Tom, I digress from the topic to address the sketchy origin of the FIM and its records list.
The thrust driven 3-wheelers caused some issues within FIM which they decided to put to bed, permanently in 1979.
The FIM was born from the F?d?ration Internationale des Clubs Motocyclistes (FICM), which itself was founded in Paris, France, on 21 December 1904.
The name was changed to the F?d?ration Internationale Motocycliste (FIM) in 1949, the same year that also saw the first race of the famed Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix. The headquarters were transferred to Geneva, Switzerland in 1959.
1994 saw the headquarters relocated, this time to Mies, Switzerland, and occupy its own building for the first time, shaped like a stylized motorcycle. The name was changed again in 1998 to the F?d?ration Internationale de Motocyclisme at the congress in Cape Town, South Africa. The same year, the FIM was given provisional status of recognition by the International Olympic Committee, and gained full status in 2000 at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
2004 marked the organization's centenary, and celebrations were held at the congress in Paris in October.
FIM Appendices for FIM World Records 2009, Appendix 018.4
THREE-WHEELER RECORDS MADE BETWEEN 1952 AND 1963
Sidecar records registered from 1st January 1952 to 31st December 1963 were made under regulations which have since been modified. At that time, no passenger or ballast was carried (see Art. 19, Appendix 01, Road Racing Technical Rules).
Due to the new method of calculation, introduced by the FIM TECHNICAL COMMISSION in JANUARY 1978, short distance records made prior to this date are absolute and therefore cannot be broken.
Consequently, these records are definite and cannot be broken. They are included in a separate section of the World Records Book (1979 Publication) for historical purposes only.