Way back in '84, the big news in motorcycling was the first 150mph superbike. 6 years in development to replace the ageing Z1, the Kawasaki GPZ900R was a 16-valve, 4 cylinder weapon pumping out 115hp at 9,500rpm.
That was 27 years ago now, and times have changed. Even entry-level sportsbikes will do that kind of speed, most often on the back wheel in school zones.
But wind back the clock the same 27 years from the release of the GPZ and things were very different. In 1957, proper bikes were made in factories in England by men in dust coats and flat hats.
Single cylinder bikes were the order of the day, with parallel twins for the real speed freaks. A 110mph, 500cc BSA Gold Star was the king of the road and cafe.
The Velocette Venom was nearly as fast, 34hp taking it to 100mph flat-out in fourth. Which was about as quick as you'd want to go on a bike with drum brakes the size of a bottle cap.
But some people just have a top-speed itch.
ColumnShift Media has just heard that a Queensland-prepared, single-cylinder Velocette has just broken the streamlined 500cc land speed record on the Bonneville salt flats, and may top 150mph if the wind is favourable today.
The idea of doing that speed sprawled over a faired 50's bike gives me goosebumps: all raspy induction and booming exhaust, weaving around as the wind changes. It's the stuff of dreams.
We need to talk to these guys.
