Burt Munro and 200mph ??

[754]

 I gotta ask , did he ever crack 200mph, that is documented?

 We were discussing this on another forum, and I  have always thought he never broke 200 on a recorded run. A link was posted to a Indian website claiming he ran 206...

 What do you guys think?

[55chevr]

He still holds the 1000cc streamliner record at 183.586 ... A record which is believed to be cursed ... Joe

[Freud]

He never ran 200 MPH

FREUD

[72tx340]

206 MPH but it wasnt recorded due to a accident reade more here:
http://www.indianmotorbikes.com/features/munro/munro.htm

I agree on the curse also.

[octane]

The Wiki-pages Burt Munro says

"...The unofficial speed record (officially timed) is 331 km/h (205.67 mph) for a flying mile..."

.

[wobblywalrus]

George Begg, in "Burt Munro Legend of Speed" page 128 says that in 1966 "Some of the spectators came along later to tell Burt that over the PA speaker, the chief timekeeper, Otto Crocker, said that he was timed at a speed through the 1/4 mile qualifying section at well over 200 mph when he sat up and shut off.  Some quoted the figure as high as 212 mph, but this was much later and it was to be the next year before Burt had the chance to ask Otto, who said that he could not remember the actual speed as it had not been written down and it was not eligible for a record.  Only those speeds that are sustained over the mile distance are recorded on paper, even though the timing equipment shows the speed at the 1/4 mile distance."

Somewhere in my reading about Burt I recall mention of correspondence between an race official and Burt, and the official confirms that Burt went over 200 mph for a short distance.  I cannot locate this in my little library, so I am relying on my sometimes reliable, sometimes not, memory.   

[stay`tee]

Anything about BM going over 200mph, is "here`say",,,

[1212FBGS]

the older the story gets the faster he goes.... I know for a fact his record is cursed.... i crashed at 217 qualifing on it
kent

[kiwi]

How many 1000cc streamliners have been built since then?

[John Noonan]

Just the one that crashed I know of...

[754]

I am thinking it would have to be pushrod 1000cc streamliner, to go after that one.Not sure if it has to be a twin, but assume it must be Normally aspirated)

 Here is what I think..  What Has been written about the purperted 200mph plus, he never said anything like, it ran like never before, then got hurt, and started sloweing down.
 So I am thinking;
 Why did it not happen again?

 Why, if the 2 way average was under 190mph, would it suddenly have such a huge jump in speed?? I mean , 10-15mph...I could believe..

 Back to present time.. A lot on here know how hard it is to crack 200, and how much hp it takes.. what do you guys think...??

 I think Burt had really good aero...

[Freud]

754, just build in a different class and let some of the "folk tales" and mystique of Bonneville remain intact.

There are plenty of streamliner classes.

FREUD

[willieworld]

I don't know about Burt going over 200 but I do know his record is impossible to break, technically. The record was set in 67 at 183.586 mph. in the SF(Streamline fuel) class 1000cc. We all know that Burt's motor was a Indian flathead motor converted to an overhead valve, that was pushrod operated. So technically, his motor was a pushrod motor. And his record can't be broken. You can take his record out of the book if you run SF 1000cc and averaged more than 183.586 in two runs, but you would be running in a non pushrod class. So technically, you wouldn't outrun Burt. If you built a streamlined pushrod fuel bike and went faster than 183.586 for two runs, you still wouldn't beat Burt's record because your record would go in the book in the Pushrod class. Now, Burt's bike was an A bike with a streamline shell, not legal today by any stretch of the imagination, according to the streamline rules. Not even APS. In 1990 SCTA started a Pushrod class and left Burt's record in the non pushrod class, because that is where it was set in 67. The classes set in 1990 were pushrod engine gas (PAG) and pushrod engine fuel (PAF). I think Don Vesco tried to break the record once and I know that Kent Riches had an upset (crashed) on his qualifier once at 217. Probably, the record should be left as is, or retired. Maybe it should have been moved to the Pushrod class in 1990, not sure how that works.
Anyways, just some thoughts.
Willie Buchta

[Freud]

Willies Statement "Probably, the record should be left as is, or retired. "

I agree Willie.

Maybe it wasn't the intentions of the people that wrote the rules, but they seem to have protected the record.

It's rather like holding Babe Ruth's accomplishments sacred. They have been exceeded but read a 1950 record

book and they are still there.

FREUD

[Nortonist 592]

Any of todays litre superbike engines could kick Burts record out of the ballpark without really trying.  I'd like to ask anyone who's thinking of having a shot at the record, will you be proud that you took a brand new DOHC 16 valve 4 cylinder engine and ran faster than a 1920 Indian?  Personally I'd be embarrassed to hell to admit something like that.

Leave Burt's record alone.  The SCTA has a gazillion classes to choose from.  Apart from that, its cursed you'll never do it.