Have you guys seen the ads for this upcoming movie?
I reconize that bike and the guy. I was there I met him. Tell ya what I remember. He was a Kiwi I belive, he built tha bike himself with almost nothing. He came to Bonniville with no money left to his name. We had to take up a collection for him so he could get home.

He modeled the body off of a fish. I can't remember how it was built but he made everything himself. The guy cast his own pistons by digging a hole in the ground. Almost everything was done that way. He was really clever. Handy with his hands and old. Of course I was just a kid so everyone was old to me.

I can't remember if he set any records he was so popular around the pits that no one cared. Everyone was wanting to hang the guy. He was a riot that's why I remember him. I hope the movie is true to the facts. Obviously there are tons of things I can't remember it was like 40 years ago. Anthony Hopkins is a perfect actor for the role too.

 

What was the movie? "Worlds fastest Indian"? Never heard of it... will go checking, sounds interesting.

Andrew

 

Here a linky for ya
Mm....looks like a good movie Not the indian i was thinking about

http://imdb.com/title/tt0412080/

 

Thanks, looks just like I remember it.
Salt flats must have been the location.
I'm going to see it Fri when it comes out.
They even have the finish on the bike correct, I remember that it was not shiny kinda dull finish. And that's the right color too.
I do not remember that triple vertical rear stabilizer though, but it could be.

 

RP,

Being the resident Kiwi, thought I should contribute to the thread.

You got it pretty right and according to the Invercargill crowd it was pretty accurate at least in the main parts, to what they knew about Burt's first trip. He did set a record for the time and he travelled to Bonneville at least a couple more times.

His family which is reasonably numerous (small town syndrome) were well represented at the premier which was at the local cinema in Invercargill. (Bottom end of the south island of NZ....pretty remote) Red carpet was borrowed from Wellington from the LOTR launches.

I must admit I thought the movie was 90 minutes well spent. Good & honest and not overacted. Hopkins does a passable accent, the Southerners have a very strong slightly Scottish twang.

Mike

 

I'm disgusted with myself that I missed this thread!

I saw the movie a few weeks ago, and it was really inspirational. I just was emailing with RAP and happened to ask him if he had seen the movie. He replied... "Fastest Indian? I was there when it happened. I met the guy, he was a riot...."

Anyone heard of the 6-degrees of seperation? Well, I got 2 degrees from Burt Munro!

This is almost as exciting as the miners being rescued!

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

I've seen the movie 3 times now. Twice because of work and once to take my friends as I thought it was that good!

Superb movie. Well made, down to earth quality acting and a story that is so unbelievable my friends chose not to believe me when I first said it was a true story.

Burt Munro was a truly amazing, inspirational human being and a true gentleman. A once in a generation type of character.

I envy you Richard for having met such a man!

...But hey I guess us Aussies have Hymee so I guess we aint doing too badly

 

Awww, shucks!

I looked at work for the forms for such a junket, but I couldn't find any... But I guess if I went with Graphic Skills Racing (Grandad is sooo Burt Munro), it could be a work related expense!

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

BTW, I talked to Richard on the phone for a while, and one of the topics was his meeting with Burt Munro. Richard hasn't seen the movie yet, but everything detail he told me about Burt just made the movie sound soooo authentic.

By the sounds of it, it wasn't just a short meeting on one occasion. It sounded like they spend quite some time together.

Cheers,
Hymee.

 

I saw the movie when it came out. Really good.

I'm originally an Invercargill boy (born in the hospital there). Mum & Dad were both born in one of the small towns just outside Invercargill. The bulk of the relatives from Mum and Dads' sides still live there or thereabouts.

My Uncle Tony (one my Nana's 8 kids who survived) was friends with Burt Munro. Both were/are ardent tinkerers. Tony is always fixing things up and experimenting. Must be something to do with the climate?!

Just like Burt fixing cars for a better deal in the movie, Tony offered do the same when getting parts for the 4x4 Van he bought to drive round Australia during 2005/2006.

When Uncle Tony was over he repaired and revitalised my dead lawn mowers is 30 minutes with nothing more than a screwdriver, some oil and a cloth. These were the same mowers two repair places had tried repeatedly to fix. True to his nature, Tony improved the design of the fuel feed on one to prevent it cutting out.

Both Burt and Tony are from a generation used to doing far more for themselves than the modern generation and never giving up when things broke.

