A plumber from Lincolnshire, England named Colin Furze has built the longest motorcycle in the world. The bike is 72 feet long. Furze made his custom machine by using one and a half mopeds and using aluminum to create an the extremely long frame. The frame is made of three separate sections bolted together. Currently, the motorcycle can not accomodate many passengers, but with some modifications Furze expects it to be able to seat 35.
Furze built the motorcycle since he wanted to break a world record involving motorcycles which didn’t involve racing or jumping. He studied the Guinness Book of World Records to get the idea.
Furze reports the the motorcycle is difficult to steer, but it can be done by using small movements. He said that steering the machine requires a lot of strength and that he had to teach himself slowly how to operate the motorcycle.
Furze built several smaller machines before finally creating one really long motorcycle. This attracted the attention of a sponsor who helped him build his record setting machine. He has gotten a lot of publicity, and the photos of dozens of people sitting on his bike – even while it is stationary – are quite astonishing.
Furze worked on his 172 foot machine in his mother’s back yard. A problem he had initially was not having access to good welding equipment. He says that the project was basically for fun and that his machine is pretty much worthless in a practical sense.