In one of his books, Phil Irving (one of the designers) said that there were only about 16 of the model produced. It is generally believed that this bike was a Black Lightning though, a custom order from the factory and was some 100 pounds lighter and 25 hp (19 kW) more powerful than a stock Black Shadow. Free adopted a style used by other racers, such as Norman Teleford, of lying flat-prone along the machine's spine, thereby minimizing wind resistance and moving its center of gravity rearward.
Special features included the first-ever Vincent use of a rear shock absorber, the first Mk II racing cams, and horizontally mounted racing carburetors. On the morning of September 13, 1948, Free raised the American motorcycle speed record by riding the very first Vincent HRD (it is debated as to whether it was a Black Lightning or Black Shadow), owned by the California sportsman John Edgar and sponsored by Mobil Oil, to a speed of 150.313 mph (241.905 km/h). In 1945, Free left the Air Force and resumed racing on Indian motorcycles in long-distance and sprint record attempts, as well as dirt track racing on Triumphs. He joined the Army Air Force as an aircraft maintenance officer during the Second World War during this time, he was stationed at Hill Field in Utah, where he first saw the Bonneville Salt Flats. He also set several American Motorcyclist Association Class C speed records including a 111.55 mph (179.52 km/h) run at Daytona in 1938 on an Indian Chief that he had tuned himself. He developed his career in longer-distance events, and raced in the first Daytona 200 on the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1937. In 1923, Free tried out for his first national motorcycle race, the 100-Mile National Championships on the board track in Kansas City, but did not qualify. Īfter an early career in motorcycle retail, Free became a regional racer of the 1920s and 30s on Indian motorcycles. The picture of Free, prone and wearing a bathing suit, has been described as the most famous picture in motorcycling. Roland "Rollie" Free (Novem– October 11, 1984) was a motorcycle racer best known for breaking the American motorcycle land speed record in 1948 on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah.
0 kommentar(er)
