Long before Burt Munro came to Bonneville with his Indian Scout, Harley and Indian were fighting it out for the fastest motorcycle. Harley set a record of 136.183 miles per hour in 1937 and Indian was out on the salt the next year trying for their own record. An interesting bit of history showing how far Harley and Indian would go to try and be on top. The Indian Arrow was a first step towards the modern streamliners that race on the salt today. 1938 Indian Arrow Streamliner
Nice article, thanks for sharing. Must have taken a lot of guts to climb into that thing for it's maiden run!
I found this interesting fact: Does Burt Munroe still hold records? Burt Munro was a New Zealand motorcycle racer, famous for setting an under-1,000 cc world record, at Bonneville, 26 August 1967. This record still stands today. He made a one-way run of 305.89 km/h (190.07 mph), the fastest-ever officially-recorded speed on an Indian.
The Fastest Indian about Burt is a great motorcycle movie too if you haven't seen it.....one of my favorites.
The Harley and Indian wars were pretty fierce, here is a link to the land speed record in 1937 Daytona AMA Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame | Joe Petrali
