Burt Munro

Early life Munro was born in 1899 to William Munro, a farmer and Lily Agnes Robinson in Invercargill. His twin sister died at birth and Munro grew up on a farm in Edendale, east of Invercargill. His grandfather James Robertson Munro was from northern Scotland and settled on a farm in Invercargill.

Munro remained on the family farm until the end of the First World War, when his father sold the farm. At that time, Munro worked on the Otira Tunnel construction until recalled to work with his father on a newly purchased farm.

Challenges

Munro's Indian Scout was an early model, the 627th Scout to leave the American factory. The bike had an original top speed of , but this did not satisfy Munro, so in 1926 he began to modify the bike.

Munro's two greatest challenges while modifying his bike were his lack of money and that he worked full-time as a motorcycle salesman. He would often work overnight on his bikes (he had a 1936 Velocette MSS as well), then he would go to work in the morning, having had no sleep. Being of modest means, he would often make his own parts and tools instead of having them professionally built. He would cast parts in old tins, make his own barrels, pistons, flywheels, and such.

In its final stages, the Indian's displacement was 950 cc (as built it was 600 cc) and was driven by a triple chain drive system.

The "Munro Special," as Munro called his bike, is now owned by Neville Hayes, in New Zealand's South Island, and is on display at E Hayes and Sons, Invercargill. Munro set three world records: in 1962, in 1966 and in 1967. He also qualified at over , but that was an unofficial run and was not counted. Burt's records were certified and recorded by the American Motorcyclist Association in their national records database.

One of these, which still stands and what Burt is most famous for, was the record for the 1000cc Streamliner Modified Fuel category (referred to in the American Motorcyclist Association's National Records as 1000-S-AF) which was achieved in his modified Indian Scout in 1967. This record was set during the 1967 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials where he was certified to have traveled at 184mph. The record was never contested and still stands as of January 2026. The American Motorcyclist Association has since retired the 1000-S-AF category.

Following the misspelling of his name in an American motorcycling magazine in 1957, Bert Munro changed his name to Burt.

Records/runs

In 1962, he set an 883cc class record of 178.971 mph (2-way average) with his engine bored out to 853cc.

In 1963, during his first run, the Indian's v-twin blew up at over 195 mph (313.88 km/h), ending his S-A 883cc record attempts for 1963. His qualifying run was right before then, during which Burt turned in 183.673 mph (295.61 km/h). His Indian was still at 853cc.

At Bonneville in 1964, he ran his 184 mph (296.12 km/h) qualifying run before bad weather ended speed week for the year. His Indian was now 871cc.

Bonneville 1965 was a zero year for him, as he had some low-speed runs in the high 160 mph range (265 km/h to 274 km/h).

In 1966, he set a 1000 cc class record of 168.66 mph (271.43 km/h; 2-way average) with his engine at 905 cc. His unofficial top speed was 212 mph (341.2 km/h), while his qualifying speed was 172 mph (270.8 km/h).

In 1967, his engine was bored out to 953 cc and he set an under 1000 cc class record of 184.087 mph (2-way average). To qualify, he made a one-way run of 184 mph (296.12 km/h), then later on he re-qualified at 190.070 mph (305.88 km/h). His highest recorded measured mile was 188 mph (302.557 km/h).

Bonneville 1968 was another not-so-good year for him. The best he could coax from the Indian was a lousy 155 mph (249.448 km/h) due to magneto issues.

In 1969, he recorded two runs at 191 mph (307.4 km/h). He couldn't complete a return run due to unforeseen mechanical issues, which meant no new record. After 14 test runs on the salt in 4 days, he ran out of time. His Indian was now at 965 cc.

At Bonneville 1970, he decided to switch his fuel from the methanol; previously he had always run his Indian on to nitromethane. Even after making several needed adjustments, the v-twin still burned up all his spare pistons. His Indian was bumped up to 985 cc.

At Bonneville in 1971, Burt ran the Indian on the salt for the last time ever. Due to new and very strict streamliner rules, he couldn't run with the fiberglass body. Without the shell, the Indian was now seriously over-geared, and he ran his last run at 148.51 mph (239.036 km/h).

In 1975, he made his 14th and final trip to Bonneville, as a spectator.

In 2006, he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

In 2014, 36 years after his death, he was posthumously awarded a 1967 record of 184.087 mph (296.2593 km/h) after his son John noticed a calculation error by AMA at that time.

Legacy The World's Fastest Indian Burt Munro was the subject of a 2005 film, The World's Fastest Indian, based on a composite of his Bonneville speed runs. This film depicts a determined old man who, despite facing many difficulties, travels from New Zealand to the USA to test-run his motorcycle west of the Great Salt Lake. The disclaimer says: "While this motion picture is based upon historical events, certain characters names have been changed, some main characters are composites or invented and a number of incidents fictionalised."

The Burt Munro Challenge Inspired by the 2005 film, the Invercargill Motorcycle Club has held a "Burt Munro Challenge" motorcycle competition annually since 2006 (except 2007, 2017 and 2022). The 2023 event ran for four days, including a hill climb, drag racing, beach racing, sprint, speedway and street racing.

The E. Hayes Motorworks Collection

The E. Hayes hardware store in Invercargill maintains a free museum collection featuring Munro and his work, including the original "Munro Special" Indian.

Spirit of Munro In March 2013, Indian Motorcycle announced that it was producing a custom-built streamliner named the Spirit of Munro. The motorcycle was built to showcase the Thunder Stroke 111 engine to be used in one of the 2014 road models. The company said the Spirit of Munro Scout was a tribute to Munro's achievements with the Indian Scout and to all Indians of old.