| Author | Message | ||
     Along4theride |
WABASHA, Minn. - With a State Patrol airplane overhead, a motorcyclist hit the throttle and possibly set the informal record for the fastest speeding ticket in Minnesota history: 205 mph. On Saturday afternoon, State Patrol pilot Al Loney was flying near Wabasha, in southeastern Minnesota on the Wisconsin border, watching two motorcyclists racing along U.S. Highway 61. When one of the riders shot forward, Loney was ready with his stopwatch. He clicked it once when the motorcycle reached a white marker on the road and again a quarter-mile later. The watch read 4.39 seconds, which Loney calculated to be 205 mph. "I was in total disbelief," Loney told the St. Paul Pioneer Press for Tuesday's editions. "I had to double-check my watch because in 27 years I'd never seen anything move that fast." Several law enforcement sources told the newspaper that, although no official records are kept, it was probably the fastest ticket ever written in the state. After about three-quarters of a mile, the biker slowed to about 100 mph and let the other cycle catch up. By then Loney had radioed ahead to another state trooper, who pulled the two over soon afterward. The State Patrol officer arrested the faster rider, 20-year-old Stillwater resident Samuel Armstrong Tilley, for reckless driving, driving without a motorcycle license — and driving 140 miles per hour over the posted speed limit of 65 mph. A search of speeding tickets written by state troopers, who patrol most of the state's highways, between 1990 and February 2004 shows the next fastest ticket was for 150 mph in 1994 in Lake of the Woods County. Tilley did not return calls from the newspaper to his home Monday. A working number for him could not immediately be found by The Associated Press on Tuesday. Only a handful of exotic sports cars can reach 200 mph, but many high-performance motorcycles can top 175 mph. With minor modifications, they can hit 200 mph. Tilley was riding a Honda 1000, Loney said. Kathy Swanson of the state Office of Traffic Safety said unless Tilley was wearing the kind of protective gear professional motorcycle racers wear, he was courting death at 200 mph. "I'm not entirely sure what would happen if you crashed at 200 miles per hour," Swanson said. "But it wouldn't be pretty, that's for sure." | ||
| Mookie |
Hes #1 | ||
| Ingemar |
Kathy Swanson of the state Office of Traffic Safety said unless Tilley was wearing the kind of protective gear professional motorcycle racers wear, he was courting death at 200 mph. Kathy doesn't know what she's saying. Please tell me what kind of gear can protect me from dying when I crash at 200 mph ... Professional riders don't live through a crash just because they are wearing their gear; they are trained and ride on racetracks without trees, cagers and other deadly obstacles that can get in your way. | ||
| Dago |
Didn't the Moto GP bikes just recently hit the 200 MPH mark??? I don't believe he actually hit 205. I could certainly be wrong though. Thoughts?  | ||
| P0p0k0pf |
Well, it wasn't a speedo read, it was timed between two points. I'd say it is pretty accurate considering the officer who clocked him probably has some stopwatch experience. Also, if it is deemed accurate enough to be submissible in court, it prolly ain't far off... | ||
| Buelluk |
The only limitation on some of the Moto GP bikes is the track length / straightaways etc, if a Moto GP bike was given a 3 or 4 mile stretch if would hit 220/225, the works Ducatis are geared for at least 220 on long tracks. GP 500 strokers were hitting 200 at Daytona in the 1980's after all ! Brave man with all the wildlife in Minnesota ..what would an elk do at that speed | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
Buelluk...does the phrase "hitting the wall" mean anything?  IIRC and one of the more knowledgable TT fiends out there I am sure can correct me, but the limits the GP bikes hit on the IoM is the road condition which keeps them down just below or right at the 200mph mark on some of the longer straights, IE: the bumps and ripples in the tarmac... | ||
| Davegess |
I don't think a street bike on a public highway could go that fast. Hyabusas at the Salt Flats and Maxton have trouble reaching 200 MPH. Heck DuHamel on the Honda 1000 cc factory superbike only did 190 at Brainard this year. | ||
| Loki |
No elk in that area, some good sized white tails though. In that area hwy 61 has some good long, straight, flat stretches. The fun part of that road is from Mieseville to Lake Pepin. I grew up in the 4-corners, where hyws 61,50 and 20 meet(not so anymore). Also missing are a couple of taverns, 4-Corners and Esters Place. | ||
| Loki |
What did the cops clock the CBR600 on Lake Shore Drive last summer? Top speed of a 'Busa? Greg mentioned this 205 incident last night on TWT. He gave it a chuckle and does not reaslly believe it. | ||
| Daves |
I think 205 is a little off too. There are no Elk in MN(wild ones anyway) Pretty damn stupid all the same. Dave | ||
| Blake |
If the guy had figured a way to subvert the speed limiter and had a good tailwind, I don't see why he couldn't make 205 mph. | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
Several other boards are commenting on the validity of the bike hitting 205 as well. They also keep making the same comparisons as on here. | ||
| Along4theride |
