From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 89 – first published in 2020.
Story and photos: Stuart Francis
In 2010 Stuart Hooper achieved 139mph on his beautifully streamlined, 700cc Velocette, at Lake Gairdner (South Australia), beating the previous record for a Velocette set in 1971. Stuart then went on to set further records on a supercharged version of the machine, setting an awesome 193.061mph for a Velocette in 2016. An amazing achievement on a beautiful machine that was light years away from the previous holder’s machine. However it begs the question as to who had previously held the accolade for “The World’s Fastest Velocette”.
Burt Munro is best remembered for his 1920 Munro Special, “The World’s Fastest Indian” but he also had another claim to fame, “The World’s Fastest Velocette”. What is not widely known is that whilst he was working and competing on his Indian Special, he also applied the same obsession to a 1936 500cc Velocette MSS. In 1971 the Munro Velocette (by then enlarged to 670cc) achieved 132.35mph on an officially timed run on Oreti beach (just outside of Invercargill NZ). It is also recognised that on one unofficial run it achieved 138mph. Although fitted with some streamlining in the early days all the later record runs were undertaken with only a small Perspex windscreen.
A late Works 500cc KTTs Velocette, running on alcohol, could possibly have exceeded Burt’s record, and a fully developed Velocette “Roarer” might also have been a contender, but the factory never put this to the test. Burt always believed he could have gone much faster on the Velocette at the Bonneville Salt Flats due to the much longer run in to the timed section, and with the addition of full streamlining, he thought that 160mph was possible.
Burt had a small advantage over other contenders as his record run was at sea level (literally) where the dense, cold, damp air would have helped the power output of the engine. The other possible venues, Lake Gairdner (Alt. 450ft) and Bonneville Salt Flats (Alt. 4200ft), are both very dry and hot and combined with their altitude, would reduce power output. The trade-off between the power advantage of dense, cold, damp air at sea level against the increased aerodynamic drag, is an interesting conundrum. Supercharged machines have a distinct advantage at altitude as they can increase boost to compensate for the thinner air and benefit from the reduced aerodynamic drag.
The 500cc MSS Velocette was introduced in 1935, after the earlier success of the 250cc MOV and 350cc MAC. The sophisticated well engineered machine, housed in the stronger KSS frame, sold well, and continued to 1948. An updated MSS was introduced in 1954, with a swinging arm frame, new gearbox and a new aluminium cylinder head and barrel, staying in production until 1969.
Burt owned a series of MSS Velocettes, competing in reliability trials and races, pre and post war. Keeping track of these earlier machines at this late stage is a bit difficult, particularly as New Zealand vehicle registration plates changed regularly up until 1964. Burt was also a travelling salesman for Tappers (Velocette agents and the largest motorcycle dealers in Invercargill) so was regularly seen out on a succession of machines. Over the years Burt also acquired a number of MSS engines which he tuned and sold onto local riders. These “Burt motors” were invariably quick and much sort after despite being a bit fragile.
The record breaking Velocette MSS was bought in 1957, it was sold by the landlady of a boarding house for £8; she had taken it to settle an unpaid accommodation bill. Development of the “Burt“ Velocette followed a similar path to the Indian, with the engine going through a number of changes (gradually increasing its displacement), with the frame lowered and modified to accommodate a fully prone riding position. Burt initially used the standard MSS cast iron cylinder head and barrel but then went through three further cylinder heads, with home-made aluminium cylinder barrels with cast in iron liners. Burt obtained a Vincent Black Shadow rear cylinder head believing it offered more scope for tuning than a Velocette cylinder head. After a lot of reworking to get it to fit and breathe well, it did eventually produce more power. Burt also tried the cylinder head of a Lycoming aircraft engine. The final version of the machine has a heavily modified aluminium MAC cylinder head.
The Velocette was also no slouch as a sprinter, once achieving a 12.3sec standing quarter. Burt used to compete in motorcycle drag races, at the local Teratonga racing circuit, one of these drag races nearly killed him. He was competing against John Young who was riding Duncan Meikle’s Velocette*, just before the finish line they were neck and neck, it was after this point that things went wrong. The machine developed a tank slapper and was out of control, Burt decided the best thing to do was roll off the side of the machine**. The MSS cartwheeled a couple of times and Burt bounced down the outside of the track breaking his arm and a couple of other bones, collecting a number of cuts and bruises and a very severe case of gravel rash. Burt was wearing his usual protective gear, crash helmet, gloves, heavy cotton shirt, flannel trousers tucked into socks, a pair of plimsolls and elastic bands around the trouser legs to stop them flapping! Burt spent 6 weeks in hospital and a week after his release he had rebuilt the badly damaged machine.
The Roger Donaldson 1971 documentary about Burt, “Offering to the Gods of Speed”, shows him attempting a speed run on the Velocette, which promptly cracks its crankcase just below the crankcase mouth. MSS crankcases were not strong in this area and despite reinforcement continued to be a weak spot. Burt claimed that he blew up the engine many times in his search for more power and speed. On one of his photographs, showing a blown crankcase, the caption says blow up 104!! Burt got through several crankcases, one blow up was so spectacular that the flailing conrod cut the crankcase in half, smashed open the gearbox and bent the gearbox main-shaft!
Irving and Norman Hayes knew Burt Munro very well, having helped him over the years with bits and pieces and access to machinery; Norman also raced with him over the years. So when Burt decided to sell up after a debilitating stroke in 1977, the Hayes’ stepped in, buying the whole collection to keep it in Southland NZ.
I first saw the Munro Indian and Velocette machines in 1994 when I went to see the Munro collection residing in Norman Hayes’ basement. I could not believe the Velocette had achieved 132mph, it looked like one of “Malcolm’s creations” (“Ogri” fans will know what I mean). Norman pointed out some of the unusual features of the Velocette, like the throttle cable that goes through the rocker-box cover (it’s claimed he did this because he had run out of cable outer!!), the unusual carburettor, the homemade slicks and the minimalist approach to controls and brakes. Even in 1994, when I was much fitter, slimmer and more supple, I found it very difficult to get on and adopt a racing crouch on this machine.
The Munro Velocette is now displayed alongside “The World’s Fastest Indian” in E Hayes and Sons Hardware store in Invercargill. Where most visitors are surprised to learn of the Munro Velocette and that up to fairly recently it held the title of “The World’s Fastest Velocette”. The adjoining exhibits “offerings to the god of speed” display several Velocette items, including the Lycoming aircraft engine cylinder head. Also on display is “Burt’s car” from the film, a further 30 Veteran, Vintage and Classic motorcycles, two Begg racing cars and a host of memorabilia, well worth a visit.
*The Meikle Velocette was developed along similar lines to Burt’s Velocette. Duncan Meikle didn’t quite employ the extreme weight savings that Burt did, but they were fairly evenly matched on performance. When the machine had finished its racing days it was bought by a character who fitted a “Burt motor”, an ex-Burt nose cone and fuel tank and then sold it, claiming it was an ex-Burt Munro machine!
** I am indebted to Ashley Bell (a long-time friend of Burt and Duncan) for this description of events, as it contradicts some other published accounts. Ashley discussed the accident with Burt when he visited him in hospital the following morning and also spoke to John Young about the incident.
PS: Whilst hunting through the Hayes Collection of Burt Munro photographs I came across a picture of Phil Irving with the “The World’s Fastest Indian”. Taken whilst Phil was visiting Invercargill to give a talk to the Southland Branch of the Vintage Car Club. I think this photograph may not have been published before.
