page_title: MTT Turbine Superbike
section_title: Development
hierarchical_section_title: MTT Turbine Superbike / Development
caption_attribution_description: MTT Turbine Y2K motorcycle, rear view
context_page_description: The MTT Y2K Turbine Motorcycle, also known as the Y2K Turbine Superbike, is a motorcycle powered by a turboshaft engine, made by Marine Turbine Technologies since 2000. The bikes are not mass-produced in continuous series; each unique bike is hand made to order after receiving the buyer's specifications. Guinness World Records considers it as the most expensive production motorcycle.
context_section_description: When MTT president Ted Mclntyre decided to add a motorcycle to his firm's range, he appointed Christian Travert, a former bike racer and custom builder, to head the project. Early models were powered by a Rolls-Royce-Allison Model 250-C18 gas turbine producing a claimed 320 hp (240 kW) at 52,000 rpm. Unlike some turbojet-powered motorcycles which relied on jet propulsion for thrust, the Y2K Superbike's turboshaft engine drives the rear wheel via a two-speed gearbox and chain and sprocket. The motorcycles are produced on demand and made to order for buyers.
  The turbines used in the motorcycles are second-hand, having reached the original manufacturer's mandated running time limit, after which they must be rebuilt regardless of condition. MTT refurbishes the engines and extends a long term warranty with the purchase of every bike.
  A turbine engine can be easily run on a wide variety of fuels, and so like other turbine engines, the MTT Turbine Superbike does not require jet fuel to operate, since it doesn't have to handle the extremes of temperatures that jet fuel is modified to operate in without coagulating or waxing. MTT has fuelled the Y2K with diesel, kerosene and Bio-Fuel (all similar to jet fuel in composition). Thicker fuel is preferable because it has a higher energy content per unit of fuel, but a turbine can be run off of gasoline or other flammable liquids just as easily, or even powderized fuel such as coal dust if a delivery system is set up for it.
caption: Rear view showing the wide rear tire and large bore exhaust
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