Motorcycle land speed record - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The motorcycle land speed record is the fastest speed achieved by a motorcycle

Motorcycle

A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

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 holder of the absolute record for motorcycles is the "fastest man on two wheels". All such records have been with piston-engine machines.

First set, unofficially, by Glenn Curtiss

Glenn Curtiss

Glenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...

in 1903, the first officially sanctioned Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme

Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme

The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme is the governing body of motorcycle racing. It represents 103 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six regional continental unions....

(FIM) record was not set until 1920. The first FIM-sanctioned record to exceed Curtiss' unofficial record did not occur until 1930, although there was controversy when the Osborn Engineering Company

Osborn Engineering Company

Osborn Engineering Company was a British manufacturer of motorcycles, which sold its machines under the OEC brand name.The company was founded by John Osborn in 1901, producing Minerva engined bikes. Later machines used a variety of engines from companies such as Blackburne, and JAP. In 1927 OEC...

claimed to be the first to exceed Curtiss - on the basis of evidence from a publicity photo - submitted some days after the Zenith Motorcycles

Zenith Motorcycles

Zenith Motorcycles was a British motorcycle manufacturer established in Finsbury Park, London in 1904. Zenith motorcycles used engines from various suppliers, including Precision, Villiers and JAP...

company claimed that it had been the first to exceed Curtiss. "It was quite a while before the controversy died down."

Jet-engine trike

The fastest record certified by the FIM is that set in 1964 by the jet-propelled

Jet engine

A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...

tricycle

Tricycle

A tricycle is a three-wheeled vehicle. While tricycles are often associated with the small three-wheeled vehicles used by pre-school-age children, they are also used by adults for a variety of purposes. In the United States and Canada, adult-sized tricycles are used primarily by older persons for...

Spirit of America. It set three absolute land speed record

Land speed record

The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...

s, the last at 526.277 mi/h. While such records are usually validated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...

, the FIA only certifies vehicles with at least four wheels, while the FIM certifies two- and three-wheelers. Breedlove never intended Spirit of America to be classified as a motorcycle, despite its tricycle layout, and only approached the FIM after being rejected for record status by the FIA. Spirit of Americas FIM-ratified record prompted the FIA to create a new category "thrust-powered" vehicles to its world record listings. Further, most people think of the tricycle Spirit of America, now part of the permanent collection of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, as a "car" and not a motorcycle.

