The World's Fastest Indian Motorcycle

I happened to run across a copy of a movie I’d never heard of but which stars Anthony Hopkins so I thought I’d I check it out.

The movie, The World’s Fastest Indian, is the story of Burt Munro, a New Zealander, who in 1963 fulfills his twenty five year dream of taking is modified 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle to Speed Week at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Munro had for years worked at modifying his motorcycle with the goal of driving it faster than 200 mph to set the motorcycle land speed record. He returned to Speed Week eight more times and his 1967 speed record for motorcycles of less than 1000 cc still stands.

Munro was assisted financially in his quest by folks from his hometown, the southern most city in the British Commonwealth, including a group of young bikers who fancied him to be an crazy old coot. He hired on as the cook on an ocean freighter headed to Long Beach, CA and won the at first skeptical crew members to his cause. After disembarking he made his way to a hotel in Hollywood staffed by a transvestite who take a shine to Munro and helps him retrieve his motorcycle from USA customs officials and recommends a used car dealer. Munro buys a 1953 Chevy and talks the dealer into allowing him to use his shop and junk to construct a trailer with which to haul his Indian to Bonneville.