God speed hearse biker - at 100mph (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Former Low Moor minister aiming fior speed record on custom bike

9:39am Monday 9th May 2011 in Low Moor By Emma Clayton, Leisure and Lifestyle Editor

A biking Baptist minister who takes people to their final resting place in a custom-built motorcycle hearse is using the vehicle to try to set a world record.

The Reverend Ray Biddis, known as the ‘Revving Rev’, drives the hearse – a Triumph Rocket III with a 2.3 litre, three-cylinder engine and a glass coffin carrier – to funerals around the Bradford district.

Liversedge-based DTB Panther Trikes built the hybrid vehicle using specifications from Ray’s plans.

Tomorrow the former Low Moor minister will attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the world’s fastest motorcycle hearse. He will drive the vehicle, carrying a coffin, along the 3,000-metre runway at Elvington Airfield in York, aiming to reach 100 mph.

“The Rocket is one of a kind,” said ‘hearsy rider’ Mr Biddis, 57.

“As a biker for over 40 years I wouldn’t be seen dead in a car for my final journey. Many bikers agree that a motorcycle hearse is the only way to travel.

“This vehicle maintains the integrity of a motorcycle, appeals to the most passionate of bikers and brings a credible alternative to the traditional four-wheeled hearse.”

Mr Biddis, who became a Baptist minister in 1996, conducts personalised funeral services featuring rock music, videos and webcam link-ups.

He often wears biker gear instead of his traditional clerical robes.

• Read the full story in Monday's T&A