List of records

Date	Location	Driver	Make	Engine displacement Engine displacement Engine displacement is the volume swept by all the pistons inside the cylinders of an internal combustion engine in a single movement from top dead centre to bottom dead centre . It is commonly specified in cubic centimeters , litres , or cubic inches... cc (cu in)	Speed		Comments
Date	Location	Driver	Make		mph	km/h	Comments
1903	Yonkers, U.S. Yonkers, New York Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...	Glenn Curtiss Glenn Curtiss Glenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...	Curtiss	1000 cc	64	103	over the mile, first (unofficial) World Speed Record, Hercules V-twin
January 24, 1907	Ormond Beach, U.S. Ormond Beach, Florida Ormond Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 36,301 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 37,929. Ormond Beach is the northern neighbor of Daytona Beach and is home to Tomoka State Park.-History:Ormond Beach was...	Glenn Curtiss Glenn Curtiss Glenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...	Curtiss	4000 cc	136.27	219.31	Unofficial record stood over 20 years
1920	Daytona Beach, U.S. Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had...	Gene Walker Gene Walker -Gene Walker:In 1910, Walker obtained his first motorcycle, an Excelsior. At 17 he worked as a postal delivery person in Birmingham using an Indian motorcycle for delivering mail. Walker entered his first motorcycle race at the 1912 Alabama State Fair and won the five-mile final...	Indian Indian (motorcycle) Indian is an American brand of motorcycles. Indian motorcycles were manufactured from 1901 to 1953 by a company in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, initially known as the Hendee Manufacturing Company but which was renamed the Indian Manufacturing Company in 1928. The Indian factory team took the...	994 cc	104.12	165.67
1923	Brooklands, UK Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...	Bert le Vack Bert le Vack Herbert 'Bert' le Vack was a motorcycle world speed record holder throughout the 1920s and earned the nickname the 'Wizard of Brooklands' for his exploits at the Brooklands Track. An expert racing engine tuner, le Vack worked for some of the great marques and in the late 1920s joined Motosacoche...	Temple-Anzani Anzani Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani , which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy.-Overview:...	996 cc	108.41	174.58
1924	Arpajon, France Arpajon Arpajon is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Seat of the canton, the commune is located south of Paris, accessible by the N20, and to in the north of Étampes...	Bert le Vack Bert le Vack Herbert 'Bert' le Vack was a motorcycle world speed record holder throughout the 1920s and earned the nickname the 'Wizard of Brooklands' for his exploits at the Brooklands Track. An expert racing engine tuner, le Vack worked for some of the great marques and in the late 1920s joined Motosacoche...	Brough Superior Brough Superior Brough Superior motorcycles, sidecars, and motor cars were made by George Brough in his Brough Superior works on Haydn Road in Nottingham, England, from 1919 to 1940. They were dubbed the "Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles" by H. D. Teague of The Motor Cycle newspaper. Approximately 3,048 of 19 models... -JAP	867 cc	118.98	191.59
1926	Arpajon, France	Claude F. Temple	OEC Osborn Engineering Company Osborn Engineering Company was a British manufacturer of motorcycles, which sold its machines under the OEC brand name.The company was founded by John Osborn in 1901, producing Minerva engined bikes. Later machines used a variety of engines from companies such as Blackburne, and JAP. In 1927 OEC... -Temple	996 cc	121.3	195.33
1928	Arpajon, France	Oliver M. Baldwin	Zenith Zenith Motorcycles Zenith Motorcycles was a British motorcycle manufacturer established in Finsbury Park, London in 1904. Zenith motorcycles used engines from various suppliers, including Precision, Villiers and JAP... -JAP JA Prestwich Industries Ltd JA Prestwich Industries, was an English engineering company named after founder John Alfred Prestwich, which produced cinematographic equipment, internal combustion engines , and other examples of precision engineering.-History:J. A...	996 cc	124.55	200.56
1929	Arpajon, France	Bert Le Vack	Brough-Superior	995 cc	126.75	207.33
1930	Arpajon, France	Joseph S. Wright	OEC Temple JAP	994 cc	137.23	220.99	First official record to exceed Curtiss' pioneering effort.
