Fifty years since Burt Munro took his Indian Scout Streamliner to the Bonneville Salt Flats and created history, Indian Motorcycle is teaming up Kiwi road racer Lee Munro, Burt Munro's great nephew, to recreate the historic run on 13 August 2017. In August 1967, Burt Munro set a land speed record for motorcycles under 1000 cc, piloting a heavily-modified 1920 Indian Scout Streamliner for a two-way average running mile speed of 184.087 mph (or 296.259 kmph). The record remains unbroken and was immortalised in the movie "The World's Fastest Indian", starring Sir Anthony Hopkins.
On 13 August, Lee Munro will ride a 2017 Indian Scout modified by Indian Motorcycle engineers at Bonneville in memory and celebration of his great uncle's feat. The Indian Motorcycle team volunteered for this project and worked on their own time to prepare the bike for Lee Munro. The younger Munro said his attempt will not be to best his great uncle's record, but to honour the original ride.
Indian Scout Streamliner
"My uncle Burt was a significant inspiration for my own racing career, and his appetite for speed is clearly a part of my DNA," said Lee Munro. "What Indian Motorcycle is doing is fantastic, and I couldn't be prouder to partner with them and pilot my own Scout at Bonneville in honor of my Uncle and the 50th anniversary of his historic record," said Lee Munro.
Lee Munro was born and raised in Invercargill, New Zealand, the same town as his great uncle Burt. He started downhill mountain bike racing and finished second in the NZ national championship. He has had success with motorcycle road racing in New Zealand too, and won the vintage class at the Methven Street Races earlier this year on a 1941 Indian motorcycle. Burt Munro's original record was for 183.59 mph, and was officially corrected in 2014 to 184.087 mph when his son noticed a calculation error.
