I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Ernst Henne, a test rider for BMW in the 1920s and 30s. Here he is pictured in his aerodynamic helmet, which looks a lot like the Olympic cyclist's helmets of today, and a strange cone-shaped piece which was strapped to his butt, to aid in wind resistance. His friends joked about him being a "Kegel Arsche" which roughly translates to "Conebutt" in English.
For those of you who don't know about the record Henne set, it goes like this:
An eight-year struggle for the world speed record on two wheels started in 1929. Ernst Henne began his successful series on August 25, 1929 with a speed of 128.7 mph. In September he improved his record to 134.2 mph, with further improvement to 137.3 mph exactly one year later. In the spring of 1931 he achieved 147.7 mph and in autumn, 151.4 mph. Often alternating with British rivals, BMW bettered the world record each year, finally setting up the world speed record of 173.3 mph in 1937. This record stood until 1951. BMW had the fastest motorcycle in the world.
