KEY POINTS:
A New Zealand man is about to find out whether he has the world's fastest Kawasaki.
Every two years on Lake Gairdner, a vast Australian salt flat, teams of motorcycle enthusiasts gather to challenge and defend the land speed record for production motorbikes.
This month, Whangarei coach builder John Howe will learn whether he has officially broken the record for production motorcycles on his Kawasaki ZX14, by clocking 358.9km/h on January 27 - beating the previous record by 1.8km/h.
The motorcycles competing have to be street legal, which means they can be improved only with standard production parts.
The record is unofficial until a Swiss company, commissioned to carry out the time-keeping, sends Howe his certificates this month.
Bikes on the two-way run take 5-6km to achieve full speed before reaching the 1.6km stretch where the Swiss time recorders have their equipment at the ready.
The machines then need a further 3km to slow down and stop.
This is the third time Howe and his team - a group of motorcycle mechanics from Wellington - have had a crack at the speed record.
They spent 22 hours in testing to perfect the bike for conditions in Australia, matching air density and humidity.
"One man couldn't do this - a good team with excellent back-up makes it all happen," Howe said. Another tip is timing the run for early morning, because the intake of a Kawasaki functions best in cold, dense air.
Howe was up against seven teams from the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand,
On the perfectly flat Lake Gairdner, about the size of Lake Taupo but without the water, it was all over very quickly - the race took a year to plan, but just 10 minutes of waiting, then 10 minutes of full throttle.
"Waiting was the anxious period," Mr Howe said.
"But during the run there's no fear, just doing the job. No traffic officers to ruin your day."
- NORTHERN ADVOCATE