1930	Ingolstadt, Germany	Ernst Jakob Henne Ernst Jakob Henne Ernst Jakob Henne was a distinguished German motorcycle racer and racecar driver.Henne was born in the village of Weiler, near Wangen im Allgäu. His father was a saddlemaker. In 1919 Henne was apprenticed to a become a motor vehicle mechanic. He started racing in 1923 in Mühldorf, and in 1925 he...	BMW BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...	735 cc	137.58	221.54
1930	Cork, Ireland Cork (city) Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...	Joseph S. Wright	OEC Temple JAP	995 cc	150.65	242.59
1932	Tát, Hungary Tát Tát is a village in Komárom-Esztergom county, Hungary.- External links :* *...	Ernst Jakob Henne Ernst Jakob Henne Ernst Jakob Henne was a distinguished German motorcycle racer and racecar driver.Henne was born in the village of Weiler, near Wangen im Allgäu. His father was a saddlemaker. In 1919 Henne was apprenticed to a become a motor vehicle mechanic. He started racing in 1923 in Mühldorf, and in 1925 he...	BMW	736 cc	151.77	244.40
1934	Gyon, Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...	Ernst Jakob Henne Ernst Jakob Henne Ernst Jakob Henne was a distinguished German motorcycle racer and racecar driver.Henne was born in the village of Weiler, near Wangen im Allgäu. His father was a saddlemaker. In 1919 Henne was apprenticed to a become a motor vehicle mechanic. He started racing in 1923 in Mühldorf, and in 1925 he...	BMW	736 cc	152.81	246.069
1935	A3 autobahn (Frankfurt Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010... -München route), Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	Ernst Jakob Henne Ernst Jakob Henne Ernst Jakob Henne was a distinguished German motorcycle racer and racecar driver.Henne was born in the village of Weiler, near Wangen im Allgäu. His father was a saddlemaker. In 1919 Henne was apprenticed to a become a motor vehicle mechanic. He started racing in 1923 in Mühldorf, and in 1925 he...	BMW	736 cc	159.01	256.046	First record over 250 km/h (155.3 mph)
1936	A3, Germany	Ernst Jakob Henne Ernst Jakob Henne Ernst Jakob Henne was a distinguished German motorcycle racer and racecar driver.Henne was born in the village of Weiler, near Wangen im Allgäu. His father was a saddlemaker. In 1919 Henne was apprenticed to a become a motor vehicle mechanic. He started racing in 1923 in Mühldorf, and in 1925 he...	BMW	493 cc	168.92	272.006
1937	Gyon, Hungary	Eric Fernihough	Brough Superior-JAP	995 cc	169.68	273.244	JAP JA Prestwich Industries Ltd JA Prestwich Industries, was an English engineering company named after founder John Alfred Prestwich, which produced cinematographic equipment, internal combustion engines , and other examples of precision engineering.-History:J. A... supercharged Fernihough was killed in a 1938 attempt
1937	Autostrada A4 (Italy) Autostrada A4 (Italy) The Autostrada A4, or Serenissima, is a motorway which connects Turin and Trieste via Milan and Venice. The city of Venice originally formed a bottleneck on the A4, but is now bypassed by the Passante di Mestre... (Brescia Brescia Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan... -Bergamo Bergamo Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan... route)	Piero Taruffi Piero Taruffi Piero Taruffi , was a racing driver from Italy, and also the father of lady racer Prisca Taruffi.-Sports car career:...	Gilera Gilera Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera. In 1969 the company was purchased by Piaggio, which now holds six marques and is the world's fourth largest motorcycle manufacturer.-History:...	492 cc	170.27	274.181	Supercharged four-cylinder. Taruffi famous as Grand Prix Grand Prix motor racing Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. It quickly evolved from a simple road race from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver... driver.
1937	A3, Germany	Ernst Jakob Henne Ernst Jakob Henne Ernst Jakob Henne was a distinguished German motorcycle racer and racecar driver.Henne was born in the village of Weiler, near Wangen im Allgäu. His father was a saddlemaker. In 1919 Henne was apprenticed to a become a motor vehicle mechanic. He started racing in 1923 in Mühldorf, and in 1925 he...	BMW	495 cc	173.68	279.503	Last pre-WWII record
1951	Ingolstadt, Germany	Wilhelm Herz Wilhelm Herz Wilhelm Herz was a motorbike racer and land speed racer. He started his career in 1932 with DKW and went over to NSU in 1939...	NSU NSU Motorenwerke AG NSU Motorenwerke AG, normally just NSU, was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and pedal cycles, founded in 1873. It was acquired by Volkswagen Group in 1969...	499 cc	180.29	290.322	First post-WWII record
