The 300-mile wheelie

HOW do fancy riding over 300 miles on a Yamaha Jog scooter? Wait, there's a catch - it's got to be on one wheel.

That's what Japanese rider Masaru Abe did, smashing the world record for the longest continuous wheelie by keeping his Yamaha Jog scooter on its rear wheel for just over 500km (310.6 miles) at the Kawaguchi Auto Race facility in Saitama, Japan, yesterday.

The precise distance set by 33-year-old Abe was 500.5322km, meaning he comfortably beat the previous record of 331.0195km set by motorcycle trials rider Yasuyuki Kudo in 1991.

Abe beat the old record after 8 hours, 18 minutes and 43 seconds on the back wheel and was actually aiming for a 600km wheelie but after 13 hours, the pain and discomfort became too much and Abe set the front down to claim his place in the record books.

Alongside overcoming pain, Abe also had to content with the slopes on and wind on Kawaguchi’s oval track, as he held a speed of 40k/ph.

Speaking after his world-beating wheelie, Abe said: ‘I thought if I was going to try and break the record, then I would have to post unattainable numbers that would leave people totally speechless.

‘That was the most pain I’ve ever felt. Both of my arms were numb from the pain and I had lost feeling in them.

‘My vision was blurred... I was only partially conscious. I was completely dehydrated. I’d never experienced that before.’

We're sure Red Bull will release a video of the record attempt at some point, but in the meantime, here's another video of Abe doing his thing:

Abe's not the first Red Bull sponsored rider to do something amazing on one wheel - Dougie Lampkin successfully mono'd the entire TT course last year.

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool