MUNRO OUT OF
BONNEVILLE 2019
J
ust a month out from the annual Bonneville
Motorcycle Speed Trials in Utah, Kiwi speed
freak Lee Munro (yes, of THOSE Munro’s) has
had to pull the pin on his 2019 campaign with the
“Spirit of Munro” Indian Scout.
“I am gutted to say that 2019 will not see us out
there”, Munro posted to his Facebook page.
“We had an important sponsor withdraw not
quite two weeks ago which has left us with not
enough time to find a keen sponsor who wants to
be part of a world record-breaking team.”
With development continuing since then –
including a thorough revision of the aerodynamic
partial streamliner fairing and engine – the Spirit
of Munro has been reaching for speeds above the
200mph mark with Lee at the handlebars since its
inception.
Here’s hoping 2020 will see Lee and the team
return to the Bonneville Salt and etch another
record for a Munro aboard an Indian into the
record books.
The team isn’t throwing in the towel completely,
with preparations already in motion to ensure the
team makes it to the 2020 Bonneville Speed Trials.
“The funds we raised so far will go towards a
world record attempt for 2020, which is also the
100th year of the Indian Scout. To say I cannot
wait till then is an understatement!”
Lee Munro is the great-nephew of Burt Munro
and has raced the Spirit of Munro in the USA for
the past two years. The bike itself, built by a team
of enthusiastic Indian Motorcycle engineers in
their off time, was built in the spirit of Burt Munro
by raiding the Indian parts bin and cobbling
together a working bike for the 2017 speed trials.
KIWI RIDER 17