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Greetings and Welcome to The 405 Coffee Break with O.K. Solberg
New episodes tend to air over the local KMMR radio station @ 5 minutes past 4PM each M-F. And have been doing so, nearly every week since Sept 2018.
New episodes appear here usually within a few hours after that KMMR air time and been striving to post new releases here by 4:30PM.
I want to again welcome you to The 04:05 Coffee Break. Guys, get you a cup of coffee, glass iced tea, bottle of water. Let's see what's happening.
OK Solberg:Spring wheat $6.22 a bushel, 550lb steer calf, 558lbs to be exact, in Billings at PAYS last week $4.35 a pound. A 100lb fat lamb in Billings $3.10 to $3.15, not going anywhere from last week or last month. But guys, there's more, much more.
OK Solberg:It's Monday, and that means it's Jay and Joe's Motor Monday. Oh, yeah. And I might add, this is the 52nd edition of Motor Monday. Can that be true?
OK Solberg:It is. So that means next week is the 1st anniversary. Therefore, with that being said, I need a special episode today. Well, guys, I have it for you. A listener and friend shared a book with me and it's a good one.
OK Solberg:The book is called One Good Run. The Legend of Bert Munro written by Tim Hannah, and it tells a true story of a remarkable New Zealander named Burt Munro, a motorcycle racer, an inventor, a mechanic, and from everything I can tell, just a little bit eccentric. Fascinating book.
OK Solberg:Guys, I won't do it justice in 1 short episode, but I will do other episodes as the days and months go by. Listen to just a taste of Mr. Munro. Bert Munro bought a brand new 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle for about $50.
OK Solberg:Brand new, 1920. He bought the Indian in 1920 when he was 21 years old, and he was still modifying and racing that same motorcycle nearly 50 years later. Bert made his own parts and I have to be clear on this.
OK Solberg:He made his own parts as in Bert melted down old pistons and cast the metal into new pistons of his own design. He modified the engine, experimented with pistons, with cylinders, valve gear, and flywheels, and continually looked for ways to make that Indian go faster.
OK Solberg:He didn't have a big racing team behind him. He didn't have unlimited money. He had a little workshop of his own, a lot of mechanical ability and the determination that apparently wouldn't take no for an answer.
OK Solberg:And Bert was, shall we say, an interesting neighbor. I will quote from the book itself as it tells of him planning a trip just to observe and learn. And it's stated on page 153, and I quote, after he was finished packing, he heard his neighbor sing out to him.
OK Solberg:I hear you're going on a trip, Bert. How about mowing the lawn before you go? It's a bloody disgrace. I'll lend you a slasher and you can use my mower to finish it off.
OK Solberg:There's even a can of Petro to fill it up. Well, Bert looked at the waist high grass. His neighbor had a point. Later that day, he walked next door and inspected the slasher, the lawnmower, and the can of petrol.
OK Solberg:He wet his finger and held it to the air to confirm there was a gentle breeze blowing towards the road. Then he picked up the can of Petro. By the time the fire brigade arrived, the tall grass in front of Bert's shed was reduced to smoking stubble.
OK Solberg:End of quote, guys, I have a feeling his neighbor neighbor never mentioned his grass again. Now whether you call that eccentric, inventive, or just plain Bert being Bert, it gives you a little picture of the man.
OK Solberg:But when it came to motorcycles, this eccentric old fellow was deadly serious. Bert dreamed to taken his Indian to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
OK Solberg:He made the long trek from New Zealand to America, often with very little money and without the support that factory racers enjoyed and he kept going back.
OK Solberg:In 1962, Bert set a class record at Bonneville at nearly a 179 miles an hour. In 1966, he set another record. Then came 1967. And you gotta realize Bert Monroe was 68 years old at that time.
OK Solberg:His Indians engine had been enlarged to roughly 950 cubic centimeters, and Bert finally got the run he had been chasing for for years.
OK Solberg:Now if you've seen the movie the world's fastest Indian, you may remember Bert being credited with going 200 miles an hour and the movie certainly makes for a great story but the documented figure is a little different.
OK Solberg:At Bonneville in 1967 Burt Munro's official recognized two way average was a 184.087 miles per hour in the under 1,000 cc class and that's still absolutely amazing.
OK Solberg:Think about it, a 68 year old man, a motorcycle originally built in 1920, a machine developed and modified largely by one man in his own shop, and that motorcycle crossed the Bonneville Salt Flats to set that world record.
OK Solberg:Bert had spent decades working towards what he wanted. He didn't have all the advantages. He didn't have all the money, and he certainly didn't have all the conventional wisdom, but he had persistence.
OK Solberg:And that may be the greatest part of Bert Munro's story. People might have looked at him and seen an eccentric old motorcycle enthusiast. Bert looked at that old Indian and saw what it could become.
OK Solberg:That there is a motor Monday story and I thank my friend for getting me the book and pointing me in the direction of greatness.
OK Solberg:Now a fitting bible verse and I'll have to run. Hebrews 12:1 Let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12 verse 1.
OK Solberg:Bert Munro certainly ran with patience the race set before him. Bert Munro, spelled m u n r o, passed away in 1978. Rest in peace.
OK Solberg:So until next time, as you go out there, remember now, don't be bitter.