Aided by titanium shoes and a slightly modified Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX, motorcycle stunt rider Jonny Davies has added another Guinness World Record to his accomplishments for what's got to be one of the more thrilling events included in the compendium.
For his third Guinness record, Davies, also known as JD Stunts, got the Ninja screaming along a runway at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire, England, before shimmying himself off the back of the bike and holding on to a specially built rear grab rail. He then used a modified thumb-controlled throttle to accelerate the bike up to an impressive 159.522 mph (256.725 km/h), which was enough to take him over the previous record of a man getting dragged by a motorbike. That record was set by Gary Rothewell of Liverpool in 1999 when he reached a behind-the-bike speed of 156.3 mph (251.54 km/h).
Davies zoomed along behind the bike thanks to a pair of specially designed titanium "skis" that he wore beneath his racing boots. The skis sparked during the ride and the daredevil told the BBC that he picked up so much speed that they even started to provide a bit of lift.
"It felt that fast my left foot was actually going airborne," he said, "and I thought ‘I hope that has broken the record because I don't want to do that again.’"
The record-breaking attempt was actually Davies' second try on the runway, with the first attempt getting him to an impressive – but not record-claiming – speed of 154.677 mph (248.928 km/h).
The Ninja H2 SX bike he used to break the record was provided by Kawasaki and beyond the small modifications of the rear accelerator and grab bar, it also was equipped with a steering damper provided by BG Motorsport. It additionally included a few crash-protection mods from R&G to preserve the bike in the case of wipeout.
"It has been amazing having the support from Kawasaki UK, putting their trust in me at the very beginning of the project, supplying a specially adapted Ninja H2SX, which was the perfect tool for the job," said Davies. "The bike passed the ultimate stability test of 159.522 mph with no rider and pulled like a train even with me getting dragged along the floor behind it!"
Once the new record is confirmed by Guinness, Davies will be able to officially add the title to his other records. These include the 109 mph (174 km/h) "Fastest Motorcycle Handlebar Wheelie" in 2022 and, along with stunt driver Paul Swift, "The Most Donuts Around A Motorcycle Performing A Wheelie," which was a total of 10 and was also set in 2022.
You can watch all the action of the latest record grab in the following video.
