Motorbike fuelled by distiller’s own VODKA hits an incredible 113mph at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats
Montana-based Ryan Montgomery fine tuned an old Yamaha bike in his home garage that runs on distilling waste products
A SPIRIT maker has successfully run a motorbike at 113mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats, having fuelled it with his vodka waste products.
Ryan Montgomery completed a speed trial at the famous land-speed record site, and even temporarily held the fastest-ever time in class.
Nicknamed Sudden Wisdom, ironically after the distiller's rye whiskey brand, the bike was built up from a non-running 1980 Yamaha XS650 that was first found abandoned in a field.
As for the fuel, distilling vodka creates a 'head' that is too impure to drink and so is separated and discarded.
However, it also makes a clean-burning fuel - and Ryan collected around 40 litres of it.
Despite not knowing the exact process needed for the bike to run on the vodka waste, the 41-year-old spent months mastering the technique with the help of his friends at his makeshift home garage.
Meanwhile, Ryan - who attended Springbank Whiskey School in Scotland - had no previous experience of building a race bike nor had ever raced.
The project was aided by sponsors who contributed $1,000 (£770), with the bike modifications costing $5,000 (£3,850) in total.
The 113mph average speed achieved is even more incredible given that Ryan was only targeting 98mph - the then-record set back in 2016.
Further to that, the bike had only hit 96mph in road tests - and the salt surface was expected to reduce performance by 10 per cent.
The amateur race team entered Sudden Wisdom into the class for 1980 and older 750cc modified bikes with alternate fuel.
Having tentatively set the 113mph record, the speed was surpassed by another entrant only three days later, with the 1974 Honda CB750 bike hitting a whopping 143mph.
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Ryan, who has been distilling for six years, told Sun Motors: "Although my friends and I have no prior experience of racing or turning vodka into fuel, the idea was inevitable being bike enthusiasts and working in a distillery.
"We knew the [fuel] process was possible, but we couldn't find anyone that had done it with drinking alcohol.
"A few of my friends also go to Bonneville every year, so they said I might as well test out Sudden Wisdom in the time trials."
As for the vodka-fuelled bike named after a whiskey brand, the father-of-one said he thought it would be quite "cheeky".