Burt Munro inducted into US Motorcycle Hall of Fame

Southland motorcycle legend Burt Munro was inducted into the American Motorcycle Association's Hall of Fame in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday.

He was one of nine notables of the motorcycle world to be honoured this year.

Munro set a world land speed record of 266.4km/h at the Bonneville salt flats in Utah on his highly modified 1920s vintage Indian motorcycle in 1966.

The Invercargill-born motorcycle legend, who extensively modified his bike in his garage, went on the following year to set a new world speed record of 305.9km/h at Bonneville. The record still stands as the fastest by an Indian motorcycle.

Munro's exploits were the subject of the New Zealand movie The World's Fastest Indian last year, in which he was played by Sir Anthony Hopkins.

- NZPA