For Yorkshire-based engineer, granddad, and precision madman Graham Sykes, speed has been an obsession for most of his life. He’s been involved in straight-line motorsport efforts (both on two wheels and more) since 1979 and is turning 60 years old in 2023. His wife Diane is also heavily involved in the family engineering and speed efforts, working both in the office and on the crew, towing the bike back where it needs to go after speed runs are complete.
What bike are we talking about? It’s a steam-powered monster of a thing that Sykes calls Force of Nature. At Elvington Speed Week in late May 2023, this bike—which Sykes has been taking to events for the past several years—officially set a new world record for a steam-powered motorcycle. It did a standing 1/8th mile run in just 3.878 seconds, achieving an exit speed of 163.8 miles per hour. To run it, water is heated using hydrogenated vegetable oil, keeping the pursuit of speed as environmentally friendly as possible.
After completing that 1/8th mile run, the top speed achieved by the Force of Nature and its operator was 180 mph, but that number is just fun to talk about, and didn’t count as part of this record-breaking achievement. As you may already have guessed, Sykes isn’t just the engineer behind this bike—he's also the pilot.
