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Story by: Gabe Ets-Hokin, Feature Editor - February 2006 Photos courtesy Chuck lotnik and Raoul Butler. Any motorcycle enthusiast I can think of has lived a scene similar to the opening one from The World's You can't hear the lambs screaming at 200 mph.

It's a cold, clear day. You wake up at six AM, quickly toss on some clothes, and roll your bike outside. You've been working on it for the last week installing a new top end, and you're certain that this time you've got it set up perfectly, this time it's going to get you those last few miles per hour.

You set the choke just right, switch the ignition on, and drop the back wheel on your starting rollers. The barely-muffled bike roars into life; it sounds perfect! You rev the engine, lost in the perfect sound coming from the motor, a motor you've spent years getting just right.

And then you realize you've wakened the neighbors; they are yelling at you. You remember that to most humans, that glorious sound is just obnoxious noise, especially at six on a Saturday morning.

What's brilliant about The World's Fastest Indian is that this two hour and seven minute movie directed by New Zealander Roger Donaldson is a good movie for non-motorcyclists because it's pleasant and entertaining, and a great movie for motorcycle enthusiasts because it tells the story of one man's love for motorcycling better than any film since On Any Sunday. (Not counting Time Rider(1981), of course. )

As a movie, The World's Fastest Indian is just fine. It tells the story of a New Zealand pensioner by the name of Burt Munroe who manages to get his 1920 Indian Scout to the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1962 to set a land speed record. He is of course met with many obstacles, but meets friends along the way to help him achieve his goal. Anyone with a heart will love Anthony Hopkins' fine portrayal of a kindly, charming man in his 60's, one that is not creepy or cannibalistic at all. I kept waiting for him to bite or otherwise injure the little boy from next door (Aaron Murphy), but he never did.

There's plenty of clichés and stereotypes in here that will keep this film from ever being considered a classic. There's the cute little boy next door, the wanton older woman who plays Munro's Kiwi girlfriend (Annie Whittle), and the lonely, lonely widow who repairs Bert's trailer in the middle of the desert after his wheel falls off. In addition, she puts more than a wheel on his axle, if you know what I'm saying.

But I digress. It's a classic road movie combined with the story of the underdog chasing his dream. It works, as the acting, script and cinematography are all good enough to hold the attention of the non-motorcycle people so they will go see it with you. They will enjoy the movie and it will be a memorable and pleasant experience.You will enjoy the movie. It will be memorable and pleasant. You will pay full price for tickets. You will not ask for butter on your popcorn. You will not complain about sticky stuff on the floor to management. You will not ask for parking validation. Please read this over and over out loud.

And now, the review for motorcyclists.

Every once in a while, motorcycles are portrayed for what they really are in a movie. Not as angry death-machines. Not as props to make a bad-ass character even more bad-ass, or to demonstrate how sick and reckless a person is, but as amazing devices that can give
focus and meaning to a man's life, a way to leave a mark on the world, a way to express what makes us unique and individual.

Bert Munro was such a man, and Roger Donaldson gives us a fictionalized account based on his more factual TV documentary he made about Munro in the 1970's. In the movie, Munro is portrayed as a doddering old codger who has this wacky motorcycle that can magically go 200 mph. He goes to Utah for what we assume will be a once-in-a-lifetime adventure to fulfill his dream to "See how fast she'll go. " Once there, he is practically laughed off the course with his old bike, but he shows them all, making a run of 201 mph, before he cooks his leg and dumps his bike on the salt.

In reality, the story is actually much more amazing than the movie reveals. Burt purchased his 1920 Scout in, well, 1920 and immediately began to race it in all kinds of competition; dirt, speed runs on the beach,hare scrambles, TT races, roadraces, you name it. Burt was a consummate sportsman and competitor who kept improving his machine until it was truly the "World's Fastest Indian".

Munro did amazing things to a design that while advanced in its time, wouldn't be used for an MSF course in Upper Volta today. He redid the front end. He made his own high-speed tires. He designed and made his own cylinder heads, cams, pushrods, crankshafts, valves, heads, oiling system and pistons. By 1957 the still-unfaired bike was setting records in New Zealand, achieving 143 mph on pavement. An SV650 with a tailwind might be able to do that today, but the 1920 Indian Scout was capable of 55 mph in stock trim.

