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Backyard bike builder shoots for speed record
By LANE NICHOLS - The Dominion Post | Saturday, 07 June 2008

KENT BLECHYNDEN/The Dominion Post
 

SPEED MACHINE: Danny Thompson astride the Puducah Flyer,

named after a "little redneck town" in Kentucky.


Following in the footsteps of The World's Fastest Indian, a Naenae hot-rod lover will try for a land speed record at the famous Utah salt flats on his home-built vintage bike.

Danny Thompson, 34, is headed to the Bonneville Salt Flats for the 60th anniversary of the "running at the salt" Speed Week races in August.

It is where Invercargill's Burt Munro set several land speed records on his home-modified Indian motorbike in the 1960s.

Mr Thompson's bike is a stripped down Harley-Davidson Hardtail frame, which he bought from a mate, and fitted with a vintage 1939 Indian 490cc engine, which he found on eBay.

A longtime vintage car lover who already owns a 1963 Cadillac and a 1932 Roadster, Mr Thompson estimated he had spent $25,000 building the "Puducah Flyer" - named for "a little redneck town in Kentucky".

He is entered in a special class for vintage 490cc bikes - considerably smaller than Munro's. The speed to beat is 88 miles per hour [141kmh], though Mr Thompson says just competing will be a thrill.

"Only a handful of Kiwis can say they've raced out there. If we get close [to the record] it would be good.

"But the main goal is just to get there and have some fun."

Though he has travelled to Speed Week as a spectator three times, this will be his first attempt at racing on the salt.

"It's like being on the snow. You've got to have sunglasses and you can't wear short shorts."

The Puducah Flyer has already had two test runs. The first was a dismal failure, but the second in Wairarapa - "on a closed road, of course, with the council's permission" - had showcased the bike's potential.

"It's actually more comfortable than I thought it was going to be. The first time I tried it I got big bruises on my thighs."

Having parted with so much hard-earned cash to build his beloved bike, Mr Thompson admitted he was not married - "what do you think?" - and said he was well aware of the dangers posed by his new adrenalin-charged sport.

"People do die out there. It is dangerous. You read the rule book and it says, `land speed racing is a dangerous sport'."

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