The Burt Munro Story

I first talked to Burt  at the nine mile post on record runs in 1962. It was my job at the post  to talk to the drivers/riders and inform them of the proper procedures for making the return run.  When he came rolling in at the end of his first leg of his record run, he got off his bike, his right pant leg was soaked with fuel and his face was full of salt. He smiled and said, "I say , its a might salty out there." 

As was often the case with others, in the excitement surrounding the moment, he did not heed my recommendations for making his return run. In order for him to have his speed in the correct mile on return, he needed to take it easy for the first couple of miles and then lean on it to make his record. He left the nine mile at full throttle and blew the engine before he reached the timing traps. Although he failed on this attempt, he came back later in the week to set the record.

In the coming days and years, I came to know and appreciate this man and his stories. He was indeed a man on a mission, a man short on funds and long on determination.  He was delightful to listen to.  His wit and philosophy of life made an impression on me. His favorite comment was, "Make Do!" I understood what that meant since I was also a person with little funds to pursue my dream and often I had to do with less than I would have liked. "Make do" was often employed in my mission as well.

There is a story told by Rollie Free, Burt's friend and companion on his first trip to the salt. Burt had purchased an old Nash sedan, a 1941, I believe, to tow his motorcycle. (The movie uses a '54 Chevrolet) During the trip to the salt, the transmission broke some gears and punched a hole in the transmission case. Rollie wanted to go to a wrecking yard and find another transmission, but Burt said, we'll Make Do." He pulled the transmission, removed the broken parts, whittled a wooden plug and drove it in the hole in the case. That is the way they continued to use the Nash. This was not an unusual event for Burt. This is the way he lived!

The following was taken from the internet. It is the contents of a couple of letters written by Burt to a friend chronicling his life's pursuit of speed..

H. J 'Bert Munro' 1899-1977'

      This covers the start of my tuning efforts and has continued up to the present time. I rode second next to Les Weatherby in the world's first mile T T in Chatswood in North Sydney. The track was cut out of the bush with stumps and roots left, and a high jump out of a deep creek. This is now known as a scramble or motocross.

      Then in 1927, solo on Aspendale Speedway, Melbourne, Australia, I jumped off at 90 m.p.h.+ when in a bad speed wobble at the end of straight with one hand on oil pump. We hit a deep gutter and took off on the bend, landed with the bars pulled round a little, and my heavy 29" oversize tire on front just kept the wobble and was heading for the post and rail fence. The 10,000 spectators were told in paper that I was unhurt but I was pretty sick in bed for a week or two with concussion and many bruises. The Saturday before this at Inverloch Beach in Victoria, my flathead Scout won a gold medal at 90.01 mph equal with a 1928 Chicago 61" Harley Davidson ridden by an airforce pilot from point Cook, Victoria, Australia.
       From 1929 I returned to New Zealand after four years in Australia when work finally could not be had (this was the Great Depression). I spent the next 10 years as motor cycle traveler. This was finally given up around 1941 when one of my rare (by this time) crashes put me off for 11 months. When I returned to NZ I was invited to join the local motorcycle club and an now a life member and have been for many years. After joining I just lived for beach races, grass track, mile and also ¼ mile, hill climbs, speed trials, trials, road racing, drags and I think the beach was the greatest in 1940. About seven years ago averaged 83.43 m.p.h. in a six mile race which I won. This was on a championship fancied beach course a few miles from Invercargill. This is where I do most of my testing nowadays.

 1940, running on home built gas producer. Still traveler for some motorcycle firm and running at top speed of 56 m.p.h. on coal. I hit a ridge of wet gravel and ran off to side of road but regained control on fence line. But before I could let go of bar and shut off gas and air lever I hit an 18" deep cutting into a farmhouse, the bike struck the far bank and shot right up into the air and back to the gravel road. My head hit the road, I was unconscious for one and a half hours and came-to blind from dried blood in eyes. I had hemorrhage of brain for a week and concussed, and was of work for 11 months. I had part concuss - ional headaches for about 15 years form this so I gave up the traveling as I did not care to travel by bus or car to sell bikes. 1959, was in a drag at Teretonga International track when at 110mph the bike got into a sudden fast speed wobble. 

I jumped  off the side and rolled and skidded and bounced 15 feet high they tell me. I finished  up in  the hospital for seven and a half weeks. When I finished the crash I had bash hat still on, waistband of pants, tennis shoes and pieces of socks. I was only slightly concussed. It was missing flesh, and skin took building up again. One finger was ground half way through the bone but still works but one joint is crook. All the other crashes involved just bones or scars or burns and one arm ripped apart at the shoulder. In five and a half months it grew back but still hurts at rest when I lie on it.
         For this year I have made the new cylinders and pistons to the largest bore ever, it is now 3.192 inches x 96mm giving 60.54 ci. For eight years I have carved out new rods, cylinders and pistons and cams, and work full time on either my 1936 Velo or the Indian.

