Turbo Hayabusa duo have Millyard and Cole in their sights after hitting 224mph in practice
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Turbo Hayabusa two-up on track. Image: Steve McDonald Photography -
Guy Martin tests the bike at Elvington. Image: Steve McDonald Photography -
Jack and Paul sit on the Hayabusa together. Image: Steve McDonald Photography -
Jack Frost (right) with pillion Paul Milbourn. Image: Steve McDonald Photography
A pair of straight-line racing enthusiasts are attempting to set a new world record for the fastest speed two-up on a motorcycle, achieving 224mph in practice ahead of an official attempt in May.
The current accolade for ‘Fastest speed on a tandem motorcycle’ sits with TV personality Henry Cole, and legendary engineer Allen Millyard. The pair achieved 295.31kph (183.5mph) at Elvington Airfield, York, in May 2023 aboard Millyard’s homebrewed 8-litre Viper V10.
The challengers looking to break the record are Jarrod ‘Jack’ Frost of Holeshot Racing, plus accomplished motorcycle customiser and top speed competitor, Paul Milbourn.
Jack will be riding his own turbocharged second-generation Suzuki Hayabusa for the attempt, having previously achieved 274.926mph on a solo ride at Elvington using around 800bhp. Paul will be perched on the rear, with a new seat unit replacing Frost’s preferred single seat set-up.
“Conditions for practice were alright, and I ran on my own and did 261mph,” Frost told MCN following the first two-up runs on Monday, March 24. “We went to the bottom of the track, and we had a couple of squirts of the throttle on the way down to the bottom of the airfield, and everything felt really nice with his weight on the back.”
Although many would favour a small passenger for a record attempt like this, Paul is said to be 6ft2in tall and weigh in the region of 90kg with his leathers on. According to Frost, the passenger and revised seat unit add an additional 110kg to the bike.
“It was the first time I’d ever set-off with someone that big on the back of a bike,” he continued. “I’ve never ridden with a big passenger before, but it all felt fine, so we just set-off to see how it went.
“We did another run with a little bit more throttle and did 224mph, and then did two more runs and tried a bit harder but kind of messed up,” he continued. “I just ran a bit more throttle as I shifted through gears, and it unsettled the bike a little bit as I shifted into fourth.
“It just weaved a bit, so I came off the throttle and reopened the throttle and still went through at 211mph and did exactly the same on the fourth run.”
Despite travelling at over 200mph, an average of 60% throttle was applied whilst travelling two-up. A pair of special handlebars had also been built by Paul to allow him to reach around the rider and hold on.
“He’s not hanging onto me at all, he’s hanging onto two bars on the frame,” Frost continued. “It just makes it safe, because at that speed you’re braking fairly hard, and it stops him coming over the top of my head or going off the back – it’s just down to him tensing his arms.
“I can’t feel him as well, which is nice. I haven’t got anyone dragging me back. I don’t want someone pulling back and next thing my right hand’s gone further round on the throttle when I’m trying to shut it down.”
On top of the pillion record practice, the March Elvington top speed day saw former TT front runner and television presenter Guy Martin trialling a new set of forks on his own Hayabusa.
The front Brembo calipers now sit at the top of the front discs, with the fork legs themselves set back from the centre of the front wheel. He achieved 223.822mph on his fifth run of the day.
