Motorcyclist Hits 311 MPH To Set New Record

LIMESTONE, Maine (AP) - A Florida man has topped 300 mph on a conventional motorcycle.

Bill Warner of Wimauma hit a speed of 311.945 mph Sunday at the Loring Timing Association's land speed races at the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine.

The association's Tim Kelly says Warner's run aboard a turbocharged 1299cc Suzuki is the fastest speed obtained on a conventional motorcycle. Faster speeds have been recorded for so-called streamliner motorcycles, in which drivers ride inside an enclosed missile-looking device on wheels.

Warner, who is 42, says his motorcycle "is built for speed and that's what it did." He held the previous speed record of 278.6 mph, set last October in Texas.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)