Burt Munro

Herbert James Munro (25 March 1899 – 6 January 1978) was a motorcycle racer from New Zealand, famous for setting a motorcycle speed record in the 1000cc Streamliner Modified Fuel category, at Bonneville, on 26 August 1967. This record still stands as of May 2026; Munro was 68 and was riding a 47-year-old machine when he set his last record. Working from his home in Invercargill, he spent 20 years highly modifying the 1920 Indian Scout that he had bought that year. Munro set his first New Zealand speed record in 1938, and later set seven more. He travelled to compete at the Bonneville Salt Flats, attempting to set world speed records. During his ten visits to the salt flats, he set three speed records in the American Motorcyclist Association's National Records, one of which still stands as of May 2026. His efforts, and success, are the basis of the film The World's Fastest Indian (2005), starring Anthony Hopkins, and an earlier 1971 short documentary film Burt Munro: Offerings to the God of Speed, both directed by Roger Donaldson.