Graham Sykes just delivered one of the most impressive acceleration runs ever recorded on two wheels. His steam-powered Force of Nature motorcycle covered the quarter mile in 5.5 seconds while reaching 192.94 miles per hour during recent testing at Santa Pod Raceway in the UK. That performance puts the machine second only to a specialized rocket bike in outright quarter-mile times among motorcycles. It also claims the outright fastest acceleration marks over shorter distances such as the eighth mile and 1,000 feet.
Sykes, a 62-year-old precision engineer, constructed the entire project in his home workshop in North Yorkshire. The current version represents the fifth major iteration of a concept he has pursued for years with help from a small team that includes fellow rider Phil Wood and his wife Diane handling support duties. Years of experience in straight-line motorsport and an interest in historical steam rocket ideas led him to this point. Early inspirations included old attempts at steam-powered jumps and even a steam scooter sighting.
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Preparation starts with a separate support unit that heats 120 liters of specially treated water inside a pressure vessel mounted on the bike. Temperatures reach 250 degrees Celsius and pressures hit 580 psi using a small burner that runs on kerosene or vegetable oil. Once heated, the bike rolls to the starting line disconnected from the heater. The rider presses and holds a button on the handlebar to open valves. Pressurized water then rushes through two de Laval nozzles, one on each side of the machine.
Inside the nozzles the water speeds up beyond the speed of sound before expanding and flashing into steam. This process creates massive thrust that lasts about 2.9 seconds and consumes roughly 40 liters of water every second. The power arrives all at once with no way to ease into it. Sykes braces himself by pushing against the bars and lifting his feet as the forces build to 6.8 g. An average rider would feel their effective weight jump dramatically for those brief moments. Additional times from the session include a 0 to 62 mph time of just 0.4 seconds, an eighth-mile pass in 3.17 seconds at 203 mph, and a 1,000-foot run in 4.53 seconds at 193 mph. One run even dipped to 5.44 seconds for the full quarter mile.
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