Tuesday 17 November 2009

Rocket Power


While researching a story for SB#5, came across this mad bike in Popular Science magazine 1947...BP
A crowd of 90,000 saw Bill Kitchen, noted British motorcycle racer, smoke up Wembley speedway in London recently on the world’s first rocket-assisted motorcycle. Prof. A. M. Low, rocket pioneer, and Alex Jackson, manager of the Wembley track, developed the rocket-boosted bike. The additional power is supplied by four rockets fixed over the rear wheel, two to the side. Kitchen was protected from the blast by a steel shield. Switches on the handle- bars controlled the rockets. The race rider said the “acceleration was absolutely terrific” when the rockets let go.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

i wonder if this would be legal in thunderbike?!!!.
stevie 28

Chris said...

wicked!

"We've attached four rockets to your bike Bill"

"Four! I better get my thicker woolly jumper."

Mick P said...

Sadly, he ended up in the 20th row of the stands, killing a group of workers on an evening out from, ironically, the Brock's fireworks factory.