start riding with us,” said Bingham in jest.

Off-road sidecar racing has been around a long time. But, the Harley-Davidson is just now starting to make a comeback into sidecar motocross. Bingham, who spent most of his racing career on the Harley, considers this development a reflection of the strength and ability of Harleys’ off-road presence in future competitions, also demonstrating the power of the sidecar. “It shows the dependability of sidecars — they’re tough critters,” he said.

According to Bill Brokaw, manager of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb motorcycle division, sidecars were just brought back to the event three years ago as an exhibition race. “The spectators get a real kick out of it and its real popular,” he said, adding that it was impressive to see the Whitneys’ racing ability coupled with a Harley sidecar and nitrous oxide at last summers event. “I’d say the Harley is the ideal machine for what’s running up there (Pikes Peak),” stated Brokaw.

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has only one rule — 4-strokes only, and this gave the Whitney brothers the opportunity to go back to their racing roots, while at the same time participating in a historic event. Considering the fact that the Harley won the first sidecar race at Pikes Peak (also known as “Race to the Clouds” and “America’s Mountain”) in 1916, the Whitneys decided to go with the power and traction they’d experienced with their old Harley sidecar rig that they raced up to the mid-'80s.

The 2-stroke revolution eventually took over sidecar motocross, and the Whitneys retired their Harley, but hunted it down over a decade later to meet the new challenge of Pikes Peak. The first year they attended Pikes Peak was 1997, where they came in second place using their old 1000cc powered sidecar. “This taught us a hard lesson. don’t go to Pikes Peak without horsepower,” said Scott Whitney. “Riding skills can buy a few seconds here and there and keep you from going off the edge, but at Pikes Peak, horsepower rules. We vowed that 1998 would be different for us.”

And so it was.

The Whitney brothers went to Bill Bartels at Bartels’ Harley-Davidson for sponsorship in 1998, and his crew delivered a 1200cc Sportster racing motor with enhancements - replacing their old motor. Although it was risky, they attached a nitrous oxide set to their sidecar, which, if they made one mistake with the setup or use of it, would have blown their motor to kingdom come. They avoided the dangers involved. Using the nitrous to fly up the hill not only insured a tremendous victory at the event, but secured a new record of 14 minutes and 34 seconds, smashing the old record by 49 seconds.

“It was the experience of a lifetime — going to America’s Mountain on America’s day on a special American machine that positions you to win,” said Scott Whitney. “There’s nothing better.”