Brits Attempt World Record

Can a 1000bhp V8 bike beat the 321mph record?

By PH Staff / Tuesday, 8 April 2003 / Loading comments

Ron Holland has a little project underway. His dream is to beat the world speed record for a motorbike - 321mph!

To do that he's having a 2.6 litre V8 bike built by a combination of professionals and a schools project. He hopes that the 'Angelic Bulldog' will comfortably break the current world record by the end of 2004.

The world record attempt will take place on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA. "Building this bike has been a dream of mine since I was a child." He continued: "Two of my best friends, Roger Forsythe and Pete Davies, are amongst the best motorcycle designers and engineers in the world. With Gabriel Uttley and his schoolchildren, we decided to make this year the year we finish the bike and next year the year to break the records!"

Teacher Gabriel Uttley and his team of pupils from Beauchamps High School in Wickford, Essex have been working with Ron's team for over a year to perfect the design and complete the engineering of the bike.

The bike is designed to be capable of 400mph or better. The specification of the engine is as follows:

· Two Yamaha FJ1200 cylinder heads
· One-piece Puma steel crankshaft
· Puma aluminium crankcases
· Puma barrels
· Puma Fuel Injection tuned for 98% Nitro

Ron Holland has experimented with other designs over the years. "We want to stress that this is a real motorbike, not a gimmicky design model, or an experiment in rocket power. It uses real motorcycle technology, specially strengthened and designed to cope with the explosive force of nitro methane and will develop a comfortable 1000 BHP at 13,000 rpm."

The main sponsor of the project is the Museum of Speed, London's
soon-to-be-built theme park and centrepiece of the new Stratford City development.