There are so many crazy cars, motorcycles, trucks, and God knows whatever other types of vehicles that have been built which we know nothing about, we always smile with glee when we find another one. This time it is the rocket powered, streamliner motorcycle of England’s Richard Brown. Using a hydrogen peroxide rocket along with what seems to be a solid fuel booster, Brown’s machine was built to run for the ultimate land speed record of motorcycles which stood around 350mph in the 1990s when the Gillette Mach 3 Challenger was built.
This video was part of a British show highlighting the effort and showing the machines to the general public. As you will see, it’s a runner. The little outrigger skis that hold it up, the tow job up to operating speed, and the general claustrophobia of the thing are all wild, but the wildest part? Brown actually took this thing to Bonneville.
Running a peak speed of 356mph one way and a 332.887mph average on the only trip it ever made across the salt, the Challenger did not complete a record return run but it did validate the things that Brown was saying in this video. As wild as this thing is, we give him both credit for design and for guts!
Oh YEAH.
Dude was stone cold bonkers to drive that hung! I got to see a Hydrogen Peroxide dragster make a pass at the long gone Fresno Dragwayd back in the early 70’s before they were outlawed in the US. It ran around 300 mph which was unheard of by top fuel cars at that time. I will never forget the sound of that thing. Silence and then a deafening shriek.
Richard and most of his support crew are still alive. The World attempt was ‘let down’ by a deflated rear tyre on the salt flats. The salt did not cope with the metal wheels which were available for the higher speeds. I was on wind monitoring during the tests. Malcolm