Funny man and host of The Tonight Show,
Jay Leno has great taste. He owns a fabulous collection of
vintage and rare automobiles, and one of the most stunning
collections of motorcycles that we have ever seen. Recently,
Dennis Gage, Ride On Correspondant, caught up with Jay in
Los Angeles for a look at one of Jay’s more unusual
bikes—a Jet-powered motorcycle!
When we arrived to see Jay’s “Jet,” we
found ourselves not in an ordinary garage, but in a hangar—but
then again that makes perfect sense. After all, where does
one keep a jet powered anything except in a hangar? Jay soon
began taking us on a techno-tour of the bike telling us that
the power for this sleek beast was a C18 Allison Rolls Royce
Jet Engine, the same type used in a Bell Jet Ranger Helicopter!
Jay also explained that this was a shaft driven turbine engine
and was capable of turning at 60,000 RPM. After the engine
is fired up (literally), then the power goes to the rear wheel
through a home made two-speed tranny, and when cranking this
bad boy puts out 450 ft/lbs of torque—the same as a
Dodge Viper! The jet engine (mounted upside down on an aluminum
frame) also produces a temperature of about 1,000 degrees
Fahrenheit out of the exhaust pipe, so be sure and stand back
when this baby is fired up! As far as what is going on inside
the engine, Jay told us that there were only a couple of moving
parts (although he did say that they were REALLY expensive
parts), yet it pulls air through its induction system at 52
cubic feet per second. On second thought, perhaps it isn’t
too safe to stand in front of this rocket either! As Dennis
quizzed Jay about the bike’s performance, Jay responded
that it was “respectable,” running the ¼
mile in the high 9’s, with a theoretical top speed of
266 miles per hour! Yep, we believe that would constitute
respectable no matter what planet it’s on!
Concerning the cosmetic appearance of the bike—it is
sleek and lean. With digital gauges that greet Jay when he
turns on the key, and outfitted from front to rear in black
carbon fiber (including the carbon fiber wheels), this bike
looks as hot as it runs, and by the way, don’t blink
if this bike is in your neighborhood or you will probably
miss it!
Finally, the time came to take this bad boy outside and fire
it up. As we cruised beside Jay we could tell that there was
more power here than we could imagine. The most amazing thing
about this bike is that just like everything else in Jay’s
garage, he uses this baby regularly! After Jay, stopped his
ride he told us that the power was intense, but that the bike’s
true colors began to show at about 70 miles per hour and that
is when it really began to accelerate; however, Jay, always
a man on the side of “right and good” (and with
a sly smile in typical Leno fashion) told us that going past
seventy would be breaking the law and “that would be
wrong.” Okay—sure. ‘Nuff said. Thanks Jay!
It is always a pleasure to see you and take a peek in your
garage, or in this case, your hangar! By the way, if you are
interested in owning a jet-powered Superbike of your own,
check with MTT Technologies LLC in Franklin, Louisiana. You
can find them on the web at www.marineturbine.com/superbike/
That’s it for this week’s edition of Corbin’s
Ride On. If you have any questions about this show, or about
any of our other telecasts, give a look on the web at www.rideontv.com.
Until next time, always remember, “Keep the shiny side
up and Ride On!”
Back to Episode CRN0005
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