303mph 1975 Vesco Silver Bird Lightning Bolt Land Speed Motorcycle @ Mecum 3.26

Started by J79, March 14, 2026, 09:36:17 AM

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J79

March 14, 2026, 09:36:17 AM Last Edit: March 21, 2026, 04:06:47 PM by J79
SOLD for $75,000.
1975 Don Vesco Silver Bird / Lightning Bolt Land Speed Motorcycle. Piloted by Don Vesco Across the Bonneville Salt Flats to Become the First Motorcycle to Break the 300 MPH Barrier.
Built by Don Vesco for racing on the Bonneville Salt Flats
The Silver Bird was the first motorcycle to break the 300 MPH barrier
Powered by two Yamaha TZ750 engines, the Silver Bird set an international record of 303 MPH in 1975
This motorcycle appeared on the CBS Sports Show and in numerous magazine articles including Sports Illustrated
In 1978, Don Vesco transformed the Silver Bird into the Lightning Bolt, sporting a new paint scheme and two Kawasaki 1000cc engines
Don Vesco broke his own speed record with a 318 MPH run in the Lightning Bolt, a mark he held for 12 years
Also in 1978, Don Vesco became the only motorcyclist to win the Hot Rod magazine trophy for the "Fastest Flying Mile" at Bonneville's Speed Weeks, beating all the cars
Don Vesco's extensive racing career included flat track and road racing, entering the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2004
In 1963, Don Vesco became the first American to win the U.S. Grand Prix at Daytona
Later in life, Don Vesco became a rider in the "BMW Battle of the Legends" for Team Obsolete
In 2001, Don set the international land speed record for a wheel-driven car in the Turbinator, with a speed of 458 MPH.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/1164093/1975-don-vesco-silver-bird-lightning-bolt-land-speed-motorcycle/?aa_id=763414-0
"My, people come and go so quickly here." Dorothy, from the movie Wizard of Oz.

"I have marveled often at the thin line that divides success from failure, and the sudden turn that leads from apparently certain disaster to comparative safety." Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic Explorer, 1874-1922.

From the movie Dr. Strangelove, General Jack D. Ripper:

"Mandrake, in the name of Her Majesty and the Continental Congress come here and feed me this belt boy... Mandrake, come over here, the Red Coats are coming!"

"He said war was too important to be left to the generals. When he said that, 50 years ago, he might have been right. But today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and anYyotd3TQllow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."

Stainless1

#1
March 14, 2026, 09:04:25 PM
J79, As usual, great job with the copy and paste....
Stainless
Red Hat 228.039, 2001, 65ci, Bockscar Lakester #1000 with a little N2O

J79

#2
March 23, 2026, 03:59:13 PM Last Edit: March 24, 2026, 10:10:39 AM by J79
Here is the video time stamp when the 500mph Turbinator was sold followed by the 303mph 1975 Vesco Silver Bird Lightning Bolt Land Speed Motorcycle. Time stamp of 6:03:21
https://www.youtube.com/live/ZbFnR6nM1Vc?si=e4h8qgNU4zufBXvV&t=21801
"My, people come and go so quickly here." Dorothy, from the movie Wizard of Oz.

"I have marveled often at the thin line that divides success from failure, and the sudden turn that leads from apparently certain disaster to comparative safety." Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic Explorer, 1874-1922.

From the movie Dr. Strangelove, General Jack D. Ripper:

"Mandrake, in the name of Her Majesty and the Continental Congress come here and feed me this belt boy... Mandrake, come over here, the Red Coats are coming!"

"He said war was too important to be left to the generals. When he said that, 50 years ago, he might have been right. But today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and anYyotd3TQllow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."

ack

#3
March 23, 2026, 08:44:56 PM
Just goes to prove the old axiom.

To make a small fortune in land racing start with large one.
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