[1] Munro set numerous land speed records for motorcycles with engines less than 1,000 cc at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in the late 1950s and into the 1960s.

In 1967, Burt Munro is a sort of folk hero in Invercargill, known for his friendly easy-going personality, for having the fastest motorcycle in New Zealand and Australia, and for being featured in Popular Mechanics magazine.

However, that recognition is contrasted by his exasperated next-door neighbours, some of whom are fed up with his un-neighbourly habits, such as revving his motorcycle early in the morning, urinating on his lemon tree, and not mowing his grass.

Burt is finally able to save enough to travel by cargo ship to Los Angeles, working his passage as the cook, but when he arrives, he experiences bureaucracy, scepticism, and the indifference of big city people.

Along the way, Burt meets numerous helpful people, including highway police, a Native American man called Jake who aids him when his trailer fails, a woman named Ada who allows him to repair his trailer in her garage and briefly becomes his lover, and an Air Force pilot who is on leave from military service in Vietnam.

He finally arrives at the Bonneville Salt Flats, only to be blocked by race officials for not registering his motorcycle for competition in advance, and not having the mandated safety equipment.

In a show of sportsmanship, however, various competitors and fans in the Bonneville series intervene on his behalf, and he is eventually allowed to make a timed run.

[citation needed] The Munro portrayed in the film recalls the death of a twin brother named Ernie, who died when a tree fell on him.

Munro was never known to actually urinate on his lemon tree; film director Roger Donaldson added that detail as a tribute to his own father, who did.

The website's critics consensus reads, "Overcomes its formulaic storyline thanks to Anthony Hopkins' warm and endearing portrayal of an age-defying thrill seeker.

"[15] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film holds a score of 68 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Nevertheless, the same reviewer had said Hopkins gives a "generous, genial and utterly approachable performance … he nails the backyard eccentric genius dead centre … he has inhaled the nature of a mid-century Kiwi bloody good bloke and he inhabits the part to perfection".