Victory Motorcycles Victory Racing team used various tactics in preparing to earn their places on the podium at the 2016 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) with the electric Empulse RR ridden by Cycle World’s Road Test Editor Don Canet and the gas-powered Project 156 piloted by Jeremy Toye. One of those strategies was the use of a new camera system offering 360-degree coverage that allowed the team to gauge how the racers were behaving on their bikes while traversing various parts of the 12.42-mile course.
Now, Victory Racing gives you the opportunity to ride along with the racers and see the 360-degree video captured from both bikes simply by visiting Victory Motorcycles’ Youtube page on your computer or mobile device. Click HERE to ride along with Canet and the Empulse RR, and click HERE to view Toye atop Project 156.
A “360 video” is created with a camera system that simultaneously records all 360 degrees of a scene, with viewers able to use their computer, iOS and Android devices to pan and rotate a 360 video’s perspective to watch from different angles. Want to see the rider’s hand movements or body angle? You can. Want to see the lean angle of the front wheel as it glides over the road surface? You can do that, too.
“These are angles that reflect how truly dramatic the setting is,” says Nate Secor, Marketing Manager for Victory Motorcycles. “What makes Pikes Peak unique is the elevation gain from start to finish, and 360 offers the viewer an experience that traditional on-board footage can’t deliver – the ability to look across valleys, over cliffs that are thousands of feet high, up the hill and back at the rider.”
Victory Motorcycles was the only brand at this year’s PPIHC with both electric and gas-powered race vehicles. Canet made his winning run on the Empulse RR in the PPC-Electric Motorcycle Class. Toye rode Project 156 to a win in the PPC-Exhibition Powersports Class. In the overall PPIHC motorcycle competition, Canet and the Empulse RR placed 2nd while Toye and Project 156 placed 3rd.
When watching a 360 video on a computer, the viewing angle is changed by dragging with the mouse. Make sure you’re using the latest version of your web browser (ex. Chrome, Firefox). 360 videos on Facebook aren’t viewable on Safari or Internet Explorer.
On iOS and Android mobile devices, the viewing angle of a 360 video is changed by dragging a finger across the screen or by navigating with the device. Make sure you’re using the latest version of the Facebook app. If you’re using an iOS device, it should be an iPhone 4S or newer or an iPad 2 or newer. The iOS device also should be running iOS 7 or later. If you have an Android device, make sure you’re using Android 4.3 or later.