Watch rocket powered drag bike hit 280mph

IF you thought your sports bike was quick, take a look at this rocket-powered drag racing motorcycle as it powers through a quarter-mile in just over five and half seconds.

The bike is piloted Eric Teboul and the video shot at the Santa Pod raceway in the UK. In it we see Eric and his space-age racer hammering down the quarter-mile drag strip quicker than it takes some bikes to hit 60mph!

Topping out at over 220mph, the bike uses liquid hydrogen peroxide that is pressurised and fed into a chamber filled with a decomposition catalyst. This causes the liquid to separate into water vapor and oxygen, creating a load of heat in the process. This pressure is released through the two nozzles located at the back of the bike, launching the machine down the dragstrip.

Perhaps the most interesting part is, once the mixture is lit, it can't be turned off. So Teboul has to accurately measure how much liquid goes into the bike before each run to ensure he doesn't continue to accelerate past the finish line. Teboul claims that with enough space, the bike can break into the four-second range and top out at speeds of over 300 mph.

The bike is a homebuilt affair created by the rider and features a custom-built Chromoly frame, swingarm, and custom-built one-off bodywork. The bike isn’t Eric’s only rocket-powered toy, he also runs a rocket-powered drag racing car and has even built a jet pack with a similar propulsion system!