MILWAUKEE (February 25, 2010) - Freestyle motocrosser Seth Enslow will attempt to make history and break the existing record of 157 feet for a successful long distance jump aboard a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The world record was first benchmarked by Evel Knievel in 1975 and recently set by Bubba Blackwell in 1999.
Enslow will attempt the jump aboard a modified Harley-Davidson XR1200 in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, March 1st at 4:30 PM U.S. Central Time. The jump will be broadcast live from Australia across the globe via www.harleyworldrecordjump.com and post-event video will be shown on Harley-Davidson's YouTube channel and to Harley's half-million Facebook fans as well.
"To many, Evel Knievel was the original extreme athlete - long before there were extreme sports," said Mark-Hans Richer, Harley-Davidson Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer. "This latest generation of riders still revere Knievel - even as they attempt to smash his records."
Drawing inspiration from the Harley-Davidson XR-750 racing motorcycle that Knievel helped make legendary, the new Harley-Davidson XR1200 is helping ignite a spirit of rebellion in a new generation and giving them the opportunity to push Harley riding to its limits once again.
"A new generation of counterculture riders are embracing Harley-Davidson motorcycles, just like the generation before them," said Richer. "The XR1200 and our new Dark Custom motorcycles, like the nearly sold out Iron 883 launched a year ago and the new Forty-Eight introduced last month, have given them an authentic way to express themselves. In fact, we now sell more bikes to this generation of young riders than to the young adult generation before them."
Richer added, "It's cool to see it happening out in the streets. Even cooler to see one flying more than 150 feet through the air."