During last year’s Bonneville Salt Flats Speed Week, an Indian Scout Streamliner motorcycle ridden by Lee Munro managed to reach 191.286 mph (307.844 kph). For this year, the bike builder’s goal is to shatter that record.
Starting August 11, bikes and riders will be gathering at Bonneville for a week of insane fast speed runs. Indian is planning that this year Munro is to reach 200 mph (321 kph) in the Modified Partial Streamliner 1,350 cc class.
He will be riding the same bike as last year, but with some improvements. For the new record, the Scout has suffered modifications to both the intake and the body. What exactly those modifications are the bike builder did not say.
“Our engineering team led by Wayne Kolden and Dan Gervais have put long hours into developing a bike capable of hitting the 200-mph mark, and we’re excited to watch Lee pursue this goal,” said in a statement Gary Gray, Indian’s VP of racing and technology.
The one who will climb on the back of the Scout is the nephew of Burt Munro, the man who in 1967 set the under-1,000 cc record on the world’ famous Salt Flats. At the time he did that, Burt was 68 years old, and the bike he was riding for the record had been built in 1920. His achievement, a speed of 183.59 mph (295.453 kph), still stands.
Munro's late life was put on film in 2005, when Anthony Hopkins played Burt in The World's Fastest Indian movie. In 2013, Indian Motorcycles introduced the Spirit of Munro streamliner as a tribute to the New Zealander.
“My great uncle Burt is a significant inspiration for my own motorcycle racing career, and his appetite for speed is clearly a part of my DNA,” added Lee Munro.
“Partnered with the exceptional team at Indian Motorcycle, I know we can make our dreams of hitting 200 mph a reality.”
He will be riding the same bike as last year, but with some improvements. For the new record, the Scout has suffered modifications to both the intake and the body. What exactly those modifications are the bike builder did not say.
“Our engineering team led by Wayne Kolden and Dan Gervais have put long hours into developing a bike capable of hitting the 200-mph mark, and we’re excited to watch Lee pursue this goal,” said in a statement Gary Gray, Indian’s VP of racing and technology.
The one who will climb on the back of the Scout is the nephew of Burt Munro, the man who in 1967 set the under-1,000 cc record on the world’ famous Salt Flats. At the time he did that, Burt was 68 years old, and the bike he was riding for the record had been built in 1920. His achievement, a speed of 183.59 mph (295.453 kph), still stands.
Munro's late life was put on film in 2005, when Anthony Hopkins played Burt in The World's Fastest Indian movie. In 2013, Indian Motorcycles introduced the Spirit of Munro streamliner as a tribute to the New Zealander.
“My great uncle Burt is a significant inspiration for my own motorcycle racing career, and his appetite for speed is clearly a part of my DNA,” added Lee Munro.
“Partnered with the exceptional team at Indian Motorcycle, I know we can make our dreams of hitting 200 mph a reality.”