Speed king aims higher

Press, 30 November 1978, Page 10

Speed king aims higher

Don Vesco (United States) has lifted his world motor-cycle speed record to 3181598 m.p.h. with a streamliner powered by two 1015 cu. cm. double overhead camshaft Kawasaki engines.

Now he is considering building a new machine in a bid to crack the 400 m.p.h. barrier by at least 10 m.p.h. and become the fastest person in a machine driven through wheels. For this he believes he will need 600 b.h.p. He in-

tends to use two six-cylin-der Kawasaki engines bored out to 1500 cu. cm. The current world record for a wheel-driven vehicle is held by two

Americans, Bill and Bob Summers, who achiev ed 409.27 m.p.h. in 1964 with a machine powered by four Chrvsler V-8 engines.

Vesco set his new speed just three days after increasing his record to 314 m.p.h. Before that, he held the record at 303 m.p.h..

set with the same streamliner fitted with two Yamaha TZ7SO two-stroke engines.

Ail records were established on the Bonnet ille Salt Fiats. In his latest attempt, Vesco completed his first, run over the measured mile at 318.30 m.p.h. He actually recorded 322 m.p.h. over the final quar-ter-mile. A little more than an hour later, he made the return run at 318.66 m.p.h. to average 318.598 m.p.h. “I’ve got a lot left with this machine — about 20 m.p.h.,” Vesco said afterwards. “My biggest problem is transmission and rear tyres. With the Kawasaki engines and the turbocharger I have got so much power that a tyre lasts only two runs.” He estimates the Kawasaki engines developed 300 b.h.p.