Land Speed Record

Inspired by New Zealander Burt Munro, I am aiming to set a motorcycle Speed record at the Mecca of Speed, the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Burt Munro, if you haven't heard of him, bought a brand new Indian Scout around 1920. Off the shelf it was capable of around 55 miles per hour (90 km/h). Over the next 57 years he modified it into an alcohol-burning streamliner that was capable of over 200 miles per hour (320 km/h). He remanufactured, and blew up the old Indian motor over a hundred times, increasing it's power output from around 15 horsepower to over 90, all on a shoestring budget.

Anyway, to set a record all you need to do is choose a class with no current record. That's easy. There are 12 displacement (engine size) classes, each with around 40 possible permutations of frame and engine combinations. I am going to build a sidecar rig. Here's a pic:

I am currenty awaiting notification from the Tech inspectors from Bonneville to see if it meets the rules - it has a number of unconventional features that I think will give it the edge. The Rider will be sitting reclined into a snug fitting recess in the bodywork. I borrowed the steering layout from the famous NSU motorcycle streamlines from the 1950's. Here's one minus bodywork:

...and here with body

NSU set a whole raft of records in the mid 1950's, many of which still stand - including an amazing 121 mph for a 50cc Streamliner. That's one super moped! So, incidently does one of Burt Munro's records - 183 mph for a 1000cc Streamliner in the S/PF class (that is fully-enclosed streamliner with a pushrod engine running on a non-gasoline type of fuel)

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