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Silver Bird (streamliner)

Silver Bird was a motorcycle land-speed record setting streamliner motorcycle. It was powered by two motors delivering 240 horsepower (180 kW).[1] It was the first motorcycle to set a speed record over 300 miles per hour (480 km/h), when ridden by Don Vesco at the Bonneville Speedway in 1975.[2][3]

Silver Bird
Don Vesco with Silver Bird at Bonneville Speedway
ManufacturerDon Vesco
Predecessor"Big Red" streamliner
Successor"Lightning Bolt" streamliner
ClassStreamliner
Engine2× Yamaha Inline-4 694.9 cc (42.41 cu in) reed-valve two-stroke, 1,389.8 cc (84.81 cu in) total displacement
Bore / stroke64 mm × 54 mm (2.52 in × 2.13 in)
Top speed303.812 mph (488.938 km/h)[1]
Power240 hp (180 kW)
DimensionsL: 21 ft (6.4 m)
H: 32 in (810 mm)
Weight900 lb (410 kg) (wet)

Construction

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Silver Bird c. 1974 with shorter stabilizing fin than on the 1975 record setting run

The motorcycle was built by Don Vesco and sponsored by Yamaha.[4] It had two four-cylinder, 694.9 cc reed-valve two-stroke engines from the Yamaha TZ750 racebike.[1]

Specifications

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  • Displacement: 1,389.8 cc total
  • Engine bore and stroke: 64mm×54mm[5][6]
  • Dimensions: 21 feet long, 32 inches high[7]
  • Weight: c. 900 pounds (410 kg)[8]

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Robinson 2007, p. 126.
  2. ^ American Motorcyclist Association 1999.
  3. ^ New York Times 2002.
  4. ^ Woodruff 1982.
  5. ^ Cameron 2012.
  6. ^ Williams 2007.
  7. ^ Hot Rod 2003.
  8. ^ Phinizy 1975.

Sources

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  • Motorcycle Hall of Fame: Don Vesco, American Motorcyclist Association, 1999
  • Cameron, Kevin (March 30, 2012), "Ask Kevin: Hard riding beasts – Yamaha TZ750", Cycle World
  • Williams, Evan (c. 2007), Yamaha's TZ750: Where Legends Began ..., Superbike Planet, archived from the original on 2010-12-21
  • Robinson, Rocky (2007), Flat Out: The Race for the Motorcycle Land Speed Record, Motorbooks, ISBN 9781610609296
  • "Don Vesco, 63, Record-Setting Motorcyclist", The New York Times, December 20, 2002
  • "Don Vesco Turbinator Streamliner Land-Speed Racer—Vesco's 300-MPH Bike", Hot Rod, July 2003
  • Woodruff, Dorde (April 1982). "Record runs a family affair with Don and Rick Vesco". American Motorcyclist. American Motorcyclist Association: 86. Retrieved May 29, 2021 – via Google Books.
  • Phinizy, Coles (November 1975), "Flat out on the flats", Sports Illustrated, vol. 43, no. 19, p. 38

Further reading

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  • "Motorcycles - The Silver Bird - Don Vesco's 300-mph Yamaha streamliner", Hot Rod, December 1975
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