Posted on 09/21/2004 9:43:55 AM PDT by Lijahsbubbe
WABASHA (AP) - With a State Patrol airplane overhead, a Stillwater 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."
_
You're correct.
jasper
But you have it for posterity, you can watch any time ya want.
/jasper
There's no protective gear that can help one iota in a 205 mph airplane crash.
While the Hayabusa does have one of the better Cds for a motorcycle, it also presents an unusally small frontal area for a bike of its power. Cycle Canada took a Hayabusa and a ZX12R to the NRC wind tunnel to find out why the Bus was still the fastest, despite the ZX12R having a small edge in power. They found the Cd for both bikes was very similar, but the Hayabusa had significantly less frontal area, and since drag is the product of the Cd and the frontal area, less total drag.
It still had a pretty high Cd, nearly .5 (might have been .47 or something like that), similar to a pickup truck. A number of passenger cars on the market have a Cd down in the .30 area. Bikes, even the fastest, are a mess aerodynamically.
I'd like to think I'm a smart man, but seeing those guys racing bikes on TV, and how they lean within millimeters of the pavement, I have a hard time reconciling the laws of physics. How do they stay up on those curves?
You fell off at over a hundred?
Uh, um, I fell off my bicycle once.
Uh, the "The Bird" is 1100cc.
Whoa bubba, single purpose built bike ole Cal rode. Jap bikes today equal to his are running well over 300 now.
I've done 200mph in a dive. When you flair out to slow down the wind pushes your goggles into your face and you have to really muscle the wind.
You have to wait a bit before you open your chute, otherwise you'll wake up a couple of inches shorter.
205 in the sky, OK. On a highway? never.
Mean West Texan eh? Midland or Odessa? My son has a Blackbird here in Midland, you may know him.
Mine has never leaked oil. Most of the ones that do are in the hands of morons, or the bike was just plain old. After some Honda's and Yamaha's manage to avoid the scrap yard for 50 years, lets see if they don't leak some oil when they're run.
...but there is a reason they don't run races with the rest of the manufactures.
Yes, it's called sales. Harley doesn't need to race to sell their bikes. When Harley did race in the 60's and 70's, the "Harley Wreaking Crew" blew the handlebars off of everything they raced, including road racing in Europe. There is a famous picture of Harley Team rider, Cal Rayburn leaning an XRR-750 on the fins during the race at Goodwood Race Course in England. The "Wreaking Crew" finished 1-2-3 against the Euro's.
I know you guys think it's fun "trying" to beat-up on Harley Davidson's, but it just doesn't matter to the faithful. We follow our book. The record book.
1. Gravity still pulls down.
2. Very sticky tires.
Actually the knees do touch the ground. They have 'sliders' on them. They look like oversized hockey pucks. Hanging off the bike does a number of things such as changing the center of gravity of the bike which is part of what allows it to do this. In addition to protecting your knees, the sliders allow you judge your lean angle better and also act as a way to self correct in a corner.
Yeah, some soul. I always wondered why really good looking gals were hooked up with ugly assed Harley riders until I rode one. They vibrate to hell and back!!!! LOL
One of the main reasons manufacturers race is to develop technology. This technology is handed down into production machines. This is how modern bikes are developed and improved. If you are not racing, you are falling behind.
I know you guys think it's fun "trying" to beat-up on Harley Davidson's, but it just doesn't matter to the faithful. We follow our book. The record book.
Just like my grandfather reminiscing about the 'good old days'. If he could still be out living them instead of talking about them, he would be.
Whoa Bubba Yourself! I ain't your "Bubba".
"Special Built"? The bikes Harley ran in those days were 750cc flatheads not the computer controlled Saki Suckers that run today. As for the 300mph claim. Try again! I am always amazed at the claims you fish head riders make, then can't find the timing slip or record entry to back up your claim. 300mph. Prove it! Magazine articles and dealer brochures don't count. I am calling your hand, show 'em or fold.
No it's not. It's to sell bikes. Look, I've driven around this block before when I did special work for Yamaha in the late 70's. They race to sell bikes.
Wrong, double the speed, quadruple the HP. 400hp is the answer. However, it does not take 100hp to go 100mph on these bikes.
...keeps the tires closer to vertical for better lateral traction.
Actually, the faster you go the more difficult it is to tip the bike over. I cannot remember the physics words for it. But consider this - is it easier to fall over on a bicycle when you are barely moving or when you are going at a substantial rate? Now if you were to hit something - say a big hole in the road - all bets are off.
No seat belt!!! :-]
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