What’s the fastest you’ve gone on a motorcycle? What about behind a bike? A guy in the UK is trying to set a new record for the highest speed towed behind a motorcycle, and he appears to have the machine to do it.
Believe it or not, there is actually a Guinness record for Fastest Speed Being Dragged Behind a Motorcycle. The current record was set 25 years ago. In 1999, “Gary Rothwell of Liverpool, England, was dragged behind a motorcycle at a speed of 251.54 km./h. (156.3 m.p.h.) on 2 mm. (0.07 in.) titanium-soled boots at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground, Leicester, England… ” Thus sayeth the Guinness Book of World Records website (see here). See his record-setting run below.
Well, stuntman Jonny Davies has that record in his sights. Davies already has a couple of other Guinness records and holds title of UK’s Stunt Champion (although we’re not sure how that title was earned, we are confident that it was not handed out as a cereal box prize). Now, Davies is teaming up with Kawasaki’s UK subsidiary to tackle Rothwell’s record.
He’s going to ride a Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX for this attempt; the bike will be modified with a throttle towards the back of the bike, so when Davis jumps off the machine he can still control the speed as he coasts behind on a set of titanium skis. Once he sets a new record (he’s aiming for at least 160 mph), he will use the throttle to slow the bike, then climb back aboard and stop.
Sounds crazy to most of us, no doubt, but Davies says “It feels pretty surreal to be finally attempting this world record after years of planning. It’s amazing to have support from Kawasaki UK, they have been fantastic and have done a great job in preparing the bike for me. Having ridden the Ninja H2 SX, it feels super stable and incredibly fast, making it the perfect bike for the job.”
There’s no date or location set for the stunt yet, but if we hear the record has actually been broken, we’ll let you know.
