Most motorcycles are powered by piston engines like the ones in cars. Not the MTT Y2K. It uses a Rolls-Royce Allison gas turbine - the same kind of engine that powers some helicopters. With over 320 horsepower spinning the back wheel, it has been clocked at speeds around 250 mph and holds the Guinness record for the fastest production motorcycle you can actually buy.
When this motorcycle starts up, it whines like a jet airliner getting ready for takeoff. Hot exhaust shoots out of pipes the size of soup cans. Riders have to be very careful pulling away from stoplights, because a quick twist of the throttle can lift the entire front wheel into the sky.
These bikes cost more than many houses, and only a few dozen exist. Their owners almost never push them to top speed on a regular road - at those speeds, a stray pebble could be deadly. Most rides happen on closed tracks where the rider can really lean down and let the helicopter engine sing.
