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Show SALT FLAT NEWS, OCTOBER, 1971 Sports 11 by R. Menzies Henry Thoreau once proposed that if a boy learned to make his own pocketknife from the basic elements, the education gained thereby would surpass any Harvard graduate's. One who has achieved approximately that is Burt Munro of Invercargill, New Zealand only instead of a pocketknife Burt has built a motorcycle, and rebuilt it many times over in the course of 51 years. In the process, Munro has come to understand not only the mechanics, but the physics and the aesthetics, too, of one small two-cylind- engine. It all began in 1920, when a young Munro bought a brand new wasn't idle. I had three hours off Indian Scout motorcycle. It was then about the hottest thing on two wheels and made quite a hit with the young ladies. But motorcycles, and usually their riders, are a diort-live- d phenomenon, and within a few years most of the classic machines had gone the way of the buffalo, an animal they resembled in some respects. Yet last month at the Salt Flats it reappeared, in the midst of the most sophisticated racing machines in the world; in all its greasy glory looking like a collaboration between Rube Goldberg and Jutes Verne. Pitifully bound and tied with aircraft wire, with balding tires and rusting frame, the Munro Special provoked a few remarks from fellow racers. I wouldn't drive that thing on the street," said one, "let alone outhere." "We make more exceptions for you than anybody," said A Jd. A referee Earl Flanders, as he jo ted skeptical notes on his clipboard. . When ya gonna wadi it?" Wash it? Why?" When ya gonna wadi it?" Wadi it with water?" on Christmas day. In the middle of the day, too, when they eat." Almost every moving part of Munro's engine is made by hand, including the cylinders, which he carved from plumbing pipe. That it runs at all is a wonder; that it has run at speeds in excess of 180 miles per hour is a phenomenon. In fact, no machine of its size has ever exceeded Munro's land speed record. Moving to the pit area, Munro and his Special draw admiring glances from the gallery. Dressed in a leather jacket and asbestos pants borrowed from the Wen-dovfire department and wearing a crash helmet and aviators goggles, the driver resembles an elderly Red Baron. He stretches prone over the bike as his crew shoves him toward the measured mite. With a flushing sound the engine catches, sputters, then carries bike and rider out of sight. Passing the measured mile, Burt is docked at 146 mites per hour. With no streamlined faring, it's a respectable speed. What er er, Burt knows about streamlining he learned from watching an aquarium, a study that resulted in the construction of a piscine faring that transforms the 1920 Indian into a giant goldfish. Aerodynamic experts, after measuring the weighing Burts fiberglass creation, agree the New Zealander's intuition was correct. At the end of the measured mite, scarcely a minute from the starting pit, Burt and his faithful Mechanic Mike sat in esoteric contemplation of .the engine, exulting in such things as an oil pressure plug and a shiny piston. But something wasn't quite right, and the two had dedded not to make another run, rather to pack it up and head for home, 10,400 miles away. How was the ride, Mr. Munro? someone asked. Munro paused distractedly over a loosened bolt. Oh, yes, see that! The oil's working up through the threads . . . Fvegota safety valve I built there first time I came here, spent a week making this pump work ..." Yeah." Oh, I avent time to polish mine; its been nine months and nine days on that engine last year, and three minutes to three on a Saturday six weeks ago. I got it to run right . . . new cylinders, new pistons, new 10,400 miles by bus, boat train, airplane, and one measured mile by motorbike, veteran racer Burt Munro pauses at the end of his annual pilgrimmage to Utah 's salt flats. A FULLERTON MUFFLER SHOP cam rods, new cams eight of em eight new pistons, new valves, aH new eccentric tappetts and guides...! oooo NEWS uhoto by R. Manzia speedster Burt Munro contemplates his famed motorbike with gesture that expresses a popular opinion of die Munro 72-year- Special. Computerized Accounting, Taxes and Generation gap closes in on Munro, who speaks the language of die speed world with New Zealand accent From Relics To Real Estate Managment Records Specialized Service for the. Mm with a small but growing business. P.O. Box 11717 272-051- 9 SALT LAKE CITY Phone 272-051- 9 P.O. Box 11717 NOW IN UTAH COUNTY Sell it With A MEWS Ad Phone 756-356- 5 P.O. Box 334 Am. Fork 84003 GOOD RECORDS INSURE HIGHER PROFITS . |