Engineering:Silver Bird (streamliner)
From HandWiki
 Don Vesco with Silver Bird at Bonneville Speedway | |
| Manufacturer | Don Vesco |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | "Big Red" streamliner |
| Successor | "Lightning Bolt" streamliner |
| Class | Streamliner |
| Engine | 2× 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 / stroke | 64 mm × 54 mm (2.52 in × 2.13 in) |
| Top speed | 303.812 mph (488.938 km/h)[1] |
| Power | 240 hp (180 kW) |
| Dimensions | L: 21 ft (6.4 m) H: 32 in (810 mm) |
| Weight | 900 lb (410 kg) (wet) |
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]
Construction
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
- 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
Notes
Sources
- Motorcycle Hall of Fame: Don Vesco, American Motorcyclist Association, 1999, http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=288
- Cameron, Kevin (March 30, 2012), "Ask Kevin: Hard riding beasts – Yamaha TZ750", Cycle World, http://www.cycleworld.com/2012/03/30/ask-kevin-hard-riding-beasts-yamaha-tz750/
- Williams, Evan (c. 2007), Yamaha's TZ750: Where Legends Began ..., Superbike Planet, archived from the original on 2010-12-21, https://web.archive.org/web/20101221063501/http://superbikeplanet.com/evantz750.htm
- Robinson, Rocky (2007), Flat Out: The Race for the Motorcycle Land Speed Record, Motorbooks, ISBN 9781610609296, https://books.google.com/books?id=kLmSoy1vB6cC&pg=PA126
- "Don Vesco, 63, Record-Setting Motorcyclist", The New York Times, December 20, 2002, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/20/sports/don-vesco-63-record-setting-motorcyclist.html
- "Don Vesco Turbinator Streamliner Land-Speed Racer—Vesco's 300-MPH Bike", Hot Rod, July 2003, http://www.hotrod.com/thehistoryof/hrdp_0307_vescos_turbinator_streamliner_land_speed_racer/
- Woodruff, Dorde (April 1982). "Record runs a family affair with Don and Rick Vesco". American Motorcyclist (American Motorcyclist Association): 86. https://books.google.com/books?id=QPsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA86. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
- Phinizy, Coles (November 1975), "Flat out on the flats", Sports Illustrated 43 (19): 38, https://www.si.com/vault/1975/11/10/618927/flat-out-on-the-flats
Further reading
- "Motorcycles - The Silver Bird - Don Vesco's 300-mph Yamaha streamliner", Hot Rod, December 1975
External links
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