In 1962, Burt was ready to try it on the salt at Bonneville. With the hand-made aluminum body Munro made himself, the 42 year-old bike went 178.971 mph. The following years, he suffered mechanical failures and other problems and could not break that elusive 200 mph-mark.

By 1967, with the bike punched out to 950cc, Burt finally broke his old record with an average (speed records at Bonneville are averaged from a two-way run) speed of 183. 586 mph, a record that stands to this day for streamliners with modified engines running gasoline in the 1000cc class at Bonneville. (It sounds unbelievable, but check it out yourself if you don't believe it. ) To qualify for this record, he was clocked by timing officials in one direction at 190.07 mph. This is the fastest anybody has ever gone (officially) on an Indian. I don't think an unmodified one would go that fast even if you did drop it off a cliff.

The movie is great but it takes plenty of liberties with the details; Munro never went 200 mph, he actually went back to Bonneville eight times, and he was an accomplished motorsports competitor with a half-century's experience who probably would have shown up at Bonneville better prepared than he was in the movie. Still, the film captures the spirit of a racer on a budget, the camaraderie of the pits. A more historically accurate portrayal would not have helped the story, but would rather have bored and confused viewers.

The camaraderie and help from strangers is rampant in this film. At the salt flats, Munro is helped and supported by numerous enthusiasts he's never met before, including Jim Moffet and Rollie Free (the guy in the famous photograph going 150 mph on a Vincent wearing a bathing suit). They help a perfect stranger achieve his goal like he's a member of their family. Additional characters help Munro in other ways, from providing powdered dog testicles to cash or welding equipment. Some film critics might find this unrealistic, but they aren't motorcycle enthusiasts. We've all had amazing things done for us by strangers while we were on the road; lodging at somebody's house, a spare master link from a scruffy, Japanese-bike-hating biker, a gallon of gas. Payment is always refused. People just want to do nice things for you when you're on a motorcycle. Burt Munro meets Jim Moffet and they are instantly friends. Just like that. Hasn't that happened to you?

Another realistic touch is Munro's refusal to quit. Even with heart trouble and other ailments, he ignores adversity and pleas to abandon his quest. A doctor tells Burt, "Your motorcycle days are over", to which he responds, "Like hell they are!" A non-motorcyclist would see that as the stubborn craziness of an old man; a motorcyclist knows that just the word of a concerned doctor is insufficient to make us stop riding.

In addition to the flesh-and-blood stars of the film, there's plenty of hardware to make the show exciting. In addition to the three faithful replicas of the Munro Special (one used for static shots, one used as a camera car, and a Ducati-powered version used for the action sequences), there are plenty of Velocettes, AJSs, Triumphs and Nortons, in addition to some original land speed record-breaking cars like the Challenger and the Flying Caduceus.

The World's Fastest Indian portrays motorcyclists as passionate, devoted people who see their bikes as a means of expression, a way to show the world they're "bigger and better than all the other jokers", as Munroe says when asked why he does what he does. It's a good enough movie to interest the non-motorcyclist in your life who you might want to see it with, and it has enough historical accuracy and vehicular eye-candy to keep your interest as a motorcycle enthusiast.

The World's Fastest Indian - Magnolia Pictures - New Zealand, 2006, 2 hours, 7 minutes

Cast:
Burt Munro - Anthony Hopkins
Ada - Diane Ladd
Fernando - Paul Rodriguez
Tom - Aaron Murphy
Fran - Annie Whittle
Bob Higby - Chris Bruno
Cabbie - Carlos La Camara
Wendy - Jessica Cauffiel
Rusty - Patrick Flueger
Marty Dickerson - Walton Goggins
Jerry - Bruce Greenwood
Otto Donner - Joe Howard
Jim Moffet - Chris Lawford
Mike - Gavin Grazer
Rollie Free - William Lucking
Earl - Eric Pierpoint
Ali - Laurel Moglen
Tina - Chris Williams

Information for this article was gleaned from the very excellent resources at http://www.indianmotorbikes.com, and from The Indian by Tod Rafferty (Salamander books, 2001