128mph ice wheelie sets record

With some help from a BMW S1000RR, 24-year-old Swedish rider Robert Gull has become the first person to wheelie a motorcycle at over 200 km/h on ice, and in doing so has set a new Guinness World Record.

Swedish riders never let the winter get in the way of a good ride, they just use the smooth iced tops of frozen lakes instead of roads, and spiked tyres instead of sticky rubber. With plenty of ice guaranteed for several months every year, this offers lots of opportunities for sports, but why play ice hockey or go skating when you can ride your RR instead?

Robert Gull has already established a reputation for his high-speed antics on ice, and was recently timed at over 200 km/h on his RR for a flying kilometre on ice – while carrying a pillion! Last year, he broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest motorcycle wheelie on ice when his overall speed of 183.8 km/h smashed the 2013 record that was set by American Ryan Suchanek on a frozen lake in Wisconsin on a Kawasaki ZX-10R.

Then, on 31 January this year, Ryan managed to do an even faster wheelie, with an overall speed of 189.1 km/h recorded over the required 100-metre distance. This threw down the gauntlet for Robert, who along with his family and sponsors, decided to attempt to go even faster on the ice and bring the record back to Sweden again.

After spending many hours in the garage building special ice tyres for the attempt it was time to test. However, the winter had been quite harsh in Sweden and as the day drew nearer, he was only able to complete two tests.

“Despite that, everything felt great and I was really comfortable on the bike,” he says. “It felt like we were ready for the record attempt and from earlier experience I knew it would be hard, but that I would for sure do my best.”

February 28 was chosen for the official attempt to break the Guinness World Record. On the day, the weather was warm, which made the ice softer on the top. After testing a couple of different tyres in the rear, to find which one was most suitable for the conditions, it was time to do some serious wheelies. Robert managed to maintain his wheelie through the measured 100 metre line, and the overall speed was recorded at 206.09 km/h. The entire attempt was recorded by six cameras and witnesses.

“Now we have to send all material to Guinness to get it approved and made official,” commented a delighted Robert. “I know that many other riders across the world will attempt to beat this record before the summer. I’m not sure if they will succeed, but whatever happens, I’ll remain satisfied because I was the first one in the world to wheelie over 200 km/h on ice.”