November 10, 1974 was the day I set a new WORLD RECORD for jumping a
motorcycle Ramp to Ramp. I leaped my motorcycle across a 150 foot open
gap. That's the distance of 26 parked cars. I was in the air a total of
173 feet 9 inches breaking the old record of 138 feet 8 inches by 35 feet
1 inch. The old record was set by "The Flying Cycles", Rex Blackwell &
Gary Davis. They jumped double ramps side by side.
(Sorry about the quality of this picture, it's the only copy I have.)
After my Record jump, I traveled around the country jumping at fair
grounds and small racetracks. I also brought back one of my original stunts,
the "Power Slide". This is a daredevil stunt that goes back to the early
1940's. It was originally performed by 2 daredevils. One would control
the cycle while the second rider would step off the back and be pulled.
I was taught the stunt by Don and Dennis Gorney from Glenview, Illinois.
They performed as the "Gorney Twins". They got me started in the daredevil
business back in Wisconsin. The way I perform the stunt is as follows:
I get the motorcycle up to 75 mph and then lock the throttle open. I then
step off the back while wearing steel plates (hot shoes) and let the cycle
pull me. I control the speed with a kill switch mounted on the rear fender.
I was clocked at 105 mph while performing the stunt at the Rockford Dragway
in Byron, Illinois.
On July 20, 1975, I set another World Record when I rode my motorcycle
through a 157 foot 7 inch long Tunnel of Fire! This record was listed in
the paperback edition of the 1976 Guinness Book of World Records. In 1977,
the Tunnel of Fire category was dropped from the record book because another
daredevil attempted to break my record and was killed in the process. Guinness
said that any tunnel longer than mine would be suicide and they did not
want to be responsible for another dead daredevil.