 

I just keep trying to remember more details about this guys bike but can't.
I can fill in some blanks about him though.
Bonniville is a funny crowd, they will help you and be happy you came, but your not really in the click until you've spent a few years going there.
I know it took me three years to feel at home.
Burt was so welcomed after one day because of his personality and he was such a craftsman that his talent was respected. His wasn't the shinny high buck machine that people ran over to see, they wouldn't waste there time. Until someone really looked and talked to the funny speaking guy. Everyone was looking at it. That's before it even ran.
I don't even have memory of it running, just of him.
Don't forget not alot of "ferners" showed up there. The world was alot bigger then. In fact us snooty yanks probably didn't think they had aluminum down there yet. Might be they had to wait a month for spark plugs. Where is that place?

I'll bet that Burt spent a week there and never paid for a drink. Probably not much food either. Not that anyone knew he had not a dime until later in the week. We didn't have big motor homes and such then but at night he was everwhere in the high end casino being fed drinks. He told storys in that funny language he spoke and lots of funnys.

Again this as much of a interloper as the salt culture had seen at the time. Cheers to you guys for producing a man like that. I hope the movie makes it to CD soon so I can see it. I'll let you know how much of it matches my memory.

 

Well I finally got the Cd of this and enjoyed it as I knew I would. There were some poetic licence taken with the movie though. I don't know all but I do know some things. If my memory is anything the guy did drink. I mean he was a Kiwi wasn't he?
The very first thing is that you can't cast a piston the way they show in the opening. How the hell can you get it out of a permanent mold when it has recesses for the pin boss. I definetly remember him telling the story how he cast them by digging a hole in the ground. That would have made a better story anyway, just no one would believe it.
As such I think he must have had a lathe and a mill in his shop. Not just a bed.

No one is turned away at Bonneville, you can get a post entry for a few extra bucks. The one thing you cannot do is run if you don't pass inspection. There are no exceptions to safety rules at Bonneville. Yet there are not a lot of them for motorcycles. you do need leathers. You don't need a rollbar but there are some wheel rules and you have to have approved tires. There is no way in hell you can just shave a tire with a kitchen knife.
The movie actually did show it with race tires on it when it ran. If you run the long course and go over 175 you need a chute.
Next there is only 5 miles of race course the next few are for shutting down.

I don't remember the car having that triple tail, I'm pretty sure it had a single vertical fin. In fact he told us he modeled it after a fish. He said he knew nothing of aerodynamics but figured mother nature did. I don't know of any fish with a triple vertical. The finish of the car is exactly how I remember it, dull and off red.

You qualify using the first 2.25 miles if you go over 175 you can use the long course. If you exceed the current record you can try to set a new record the following morning when you will have to run two runs back and forth across the same course. Then your average will be your time if you break the record.

Then you are impounded while you take your engine apart so they can measure it.
And check everything else. Then you can put it back together and try again.

BTW I looked it up and he does still hold a record for 1000cc bikes streamlined on fuel at 183.586 dated 8/67.

 

I can't believe that after all these years his record still stands. Truly amazing. I saw the movie at the cinemas and it was an inspirational story. While I think that Anthony Hopkins is a brilliant actor and was very good in this role, his accent was all over the place and that tended to spoil it for me a bit. Otherwise, a very good movie.

 

What did Hymee just say about seperation?
I'm right, just found in the mailbox the November issue of Hot Rod magazine.
Check out pages 28 and 29............ a two page picture of Burt Munro and his bike.
No kidding, since I know this issue isn't in your hand yet it's one of only three color pictures they could find. Damn it, Im not in the frame, but I was there you can check the results I think I won my class or maybe even a record.

Anyway it has a single vertical fin, so there ya go movie makers everyone now knows the truth.

Burt is holding what I think is ballast or maybe the fueltank as a couple of mates are fiddling with some alki cans. Great shot by Eric Rickman, Burt is smiling at the camera too.

 

We are showing this movie in a couple of weeks, a private viewing in a 60 seat cinema here in Adelaide for the Alfa Car club. It's sold out already! Looking forward to seeing it now. Decided to organise this film as the WD hasn't seen it yet and didn't get a chance when it was on in the big cinema. I'm glad of the great reviews and details you have all posted. WD will love it.

Sounds like a great bloke huh.!

 

I've seen it and enjoyed it.

WD will definitely like it Julia.

 

I can't imagine anyone not liking that movie

 

I watched this movie last night - its out on DVD. Best movie I've seen this year.

deano.

 

Agreed. Even 'er indoors enjoyed it and she's definitely NOT a car freak.