Question for johnr

[Kiwi_Roy]

John,
         You must know some pretty good stories about Bert Munro

I grew up in Wanganui, we had the Colemans of IOM fame.

[radguzzi]

        

[Sasquatch Jim]

 John R might be the little boy who pissed on Burts' lemon tree for him while he was away setting records.

[malik]

I was headed to the Burt Munro last year & was having trouble with the 1100 Sport's gear shift falling off it's spline. I was lying on my back under the bike in the rain at Punakaiki  (on the west coast betwwe Westport & Greymouth) & this chap in a car invites me back to his place just up the road to see what we would do about the problem. It turns out that Burt was responsible for some battery to his person - scars, scabs, bruises & such. He had been an apprentice motor mechanic in Invercargill, & every now & again Burt would ask his boss for the loan of a couple of apprentices. Off the boys would go, & be push starting Burt on his race bike. They'd get a good run up, then Burt would drop the clutch. Then WHAM. The bike would stop dead & the boys would bark their shins on the bike. And again & again, until it started, or it didn't. I believe the bike's compression was pretty high, so often, it didn't.

A 1mm disc on the angle grinder opened the gap on the lever sufficient for it to grasp the spline. Problems solved & a great little anecdote to boot.

Mal

[nobleswood]

Kiwi Roy,

Thanks for posting the question.

In case anyone hasn't seen the movie, 'The Fastest Indian' is a great film about Burt Munro and his homemade shedmade Indian Scout, that he takes from Invercargill, on the South Island of NZ to Bonnieville Salt Flats in Utah.

Great anecdote about the apprentice !

[tris]

Kiwi Roy,

Thanks for posting the question.

In case anyone hasn't seen the movie, 'The Fastest Indian' is a great film about Burt Munro and his homemade shedmade Indian Scout, that he takes from Invercargill, on the South Island of NZ to Bonnieville Salt Flats in Utah.

Great anecdote about the apprentice !

 :1: - even my wife liked it 

[oldbike54]

Kiwi Roy,

Thanks for posting the question.

In case anyone hasn't seen the movie, 'The Fastest Indian' is a great film about Burt Munro and his homemade shedmade Indian Scout, that he takes from Invercargill, on the South Island of NZ to Bonnieville Salt Flats in Utah.

Great anecdote about the apprentice !

:1: - even my wife liked it 

  Even my older sister who cares not one whit for motorbikes thought the movie was brilliant . Of course , after I thought she was softened up a bit , an attempt to show her On any Sunday was still met with great disinterest 

  Dusty

[Bisbonian]

Kiwi Roy,

Thanks for posting the question.

In case anyone hasn't seen the movie, 'The Fastest Indian' is a great film about Burt Munro and his homemade shedmade Indian Scout, that he takes from Invercargill, on the South Island of NZ to Bonnieville Salt Flats in Utah.

Great anecdote about the apprentice !

From my recent trip:

I believe this is the movie bike. It has the full streamliner body but no mechanical bits. There is just a perch for Anthony Hopkins to sit on and the exhaust pipes are riveted to the body.



This one is the real deal:



But it's not an Indian:



This is the worlds fastest Indian:

[nobleswood]

Bisbonian, great pictures.

All, I'll be going to typing class soon !

[Kiwi Dave]

A couple of photographs of Bert taken at School Road, Mosgiel, Otago.





Mosgiel is around 200 kM north of Invercargill, close to the city of Dunedin.  The event was a timed speed trial, standing and flying quarter mile.  I think I was riding a Manz Norton that day.

Sorry for the quality of the images.  Best you could expect out of a Kodak 127 Brownie in those days.

[johnr]

John R might be the little boy who pissed on Burts' lemon tree for him while he was away setting records.

Ah.. no.

However I did meet him a couple of times. Once at the local race track where the Southland Motorcycle Club was running a drag meet, and once at a hall where there was a shindig in progress.

I can't say I actually knew him other than enough to recognise him, though I do know his lovely niece! She is married to a friend of mine.   

At the drag meet he was campaigning his Velocette which I believe was good for 12 point something seconds, but  a somewhat breathed on BSA A10  in a proper drag frame won the day with 11.4.

The thing that impressed me on that day, though I've yet to detect it on any of the photos I've seen, was that Burts chest was a mass of scars where various heads etc. had whacked him one. (It was a hot day and he was shirtless)

The social in the hall where I met him I'm inclined to believe was the incident shown in the movie where he was challenged to a beach race by some callow youthies.  (I could be wrong about that) I was one of said youthies. I don't really remember it the way it was shown in the movie but I was so drunk at the time I don't really remember it very well at all. I do recall getting beat up outside afterwards though and being 'rescued'.  We had not behaved well.

If this was the incident portrayed in the movie that would explain the Antarctic Angels gear on those youths, but the timing would be out.  Not a biggie.

I used to know a guy called Peter who swore on all things holy that his first ride on a motorcycle was on Burts Indian.  Pete reckoned that when he was about 15 he had been wandering along Bainfield road and had investigated motorcycle noises. This had resulted in his being invited to go with Burt out to the Colac Bay straight (which is where he used to test out his bike) Burt offered Pete a ride but admonished him not to exceed 80 mph. Burt, according to the story, was jumping up and down waving his fist as Pete road by.  The Indian was fitted with a rev counter, not a speedo.

[oldbike54]

 What a beautiful and well told story John 

  Dusty

[Sasquatch Jim]

  History is best when it is personal.  Good stuff.

[56Pan]

What a beautiful and well told story John 

  Dusty

X2  :1: