Casting a speed record.

When Burt Munro recorded the fastest speed on an Indian Scout motorcycle, it capped a five-decade career of tinkering, engineering, fabricating and metalcasting.

A New Zealander with a passion for motorcycles, Munro worked tirelessly on his Indian Scout bike, which he bought in 1920 and rebuilt many times over during a span of 50 years. Eventually, Munro honed his motorcycle to reach speeds of 200 mph and recorded an official speed record of 190.07 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in 1967. He was 68 years old.

Munro's story was immortalized in the 2005 film, "The World's Fastest Indian," starring Anthony Hopkins as Munro. One of the first scenes of the movie shows Munro pouring metal in his workshop.

After the casting is poured, Munro is seen dipping it into a bucket of water, calling it the "poor man's heat treating."

According to indianmotorbikes.com, which features several photo galleries of Munro and his motorcycle, as well as letters he's written to friends, Munro began modifying his Indian in 1926 using an old spoke for a micrometer and tin cans to cast parts, such as pistons. Originally, the Indian Scout was capable of reaching 55 mph. After half a century of work on the bike, Munro entered the annals of history.