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One Good Run: The Legend of Burt Munro
Here is the amazing story of Kiwi motorcycling legend, backyard engineering genius, and land speed record holder Burt Munro. Munro was the archetypal eccentric inventor. He took an original Indian motorbike and modified it in his shed so it became capable of extreme speeds. From small town New Zealand in the 1920s to heroic accomplishments in the USA, Munro was still inventing up until his death in 1978. This is very much a "little guy beats the odds" story-Munro still holds several records in the US-as a mark of respect, the category he raced in was "frozen" for all time. The publication of the book has been timed to coincided with the movie The World's Fastest Indian, directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, scheduled for release October 2005.
306 pages, Paperback
First published February 23, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 9, 2013
Not just for petrol heads, although anyone with a mechanical background will love it, this is about a human with an obsession and the home brewed skills to make it happen. Some of the modifications he made to his ancient Indian motorcycle are complicated and were executed very well. He was a guy I would have liked to have met and spent time with. Definite ladies man, his eccentricity comes over well in the book and walks a nice line between compassion and admiration. His lawn mowing technique to satisfy complaining neighbours has to be admired as does his way of dealing with any form of officialdom.
May 17, 2017
Great narrative but can get bogged in engine details.
August 29, 2021
A story of determination and grit and how he did it is a remarkable read of one man and his journey.
February 15, 2009
‘The God of Speed never did have a more faithful servant than Burt Munro.’
Burt Munro (1899 – 1978) was a man with a single-minded passion. Burt had an Indian Scout motorcycle bought in 1920 which he rebuilt and modified into a unique speed machine he called the ‘Munro Special’. Burt’s ambition was to see how fast it would really go and his pursuit of that aim took him from Invercargill in New Zealand to the Bonneville salt flats in Utah.
Burt Munro was 68 years old and was riding a 47 year old machine when he set his last record (183.586mph (295.453km/h) at Bonneville on 26 August 1967). I read this book after watching ‘The World’s Fastest Indian’, starring Anthony Hopkins.
This book is both interesting and frustrating. It provides a good sense of Burt’s achievements, his sense of adventure, his inventiveness and his dogged persistence in pursuit of his objective. Why then did I find the book frustrating? In short, because while I found the ‘how’, the ‘what’ and the ‘where’ fascinating I would have liked to have known more about the ‘why’. I would have liked, as well, to have had some greater insight into the intuitive processes that enabled Burt to see possibilities where others saw junk and have the courage and self-assurance to follow through. I suspect that Burt Munro himself would have little time for such introspection: his interests were primarily in how to extract maximum horsepower from a particular motorcycle, not in what motivated men like him to do so.
I admire the spirit of Burt Munro, and of those people like him who set goals (albeit generally in different fields) for others to aspire to. If you are interested in one of the original speed freaks and have not yet read this book, I recommend it. My own knowledge and interest in this area is limited and generally relates to car racing. If you are not interested in speed at all, you may still find this book worth reading: I found it, in its own way, inspirational.
Burt Munro (1899 – 1978) was a man with a single-minded passion. Burt had an Indian Scout motorcycle bought in 1920 which he rebuilt and modified into a unique speed machine he called the ‘Munro Special’. Burt’s ambition was to see how fast it would really go and his pursuit of that aim took him from Invercargill in New Zealand to the Bonneville salt flats in Utah.
Burt Munro was 68 years old and was riding a 47 year old machine when he set his last record (183.586mph (295.453km/h) at Bonneville on 26 August 1967). I read this book after watching ‘The World’s Fastest Indian’, starring Anthony Hopkins.
This book is both interesting and frustrating. It provides a good sense of Burt’s achievements, his sense of adventure, his inventiveness and his dogged persistence in pursuit of his objective. Why then did I find the book frustrating? In short, because while I found the ‘how’, the ‘what’ and the ‘where’ fascinating I would have liked to have known more about the ‘why’. I would have liked, as well, to have had some greater insight into the intuitive processes that enabled Burt to see possibilities where others saw junk and have the courage and self-assurance to follow through. I suspect that Burt Munro himself would have little time for such introspection: his interests were primarily in how to extract maximum horsepower from a particular motorcycle, not in what motivated men like him to do so.
I admire the spirit of Burt Munro, and of those people like him who set goals (albeit generally in different fields) for others to aspire to. If you are interested in one of the original speed freaks and have not yet read this book, I recommend it. My own knowledge and interest in this area is limited and generally relates to car racing. If you are not interested in speed at all, you may still find this book worth reading: I found it, in its own way, inspirational.
January 1, 2015
I first came across Burt Monro by watching The Worlds Fastest Indian (now one of my favourite films ever!). Then I spent years trying to get a hold of this book, which was the inspiration for the film. I thought this book was a proper biography. It's not quite, but is still awesome reading! If even half of it was true - Burt had an amazing life, with many achievements to be proud of! I would have loved to have met him. Had it been possible I know my boyfriend would have most definitely been a firm friend and supporter. I was really interested learning about his early life and how his life's work lead him to record breaking at Bonneville! I'm gonna have to look up some more books about him now. My only complaints about this book (both down to personal preference) are not enough photographs! And all the technical bikey bits went right over my head...
November 24, 2009
This is a FANTASTIC TRUE STORY !!!
It shows what one man with a great deal of patience and skill can do given time.
A MUST READ FOR MOTORCYCLE FANS !!!
It shows what one man with a great deal of patience and skill can do given time.
A MUST READ FOR MOTORCYCLE FANS !!!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews