The Bonneville Speedway is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, which is famous the world over for being the location where most land speed records on two and for wheels have been set.
It is also the home of the notorious Speed Week, an event that every year attracts pure-speed maniacs from every corner of the world, but there is one specific reason that will make the last edition one that will really go down on history books: among all the cars and bikes that were there hitting speeds of over 200 mph (320 km/h) in an attempt to beat any sort of record, one vehicle did actually manage to set a new a new speed high for its own category.
The only thing is: it was nowhere near that kind of speed.
Setting the new world’s land speed record for mass-produced all-electric motorcycles was the diminutive moped e-Solex, produced by long-running French manufacturer Solex, which recorder an outstanding top speed of about 32 km/h (more precisely, 19.
893 mph).
If you are wondering how this little thing got a certified speed world record, the answer is actully the most obvious there can be: the previous record was 0 km/h.
In other words, the e-Solex is the first motorcycle ever that made an attempt to the record, and by doing so it has secured its own special place in motorcycle history.
We cannot help but congratulate the brave and cunning team (Gilles Pujol, Franck Figuls, Yann Bruneau and Jean Caillou) that carried out the whole operation.
Besides, we think they are well in for yet another new record: the most short-lived world’s speed record ever.