Indian Motorcycle: The Spirit of Munro

[RocketPunch]

An awesome tribute bike in a nicely done piece of film! Enjoy!

Between the years of 1926 and 1961, one man from a small town in New Zealand dreamed of setting a land speed record on a 1920 Indian Scout. In 1962 at the Bonneville salt flats that man's dream finally came true.

To honor the past and power the future, Indian Motorcycle built the Spirit of Munro, an all-metal tribute bike which would house the new Thunder Stroke 111™ engine. On May 5, 2013 the bike was run on a dry lake bed in California. A tribute to the great Burt Munro, and a celebration of the Indian Motorcycle that is yet to come.

ABOUT THE SPIRIT OF MUNRO:
Fully custom-built, the Spirit of Munro is an all-metal tribute to the racers and mechanics throughout history who have collectively built the legacy of record-breaking racing performance and strength that is Indian Motorcycle.

The motorcycle is named in honor of Burt Munro's "Munro Special," the historic 1920 Indian Scout that broke the under-1000cc land-speed record in 1967 at the Bonneville Salt Flats as famously portrayed in the motion picture "The World's Fastest Indian."

The Spirit of Munro was constructed by Jeb Scolman of Jeb's Metal and Speed in Long Beach, CA. It was designed from the ground up to house the new Thunder Stroke 111™ engine and showcase its awe-inspiring power and performance.

See more at http://www.indianmotorcycle.com

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Behind the Scenes

[stoinkythepig]

That was very cool. I imagine half the people that would watch that will be asking: "well, how fast did it go?".

If you've never been to Bonneville salt flats, I recommend seeing it in person. It's about as different from New England as a landscape can be, and still beautiful. The only downside is that Wendover is pretty shitty town and it's the only town for many many miles around.

I hope everyone on here has already watched "The World's Fastest Indian". That's such a great movie.

Some thoughts on the bike:

I think it's a nice tribute to the original while also being a great way to showcase the new engine. I can fully understand why the tribute bike is not fully enclosed like the original because as much as this is tribute to Munroe, the real purpose of the bike is to create excitement about the new engine. Leaving the engine partially exposed was a good idea from a marketing POV.

Between the shape, the color, the graphics, and the number 111, it looks like a football with wheels.

Thoughts on the engine:

I am so glad that Polaris took the time to create a new engine that does a great job of celebrating the old Indian style. I thought the last few attempts to resurrect the brand with Harley clone engines were kinda cheesy. I also impresses me that they opted not to use any obvious Victory bits despite the parts bin at their disposal. I wonder if this will mark the beginning of the end of Victory as a brand name. That said, I doubt I'll ever own any bike with an air-cooled V-twin, just not my thing at all.

[gadget]

I can fully understand why the tribute bike is not fully enclosed like the original because as much as this is tribute to Munroe, the real purpose of the bike is to create excitement about the new engine. Leaving the engine partially exposed was a good idea from a marketing POV.

Awesome movie. I envy anyone who hasn't seen it yet because you are in for a great treat.

Anthony Hopkins is just amazing to watch and the movie is just fantastic.

The first thing I noticed on the Tribute bike was the open design and thought of the heat problems that Munro had with fitting his legs inside.



Tom: Aren't you scared you'll kill yourself if you crash?
Burt Munro: No... You live more in five minutes on a bike like this going flat out than some people live in a lifetime.


Frank: I see your front tires gone a bit flat on ya there Burt.
Burt Munro: Oh yeah well the good news is its only flat on the bottom.


Warren: These brakes, they're completely inadequate.

Burt Munro: I'm planning on going, not stopping.


"Because Munro was a man of modest means, he would often make parts and tools himself instead of having them professionally built. For example, he would cast parts in old tins, make his own barrels, pistons, flywheels, etc. His micrometer (a precision measuring instrument) was an old spoke." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burt_Munro

His bike, Indian #627, had 600cc and rated for a top speed of 55mph when it was brand new.

By the time Burt finished with it, it had a triple chain drive and the engine was up to 950cc.

What an amazing guy...http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/hall...px?racerid=381

[Kurlon]

I'm really curious what that tribute bike is capable of. Seems a shame to make it in Burt's memory and NOT try to make an honest LSR machine out of it.

[Sheppo]

Great piece. My favorite non-comedy