Man Wheelies Faster Than LaFerrari’s Top Speed; Creates Record

It was at the 2017 Motorcycle Wheelie World Championship at Elvington Airfield, North Yorkshire where an Irishman, Ted Brady, covered a kilometre-long stretch of runway, touching a top speed of 350.5kmph (217.85mph), riding on the rear wheel of his turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa. Most humans have never ridden, or even driven, this fast in their lives. This insane run not only made him win the championship, but also cemented his name in history with a Guinness World Record for the fastest wheelie on a bike. The last record was set at the 2016 edition of the same event for 343.2kmph (213.3mph) by Egbert van Popta on his turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa.

When asked about his record breaking run, Ted told ZigWheels, "Breaking the record last week was the culmination of 13 years of pursuing my dream of being the fastest rider on one wheel over a measured kilometre. The runway that we used was 3km long and we had about 700 metre of run up to a measured kilometre and I had to get the bike up to about 170 mph before I lifted the front wheel and then try and hold it there for a kilometre. The wind speed and direction plays a part on whether you have a successful run or not because you can be put of line easily with the front wheel in the air. There is a huge sense of anxiousness and adrenalin before you make an attempt." He added, " When I was told I had broken the record, it was the best feeling in the world to have finally achieved my dream. And I'd like to dedicate my win to my bike builder Jarrod Frost owner of Holeshot Racing who had his team van stolen with 3 turbo bikes and all his tools robbed whilst on the way to the wheelie records event."

Speaking about the modified Hayabusa, Ted said, "The bike I built last year is a Suzuki Hayabusa 1300 turbo which produces 540 bhp and is capable of lifting the front wheel in top gear. When I rode the bike for the first time at last year's event the bike suffered with a handling issue at about 190 mph and that issue wasn't resolved until this event. Finally, it came down to small issues like tyre pressure and changing the front wheel bearings so the front wheel would rotate easier and faster once lifted and that gives the bike a gyroscopic effect to keep the bike stable and in a straight line when you are going over 200 mph."

Ted also mentioned that he managed to hit a 357.2kmph on a later run, but dropped the wheelie a metre short of the finish line.

Ted has been competing in the Motorcycle Wheelie World Championship since 2005. The rule to win this competition is rather simple - complete a full kilometre on the rear wheel, as fast as possible. India too has a similar competition at the Valley Run where participants have to keep the front wheel up for a quarter-mile and the fastest one across the line wins. Also, this is not the only wheelie record we have witnessed this year. The other one came from Japanese stunt rider Masaru Abe, who performed a 500km wheelie on his modified Yamaha Jog 125cc scooter.

The fastest wheelie record has a history of being broken every year. It will be exciting to see how fast riders go next year to create a new speed record.
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