This weekend only, the original Munro Special is on display at the International Motorcycle Show in Long Beach at the Indian booth in Long Beach. She’s a beauty and it was fired up to the cheers of the crowd…
16 Responses to “The Munro Special Indian Racing Bike.”
Comments are currently closed.
So, it belongs to Polaris/Indian now?
Wow a real peice of history. I would have loved to hear it run.
Tape the kick-off and publish it on the YewTube.
Awesome.
It’s amazing how much Mr. Munro did with so little.
Ahhh…From my hometown and only around the corner from me!
Fully agreed that Burt Munro, and his Indian are an awesome part of motorcycle landspeed racing history, but personally feel the bike should have been left in original (as raced) condition. He was always concerned about its performance way more than its spit shine. Still a great machine that warms my heart every time I think of the countless hours he spent casting pistons, hand forming connecting rods, and ALL of his other handmade engine components. He was and still is the epitome of the term “The Real Deal”.
Isn’t the real original one displayed at a hardware store in New Zealand? And the one here is mostly a copy?
Correct Lyle; several replicas were built to film ‘World’s Fastest Indian’, while the originals are sequestered by the current owner, who does’t want to jeapordize this priceless piece of history. The pictured machine is a fine replica, though.
Lyle, its the other way around. The original is owned by a collector in Southern California (hence its appearance at the LBC show). Two replicas were made a few years ago for the movie The Worlds Fastest Indian. They still reside in New Zealand.
They fired this bad boy up on stage Friday, and it damn near brought the rafters down. So loud, in the best possible way. Awesome
I thought I’d chime in here, since I know a little bit about the history of this amazing machine. Sam Pierce purchased the bike from Burt Monroe, I believe, and then it passed to Dean Hensley. We used to see it occasionally at antique bike events in the 70’s. The last I heard it still belonged to the Hensley family… Master restorer Steve Huntzinger was enlisted to bring the bike bake to it’s present condition a couple of years ago. I saw the bike there in his shop when I was visiting back in 2010. He went through all the components, and in his meticulous manner, made Burt’s dream machine new again. Steve is simply the best! I actually held one of the rods in my hand, and was able to see, and feel, the rough handiwork of Burt’s home machine shop grinding. The ends were worn but perfect, the rod shaft itself was uneven, and rough cast. But of course Burt made it match the other, and with the his incredible mechanical know-how, and the force of his will, made motorcycle history. This is the original Monro Special, and we are so lucky to be able to view it, and hear it run. Thanks to the present owners (Hensley’s?), and their generosity. I’m no expert, so if I left anything out, please anybody feel free to add, or subtract from what I’ve said. Old Indians Never Die.
he was a man ahead of his time.he did amazing things .,congrats to burt monroe.wish i could of seen him race
If THIS bike was in the Biker Buildoff,I would vote for it. Even JJ would have to admit this is a REAL built from scratch bike.
Go to http://www.ehayes.co.nz and have a look for yourself,the bike there I have viewed and there is a good pic of it in the shopping area.And by the way E Hayes is one of the coolest shops to visit I always end up buying tools when I’m there.
After I saw the movie and did a little research about Burt Munro and his Scout , he became a hero of mine. An under budget , backyard engineering miracle worker. The kind of guy so many of us can identify with as we mess and gom with basic hand tools and homemade parts. Can you imagine the personal satisfaction the ol guy must have felt as he hit 200 on his own handbuilt machine , his labor of love. You can’t buy that at any price.
Although not a bike enthusiast I’ve become fascinated by Burt’s story after watching the movie. Being a kiwi I recently visted the Hayes hardware store & saw the bikes they have – this is simply the BEST hardware store in the world – it’s a museum within a hardware store, but with old & new mingling together, very ecclectic & very cool! Hey the kids loved it…!
Roger Donaldson (movie’s director) published a fantastic scrapbook a couple of years back on Burt’s life & it’s a brilliant book – very comprehensive & LOADS of photos of his travels to the USA. Mayne available opnline!?! I got mine fro the Hayes store – well worth purchasing! The book clarifies the actual whereabouts of the bikes, so here’s the gas…
Hayes store (Invergarcill NZ) has Burts 1936 Vellocette & 1924 Indian Prince. The latter was only ever raced in NZ but much like his 1920 Indian Scout both bikes were extensively altered. The engine was regularly swapped betwen the Indians as Burt only brought the engine back to NZ between trips to USA, so the frame & shell in the states is the actual Bonneville record breaker!
BUT – the engine in the 1924 prince in Hayes is the actual record breaking engine BURT used – the one in the USA is another engine supplied by BURT. Gotta go watch the movie agin now! 🙂