Motorcycle Land-speed Record
The motorcycle land speed record is the fastest speed achieved by a motorcycle on land. It is standardized as the speed over a course of fixed length, averaged over two runs in opposite directions. These are special or modified motorcycles, distinct from the fastest production motorcycles.
The first generally recognized motorcycle speed record was set unofficially by Glenn Curtiss in 1903, on Ormond Beach, Florida, using a V8 aircraft engine of Curtiss' own manufacture, housed in a spindly tube chassis with direct shaft drive to the rear wheel. Curtiss was timed at 136.27 mph (219.31 km/h), making him the fastest man on earth in any vehicle on land or air (the automobile record stood at 76.08 mph (122.44 km/h), the rail record stood at 126 mph (203 km/h), and the Wright Brothers flew at approximately 9 mph (14 km/h)). An attempted 'return run' was foiled when his drive shaft came loose at speed, yet he was able to wrestle the machine to a stop without injury. Curtiss' V8 motorcycle is currently in the Transportation collection of the Smithsonian Institution.
The first officially sanctioned Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) record was set in 1920, when Gene Walker rode an Indian on Daytona Beach at 104.12 mph (167.56 km/h). The first FIM-sanctioned record to exceed Curtiss' 1903 speed did not occur until 1930, at Arpajon, France, when a special OEC chassis with supercharged 1,000cc v-twin JAP engine averaged 137 mph (220 km/h) over the required two-way runs. In the 1930s, an international battle between the BMWs, ridden by Ernst Henne, alternated records with various JAP-powered English motorcycles (Zenith, OEC, Brough Superior). BMW set a final record before WWII, in 1937 (173.68 mph (279.51 km/h)), which stood for 11 years.
After the Second World War, the German NSU factory battled English machines (Vincent HRD, Triumph) for top speed honors through the 1960s, when Japanese-engined streamliners appeared, and alternated with Harley Davidson-engined machines through 1990. The last Harley Davidson record of 322.1 mph (518.4 km/h) stood for 16 years, before a Suzuki-powered machine averaged 342.8 mph (551.7 km/h) in 2006. Since then, the BUB team, using a custom-built V4 engine, has alternated with the twin Suzuki engined Ack Attack team. As of 25 November 2010 (2010 -11-25) the Ack Attack team held the Motorcycle Land Speed Record at 376.36 mph (605.69 km/h).
Read more about Motorcycle Land-speed Record: Jet-engine Trike, List of Records
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