DuHamel on the Honda 1000 cc factory superbike only did 190 at Brainard this year. Maybe he can use that as his defense and get the ticket thrown out. All he has to do is prove that his bike can't even go that fast and he's off the hook. They had a similar incident with a car I recently read about, I think it was overseas but same thing the guy proved his car couldn't even go that fast and they threw the ticket out. Humm.. getting ticket thrown out or having people believe you really did 205mph- tough decision. | ||
| Mikej |
What is the tolerance range on stopwatch use in an aircraft clocking a fast moving motorcycle? Is the error tolerance range in excess of 100mph? If the officer quickly saw the measurement line coming up and late-clicked the stopwatch after the bike was barely past the line, then anticipated the bike approaching the exit measurement line and early clicked the stopwatch, how far could the officer have reasonably be off on the speed calculations? If 205mph = 5 seconds then 6 seconds actual time would drop the speed down to around 150 or so. In any case he'll probably plead the case down to 99+mph to keep it out of felony range with the help of his dad being on the force, assuming MN is a 100+mph = Felony state. Does the story followup say if the rider was cuffed and jailed and the bike impounded? And what happened to the speeding friend he was with, assuming the friend was also speeding. | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
From what I understand, its unusual for them to clock for only 1/4 mile. Though it seems he might have clocked him more then once after he called for a cruiser. | ||
| Glitch |
Around here, the 1/4 mile markers on the road are a mile divided in quarters. If he saw him before he hit the first four markers he had time to clock him another time before the next set of markers a mile or so down the road. Either way, I'm sure what they have is enough to say in court he was 100mph+ which is all they need here to through your butt in jail take you license and bike away. Of course that all varies on who your Dad might be. | ||
| Buelluk |
Sorry guys , about the wildlife references - lets just say any deer-shaped or sized mammal.. lets face it a yearling whitetail at 70 mph makes me think a lot harder..even a large groundhog would probably put you into an uncontrollable tank slapper at those elevated speeds. and I agree with Mikej on the tolerance in using a hand-operated stop watch too, too many variables ..in the UK he would have got done for an excessive speed and then driving without due care and attention, plus any infractions they could throw at him about the condition of the bike | ||
| Buelluk |
If his Dad is somebody like Janklow ,he'll probably get 10 hours of community service | ||
| Loki |
They could toss the speeding ticket, but..... The real kicker is the reckless driving charge, that one will hurt big time. Couple that with speed in excess of 100mph and see what the DA does. | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
Felony speeding varies from state to state, it doesn't have to be only in excess of 100mph, it can be for 20 over the posted or even 15 over depending on the conditions of the posted limit. IE: if 15 in a 35 can be felony speeding in some states. (can't remember which ones besides here in AZ) The other kicker is the lack of a liscence, which invalidates his insurance. So its not only a lack of liscence but no insurance as well. | ||
| Blake |
Traversing 1/4 mile at 205 mph takes 4.39 seconds. I wouldn't imagine the air cop to be off by more than a few tenths of a second in timing the guy, so maybe 4.6 seconds, which translates to 196 mph. | ||
| Mikej |
In any case it sounds like the kid/man/squid would have been better off heading to Bonneville. Speaking of which, does one need a motorcycle endorsement to ride a bike on the Flats? | ||
| Jaredkuper |
You should only need an endorsment to ride on public roads. So you shouldn't need one to ride on any private track or any place that is not governed by traffic laws. | ||
| Buelluk |
In the UK you will lose your license for a period, depends on your prior record, if caught doing twice the posted limit and depending on other factors you may get some time in the big house as well. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Unless his bike had some serious mods, there's no way a Honda CBR1000 is going to hit 205mph. I'll bet his Dad kicked his A** when he got home. It's not in the story above but the old man is a Deputy Sheriff in another county! | ||
| Tgroghan |
My best guess is the bike is an Honda RC51 but could of been a Honda Superhawk 996 or VTR 1000 Super Hawk. Either way Honda top speeds are around 170mph | ||
| R1DynaSquid |
say it is pretty accurate considering the officer who clocked him probably has some stopwatch experience. Also, if it is deemed accurate enough to be submissible in court, it prolly ain't far off... No friggin way in hell is that speed even close. Unless his bike had some serious mods, there's no way a Honda CBR1000 is going to hit 205mph. Zactly, be lucky to see 180. If the guy had figured a way to subvert the speed limiter and had a good tailwind, I don't see why he couldn't make 205 mph. As pointed out earlier, even at places like maxon or Bonneville the speeds arent anywhere near that. Snail had his Gixxer1000 there & what did he hit?? 179 or something in that area. | ||
| Macbuell |
Totally agree Dyna. Personally, I think the cop started the stopwatch a little late or stopped it a little early. I'm not buying anything over 180 and even that's a stretch. | ||
| Blake |
"A good tailwind", say 25 mph. That would put his airspeed at... 180 mph. |
