The Hunter Sills Racing team is walking away with an official speed record (pending FIM ratification) and an unofficial speed record. Using the BMW S 1000 RR, the HSR team broke the record for fastest speed achieved on a 1,000cc naturally aspirated four-cylinder partially streamlined motorcycle reaching 242 mph, making it the fastest recorded speed ever for a BMW motorcycle.
The bike was piloted by Erin Sills who broke her late husband Andy Sill’s record of 221 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats back in 2013. The record was broken at the salt lake of Uyuni, Bolivia.
Prior to reaching Uyinu, the team had to overcome a lot of challenges. The team containers with all the important equipment and sensitive components were delayed, so HSR only had two and a half days to try and reach the record instead the six days they originally planned. Then, at the dry lake, on the first day of testing, they suffered a major electronic failure, followed by a blown engine.
The team mechanics worked as fast as they could to rebuild the engine, and on the deadline, the S1000RR, partially streamlined, was ready to try and beat the previous speed record.
The impressive 242 mph mark stands as the fastest speed ever recorded for a BMW motorcycle but unfortunately won’t go in the FIM record books since it couldn’t be backed up with a second run. However, a 229 mph run was recorded twice which is still quite an impressive feature.
[Source: iMotorbike]
