Chip Yates retires after setting speed record

The word on the street is that Chip Yates is retiring after setting a speed record at Bonneville this weekend, as he said he would.

Yates, who piloted his SWIGZ.COM electric superbike to some impressive speeds already this year, said he wanted to set a land speed record before he retired. That got a little trickier when Lightning Motorcycles set an electric motorcycle land speed record in August.

According to Asphalt and Rubber, though, Yates still managed to set a FIM/AMA record this week, hitting 196 mph in the ‘over 300kg’ class. The team also supposedly topped the 200 mph mark at one point in the week, in a speed trap.

Yates didn’t stop there; he also set a 181 mph record in the ‘over 300kg’ naked class, a 173 mph record in the ‘150kg-300kg’ class, and a 187 mph record in the ‘150kg-300kg’ naked class. Asphalt and Rubber also says he’s in the running for a pizza delivery bike speed run, but we’re not sure if they’re serious on that one. Anyway, all these records have to be certified by various authorities, but if they hold up, it’ll be a great way for Yates to walk away from racing.

Yates wasn’t the only racer setting unusual records this week; Lehman Trikes also set a record for three-wheeled motorcycles, with Bill Chambers hitting 123 mph on one of the company’s Renegade kits. Supposedly the Renegade was a stock unit, so you could theoretically challenge this record if you went out and bought one for yourself – not that we’d advise it. The trike did have a customized engine from Aces and Eights Racing in Deadwood, South Dakota.