1955	Christchurch Christchurch Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of... , New Zealand	Russell Wright	Vincent Vincent Motorcycles Vincent Motorcycles was a British manufacturer of motorcycles from 1928 to 1955. Their 1948 Black Shadow was at the time the world's fastest production motorcycle... -HRD HRD Motorcycles HRD Motors Ltd was a British motorcycle manufacturer in the 1920s. It was founded by Howard Raymond Davies. He had worked in motorcycling, and had raced with some success in the mid-twenties, but often not finishing due to unreliability. This inspired him to build a reliable performance motorcycle,...	998 cc	184.83	297.640
1956	Bonneville, U.S. Bonneville Speedway Bonneville Speedway is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Utah, that is marked out for motor sports. It is particularly noted as the venue for numerous land speed records....	John Allen	Triumph	649 cc	193.730	311.778
1956	Bonneville, U.S.	Wilhelm Herz	NSU streamliner Streamliner A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...	499 cc	211.4	338.092	First record over 200 mph (320 km/h)
1956	Bonneville, U.S.	Johnny Allen	Triumph	649 cc	214.5	345.188	Unratified by FIM
1962	Bonneville, U.S.	William A. Johnson	Triumph	667 cc	224.57	361.41
1966	Bonneville, U.S.	Robert Leppan	Triumph Special Gyronaut X-1	1298 cc	245.60	395.28	Triumph Special twin-engined
1970	Bonneville, U.S.	Don Vesco U.S.A	Yamaha Yamaha Motor Company , is a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company. Yamaha Motor is part of Yamaha Corporation and its headquarter is located in Iwata, Shizuoka. Along with expanding Yamaha Corporation into the world's biggest piano maker, then Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized...	700 cc	251.66	405.25	Turbocharged twin-engined two-stroke First record over 250 mph (402 km/h)
1970	Bonneville, U.S.	Cal Rayborn Cal Rayborn Calvin Rayborn II was a top American motorcycle road racer in the 1960s and early 1970s.Born and raised in San Diego, California, Rayborn began riding motorcycles at an early age. He began his racing career in dirt track events in Southern California and in 1964, he began racing professionally in... U.S.A	Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...	1480 cc	254.84	410.37	twin-engined
1975	Bonneville, U.S.	Don Vesco	Yamaha	1480 cc	302.92	487.515	First record over 300 mph (483 km/h)
1978	Bonneville, U.S.	Don Vesco	Kawasaki Kawasaki Heavy Industries is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shōzō Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa....	2030 cc	318.598	509.757	Turbocharged twin-engined two-stroke First record over 500 km/h (311 mph)
1990	Bonneville, U.S.	Dave Campos Dave Campos Dave Campos is a top-fuel drag motorcycle racer and held the motorcycle land speed record from 1990 until 2006.-Motorcycle world land speed record:... U.S.A	Ruxton Harley-Davidson	3000 cc	322.150	518.450	twin-engined Longest held official record, 16 years (see Curtiss' 20 year unofficial record)
3 September 2006	Bonneville, U.S.	Rocky Robinson U.S.A	Top Oil-Ack Attack streamliner	2600 cc	342.797	551.678	twin Suzuki Suzuki is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Hamamatsu, Japan that specializes in manufacturing compact automobiles and 4x4 vehicles, a full range of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles , outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines... engines
5 September 2006	Bonneville, U.S.	Chris Carr Chris Carr (motorcyclist) Chris Carr is an American motorcycle dirt-track racer and seven-time winner of the A.M.A. Grand National Championship. He has also competed as a motorcycle road racer at the national level and was a motorcycle land speed world record holder.-Racing career:Carr began his racing career as an amateur... U.S.A	BUB - Lucky 7 streamliner	2997 cc	350.884	564.693	BUB/Sierra Design V4
26 September 2008	Bonneville, U.S.	Rocky Robinson U.S.A	Top Oil-Ack Attack streamliner	2600 cc	360.913	580.833	twin Suzuki engines
24 September 2009	Bonneville, U.S.	Chris Carr	BUB - Lucky 7 streamliner	2997 cc	367.382	591.244	BUB/Sierra Design V4
25 September 2010	Bonneville, U.S.	Rocky Robinson U.S.A	Top Oil-Ack Attack streamliner	2600 cc	376.363	605.697	twin Suzuki engines First record over 600 km/h (373 mph)

External links

The UK Land Speed Racing Association

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Jet-engine trike

List of records

See also

External links