Most people know Brian Klock as the founder and president of Klock Werks, the guy behind the Flare® Windshield, the Godfather of Kustom Baggers, and the man who helped build the performance bagger movement from the ground up in Mitchell, South Dakota. He was inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2012. He won the Discovery Channel's Biker Build-Off. He helped create an entire segment of the motorcycle industry.
But there is another side to Brian that does not always make the headlines: he is a bona fide land speed record holder, multiple times over, on multiple machines, in multiple sanctioning bodies.
When Brian goes to the Bonneville Salt Flats, he does not go as a spectator or a sponsor. He goes as a racer. And he comes home with records.
What It Takes to Run at Bonneville
Before we get into the records, it is worth understanding what Bonneville actually demands of a rider. The Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Utah are one of the most iconic proving grounds in the history of motorsport. The course is flat, wide, and unforgiving. There is no track to hold you in and no barrier to catch you if something goes wrong. At high speed, even small errors in setup can end a run fast.
Speed records at Bonneville are certified through official sanctioning bodies. The AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) governs national records in the United States, while the FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) certifies world records with international recognition. AMA National Land Speed Records require a two-way average over a measured course, eliminating the advantage of wind or a favorable surface. These are official, documented, certified achievements entered into permanent records databases at bonnevillemst.com.
Brian Klock has entries in both.
2013: Triumph Rocket III Motor Trike, FIM World Record
Brian's first entry in the record books came at the BUB Speed Trials at the Bonneville Salt Flats, where he piloted a custom-built Triumph Rocket III Motor Trike to a FIM World Record in the trike class.
The build was no off-the-shelf project. The Triumph Rocket III was fitted with a Motor Trike conversion kit and a Carpenter Racing engine kit that pushed the already-massive inline-triple to approximately 250 horsepower. On three wheels, managing that kind of power at speed requires precise setup and a steady hand. The handling dynamics of a trike at full throttle are a different challenge entirely from two-wheel racing.
Brian posted a top speed of 136 mph and took the FIM world record in the process. The project was supported by a strong partner lineup including Kicker, Pingel Enterprises, Metzeler, Parts Unlimited, Interstate Batteries, Saddleman, Motor Trike, and Triumph Motorcycles.
Three wheels, 250 horses, a world record.
2014: Victory Hammer, AMA National Land Speed Record at 173.223 MPH
A year later, Brian was back on two wheels, and with a story behind the build that goes well beyond just going fast.
In 2014, Brian set an AMA National Land Speed Record on a modified 2008 Victory Hammer, posting a certified two-way average of 173.223 mph in the M-BG 2000 class. The record was officially entered into the AMA records database under his name on August 25, 2014.
The bike was built through the Pine Bush Helping With Horsepower Engineering Academy, under the direction of Lloyd Greer of Lloydz Motorworkz in Pine Bush. The Helping With Horsepower program uses real-world motorsport projects to get students hands-on experience in engineering and fabrication. The Victory Hammer was one of those projects: built by students, prepared for Bonneville, and then ridden to a national record by Brian Klock.
As covered by Bikernet.com and Ultimate Motorcycling, the Freedom 106-powered Victory was modified with a ProCharger B-1 supercharger and custom tuning to deliver over 200 hp before Brian took it down the salt.
173.223 mph. Two-way average. Non-faired. On a Victory Hammer built through a student engineering program.
2021: Harley-Davidson, Two AMA National Records in One Weekend
If the previous records showed Brian could go fast on a trike and a cruiser, the 2021 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials proved he was not slowing down anytime soon.
At the 2021 BMST, Brian lined up aboard a 1650cc Harley-Davidson® platform and came home with not one but two certified AMA National Land Speed Records in the same weekend.
He ran 181.881 mph in the PBF (Partially Blown Fuel) class and 173.743 mph in the PBG (Partially Blown Gas) class. Both records were officially certified and entered into the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials records database under his name.
181 mph on a Harley-Davidson. Two classes. Two records. One trip to the salt.
The PBF and PBG classes are distinct, with different fuel configurations, different rules, and different benchmarks. Brian did not just set a record and collect it. He went back out and did it again in a different class with a different setup. That takes preparation, focus, and a team that knows exactly what they are doing when they roll up to the line.
Why Brian Gets on the Salt
There is a reason Brian keeps coming back to Bonneville year after year, and it is the same reason Klock Werks has been part of the land speed community since the early days of the World's Fastest Bagger program. The salt does not care about your reputation, your follower count, or where you are from. It only cares about what your machine and if you are worth your salt.
For Brian, racing at Bonneville has never been about the trophy or the headline. It is about putting himself in the exact position our products are designed for: full throttle, sustained high speed, with real aerodynamic and mechanical forces working against you. When the person who founded the company is the one in the seat, you can trust that the engineering behind what we build is serious and not theoretical or focus-grouped.
That is the philosophy behind everything at Klock Werks. The Flare® Windshield was not designed in isolation. It was born from real-world feedback at speed on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Our performance bagger parts are shaped by years of experience building and riding motorcycles that actually have to perform. Brian's records are part of that same story.
Build it right. Then prove it. That has been the standard from day one, and it is not changing.
The Record, By the Numbers
A summary of Brian Klock's personal Bonneville land speed record achievements:
2013: Triumph Rocket III Motor Trike, FIM World Record, 136 mph at the BUB Speed Trials 2014: 2008 Victory Hammer, AMA National Land Speed Record, 173.223 mph two-way average, M-BG 2000 class, certified August 25, 2014 2021: 1650cc Harley-Davidson, AMA National Land Speed Records, 181.881 mph (PBF class) and 173.743 mph (PBG class) at the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials
Three platforms. Four certified records across FIM and AMA. All of it officially documented in permanent records databases.
Get Klocked
Brian Klock has spent decades pushing what is possible in the motorcycle world, in the shop, at the show, on rally lots and out on the salt. The records are proof that the passion behind Klock Werks is not a tagline. It is in the DNA of the company, the products, and the people who build them.
Browse our full lineup at getklocked.com, check out the Flare® Windshield that Bonneville helped build, and ride with parts made by people who actually go fast.
