Isle of Man TT record holder Peter Hickman targets new daredevil motorcycle milestone

14-time Isle of Man TT winner Peter Hickman is set to take on the motorcycle landspeed record.

Hickman currently holds the lap record for the Isle of Man TT’s Mountain Course road racing circuit at 136.358mph aboard a BMW M1000 RR in 2023, but in terms of raw numbers the landspeed record is a different league.

Rocky Robinson holds the record at present at 376.36mph, set in 2010 on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Robinson rode a bike prepared by AckAttack that used two Suzuki Hayabusa engines, and the attempt was landmark one for motorcycle speed records as it was the first to exceed the 600kph mark.

This is the target Hickman is aiming for and he’s doing it with the Greyhound LSR team, which is aiming to reach 400mph with its bike.

The engine Hickman and Greyhound are using is again the Hayabusa motor that was used by Robinson and Ack Attack 16 years ago.

The Hayabusa has been through some iterations since then, but the older production engine is actually the more powerful one because of emissions regulations. 

But the production engine is of course only the base on which to build the motor that Greyhound hopes will power Hickman to 400mph. The engine is being developed in partnership with Horsepower Factory, which builds Hayabusa-based drag bikes.

Power is only one element of a record attempt, though, as at those speeds aerodynamics are vital, not only for streamlining but also stability.

Reducing the surface area of the bodywork requires the bike to be moulded specifically to the rider’s dimensions, and Hickman’s tall frame means it’s a fairly snug fit within the bike’s tubular chassis, which wraps over the top of the rider.

No date is yet set for Hickman’s and Greyhound’s landspeed attempt, but should they break the Robinson’s speed from 2010 they will have ended a longer wait for a new record since Robinson claimed his first record in 2006, over 16 years after Dave Campos hit 322.150mph in 1990.