       For the next five or six years I had some of the worst out of control rides on record. The worst was five miles late in 1962 when in an effort to stop wheel-spin at 160 I built a 60lb lead brick and bolted it in front of rear wheel. By the time I got to three mile marker the top of the shell was swerving five feet and wheel marks were five inches wide and snaking thirty inches every 200 yards, measured and lined-up later. Well when you figure you can only die next skid you try anything, so I wound it all on for another one and a half miles and when I found out it would go on that way forever I rolled it back and got it stopped. When the gang arrived and found me laughing and asked me the joke, I said I was happy to still be alive. The cure is to sit-up and let the body strike the air. This shifts center of pressure back behind center of gravity. I learned this the hard way. Lead brick should have been in front of the front wheel and shell higher off the ground. At rear, air packed under tail and lifted weight off rear wheel and thus caused wheel-spin.  

     More specs. I have mods in clutch, the standard Raybestos plates are long gone and I have 17 standard steel plates, hardened and ground. I fit 24 standard clutch springs giving a pressure of 1360lbs on the pressure plate, and the standard thrust race and withdrawal screw haul this free for freeing and gear changing. I have a left hand lever and wire to operating arm and a small foot assist lever on the clutch worm shaft. I only use this for long gear engagement during test runs without shell. Over the years I made four chain drives having finally ground helical teeth off clutch body and filed out 46 half inch pitch teeth by hand and now run a three-row chain on a 22 engine sprocket and still the 46 clutch sprocket. This Reynolds in London told me 15 years ago would be impossible and would never work but it has run in there for the last 35 years or so in 10 SAE oil.
       The gearbox is original, but I was unable to get new sliding dog and was visiting an old acquaintance in Sydney in 1948, he had bought out Mr Bidens stock of Indian parts. I bought a set of 1916 Power Plus Indian gears, lay shaft cluster and sliding dog. The cluster I shortened 3/8" and have run on them this past 22 years.

       Cylinders I usually make from very old city gasworks pipe, cast-iron condemned, because of very large pits. I manage to get short lengths without too deep marks and because of the thickness, about ½-5/8", I can have enough thickness for a base. The barrels are old pistons melted in a small pot on the two gallon can furnace I use for melting-down for making pistons. The muff casting I turn-down in the Myford, bore undersize then heat-up with blow-lamp and drop onto liners. Pistons I redesign every year and make about half a dozen or so and take with me to USA for spares. Some years I have used every one and even welded-up burned-out ones there. When Jim Enz and his wife wanted to help me with fuel, I said I would like to try alcohol and they bought me five gallons of best brand Mickey Thompson alcohol. Boy it sure was the best piston burner! I guess it had Nitro or TNT in it. Every run the pistons vaporized. No alloy heads on my heap.

       Carburetor is 1924 Indian Chief. I have sawn a cut full length on top of it, bent it out and welded piece of brass in gap and run it in normal position with a T shape manifold made from one and three eights steel tubing. I have tuned five carbs for my bike since 1927 when I swapped the Schebler H for a Schebler deluxe, and all others I have tuned and modified have been deluxe Scheblers  fitted to the Indians made later than mine.
      This year since arriving home from USA five months ago, have put in 560 hours on the Munro Special. The main jobs were two new alloy rods- two weeks, two new cylinders and barrels- one week, eight new pistons and much work on old dies for same- three weeks. I am making two new sets of cams for this year. Making a 180 degree Bosch mag into a 42 degree by making new brass cam ring. From old ball race the two cams were made, filed and timed accurately then quenched in oil. As this 0 year old magneto rotated backwards I had to make up a drive different from standard. This I finally got working by taking out the two idler pinions, and fitting a big cam wheel from a late model Indian. This has four teeth more than my engine and by cutting 1/8" off base of mag and cutting into cases a little and jamming it back and boring new holes and tapping-out in same, I finally got the drive fixed. I also made a movable shaft to run the large pinion on and thus get a close tooth adjustment.

      Since finishing the above I have been testing at the beach and have been out 17 times and had 11 blow-ups. This consisted of mostly broken pistons of older designs. I was testing out a steel rod and a new carb I had made these last two or three years. I ran it on 20 to 1 to test the rod, then built better pistons and ran three in it, one after the other, until I had one that should stand-up to 13 to 1. As soon as I lowered the compression to 13, the rod which had stood-up to all the broken pistons finally shattered top end when I was accelerating hard in top at 5,500. I took it down, the new piston was in many pieces, pin broken in half, cylinder scored and split at skirt and hammered out wedge shape and locked in cases. One rocker arm broken, one twisted, one push rod broken, one buckled. Other breaks were cam follower I had made from magnesium four or five years ago, another rocker and pushrods bent and both valves bent.
      Development goes on all the time and has been full-time these last 22 years. I would like to make another DOHC set up. I still have the one I made and ran in quarter-mile grass track races about 1951. This fitted out front cylinder and rear was blanked-off. It was just an exercise as everyone was talking double knockers at the time. It is only lately I have had ideas to try to fit-up one for the rear as well but have so far failed to get time. Pulled the head off this morning and am starting two new rods from DC6 B propeller. I hope to find it strong enough. It was sent to me from Auckland as I cannot get the 70-70 or 20-24 alloy in NZ. I like to improve design every year in cams, carbs (just finished a new one yesterday), con rods, pistons and sometimes valves and guides when they wear a little, and cylinders.
       It is almost impossible for me to give you a true picture of the time I have spent on my cycles. The last 22 years has been full time and for one stretch of 10 years put in 16 hours every day, but on Christmas Day only took the afternoon off.
       I have booked berth on SS P&O Oriana for USA June 15th but will not go if cannot pass the doctor.