This wealthy enthusiast dreamed of owning the fastest bike in America, and he wanted Philip Vincent, the owner of the Vincent HRD motorcycle company, to help him. The plan was to take a Vincent Black Shadow and modify it for top speed runs at the Bonneville Salt Flats. A ninth Series "B" Black Shadow was pulled from the assembly line and tweaked for speed, becoming the infamous "Bathing Suit Bike." Future racing legend John Surtees worked as an apprentice on the project, which included bigger carbs, reworked cylinder heads and the installation of a rear hydraulic damper. When Rollie Free ran the bike on the morning of Feb. 13, 1948, he hit an average of 148.6 mph, breaking Harley Davidson's 11-year-old record by over 12 mph. Unsatisfied and focused on breaking the 150-mph mark, he stripped off his leathers and donned his bathing suit, a bathing cap and a friend's tennis shoes. Free laid it all on the line, stretched his legs back for aerodynamic efficiency and achieved an average top speed of 150.313 mph—a milestone that would turn himself, John Edgar and Vincent motorcycles into a household name.
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