HARLEY-DAVIDSON® BATTLE OF THE KINGS 2019 DIRT CATEGORY WINNER
At this point, it is a battle. 42,000 people cast their vote and the most impressive builds came out on top. The competition is global, with dealerships around the world fighting for the crown. That's why we're understandably proud Dallas Harley-Davidson® took home the Battle of the Kings (BOTK) 2019 trophy for dirt category winner, chosen in the top six for this round.
SHOW ME MOTORCYCLE PHOTOS
Dallas Harley-Davidson's® team partnered with Gilbreath-Reed Career and Technical Center to create the hooligan bike of every racer's dreams. It's effing awesome, we'll stop talking and give you a minute to see for yourself.
HOW DID THIS AMAZING MACHINE HAPPEN?
Custom motorcycles take planning, skill and vision. On this, we've got to give a huge amount of credit to the GRCTC students and their instructor.
We came up with ideas and passed those on to the students. We told them the parts they would need, and they ran with it.
Tom Pablo, the GRCTC instructor has been a Dallas Harley-Davidson® customer for years, so it was a no-brainer which school we would work with.
The kids worked their butts off. They worked through spring break, giving up their off time to help us finish the bike before deadline. They are the ones who made this happen. And it literally got down to the final hours.
WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE PROCESS?
Gilbreath-Reed Technology Center students had to machine so many of the parts needed for this bike. We got a little wild. It took longer than expected.
Gary Queen at Other Side Customs painted the bike, and the pieces had to be finished before we could submit photos to Harley-Davidson®. A massive storm hit while he was finishing and knocked out power. He needed electricity for the custom paint, so we literally got down to the final hours while we waited for the power to be restored.
We finally got the bike ready four hours before Harley had to have pictures. Our photographer did an incredible job with almost no time to spare.
REMIND ME AGAIN...WHAT'S THE BATTLE OF THE KINGS 2019 PROCESS?
Here's the process:
The contest encourages dealerships to gather up to four employees to create a bike they can enter in one of three categories: Dirt, Chop and Race. Last year, we had the month of December to plan.
Then, we moved into the build phase. We had from January 1 to March 15 to work with GRCTC to bring our vision to life. We revealed our bike in the Spring, you probably first saw it then. After that, the public voted for their favorites, which got us where we are now.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD - BOTK DIRT CATEGORY WINNER
Forty-two thousand Americans voted to place our bike in the top six. We're pretty happy with that. The trophy is nice too.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
The rest of the Battle of the Kings 2019 (BOTK) happens in stages. Here's what's coming up:
Influencers (people Harley pays to ride some of their hottest bikes and post about it... along with editors from heavy online hitters like CycleWorld) select top motorcycles in each category (three total) that will be showcased at the Annual Dealer Meeting in Milwaukee.
After that, dealers gather to cast their vote. They pick the top three bikes to determine the U.S. Battle of the Kings Champion. If you win the national championship, there's no rest for the wicked. That's when we go global.
The last step happens in November when the U.S. Battle of the Kings Champion is showcased at the 2019 EICMA and goes head-to-head with global winners. The final showdown happens in Italy, where the World Champion receives a crown.
WILL DALLAS HARLEY-DAVIDSON® WIN BATTLE OF THE KINGS 2019?
At the next round, experts weigh in. We believe that works in our favor, because our bike isn't just another pretty face.
The people voting know Harley® at an expert level. Our bike stands out to people who really know quality. They'll recognize the work we put into it.
Some competitors made bikes that look like they're ready for the track, but they'd never stand up. We built a legit flat track bike, then we tested it. Frankly, we did everything we could to try and break it.
We took it to Red Gap Moto in Cisco, Texas. Then we put it through its paces. Our bike has been proven, tested, beaten up and put back together. We have footage to prove it can do what it's built for. Watch it happen here.
We threw some laps, pounded on it a little. We broke the exhaust, messed up some of the wiring in the headlamp, we were a little rough on it. Then we put it back together, even better than it was to begin with.
If you want to stay in the loop, make sure you're following us online. And if you want your own custom motorcycle, work with the team currently recognized across the nation as a Battle of the Kings Dirt Category Winner 2019.