MINNESOTA: Motorcyclist clocked at 205 mph pleads guilty

Grand Forks Herald ^

[skeptoid]

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Posted on Fri, Dec. 24, 2004

MINNESOTA: Motorcyclist clocked at 205 mph pleads guilty

Associated Press

WABASHA, Minn. - The Minnesota motorcyclist accused of buzzing down a rural highway at 205 mph must complete nearly an hour of community service for every mile per hour authorities say he was going.

Sam Tilley, 20, pleaded guilty Wednesday to speeding and driving without a motorcycle license. He was sentenced to a year of probation and 200 hours of community service. Wabasha County Attorney Jim Nordstrom said he dropped a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving.

Tilley, who previously pleaded not guilty to the charges, decided against going to trial on charges that carried maximum penalties of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Without a trial, Tilley and the State Patrol won't be able to make their case about how fast Tilley was actually going. In September, a state trooper flying above U.S. 61 in southeastern Minnesota used a stopwatch and road markings to clock Tilley going 205 mph in a 65-mph zone.

But motorcycle enthusiasts - and Tilley himself - said they doubted his Honda RC51 could move that fast. Tilley had his bike tested by a mechanic, who said it wouldn't exceed 159 mph.

Tilley wasn't talking about the guilty plea Wednesday and has given few interviews since the incident. The State Patrol didn't comment either.

Legal observers said while Tilley avoided jail time and fines, the community service requirement is far more than the 15 to 30 hours that even a first-time DUI offender often gets.

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© 2004 Grand Forks Herald and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.grandforks.com

[E. Pluribus Unum]

There is a pretty wide margin for error when calculating speed between two marks with a stopwatch.

There is no doubt that the motorcyclist was doing well under 205 mph, which means the measurement was inaccurate, which means it should be thrown out.

Gil Grissom says so.

[dljordan]

Damn! My poor old Mean Streak barely putts along at 110.

[Abcdefg]

Most motorcycle speedometers are 10% optimistic, so he might have hit 200mph IF the speedo wasn't intentionally maladjusted.

[Gorzaloon]

If you want to see a small video of a really and truly fast bike, try this. This Busa would eat the RC51 for lunch. http://www.supersiteusa.com/Files/Videos/HayabusaTurbo.wmv

Dammit, I have been riding since 1962, and that clip made my eyes bug out, and feel all kinds of strange. Thanks for the link!

*shudder*

[NurdlyPeon]

This biker may be a nut-case, but he's our kind of a nut case, eh?

[Boazo]

That is cool!!!

[corlorde]

I've up to 125 in my z28, fast enough for me lol

[Valk Rider]

**** Damn! My poor old Mean Streak barely putts along at 110.****

My 2001 Honda Valkyrie ain't no speed demon either, but it sure is fun to ride. Here's a pic I took this past June in Colorado as 3 buds from work & I made a 2,500 mile tour.

There's nothing I like better and nothing relaxes me more than getting on Big Blue and taking to the open road for 5 to 7 straight days.

http://www.supersiteusa.com/Files/Motorcycles/Valkyrie/2004Tour/01-20/BigBlue-12095Feet.jpg

Tom

[Kadric]

I think someone played with the speedometer on that bike. watch the lines and other items in the back ground of the video. It doesn't appear to me that he is going as fast as the speedometer is saying.

[Valk Rider]

****I think someone played with the speedometer on that bike. watch the lines and other items in the back ground of the video. It doesn't appear to me that he is going as fast as the speedometer is saying.****

It's hard for me to say for sure. Never been 200+ MPH.

I had a mildly prepped Yosh GSXR-1100 back in the mid 90's that would run right at 170 by radar. Even when I had it WFO, it sure didn't look anywhere near as fast as the Busa Turbo seemed to be going.

Sure glad those days are gone and I'm still around to tell about it. ;-)

Tom

[gogeo]

That bike is scary fast. I noticed he really got on it about 65-70 MPH and the front wheel came off the ground. It didn't come back down until about 130-135. I also noticed he pegged the speedo at 220 and the tach kept climbing.


This requires big brass ones.

[skeptoid]

Yeah...that's 3.4166 miles per minute.
One mile every 17.6 seconds.
Just over 300 feet per second.

At that rate a slight bump in the road surface puts you in a ballistic condition.

I'd like to a video of the crime. Otherwise its just testimony from a single stopwatch operator with lots of chance for error/fudging.

[BraveMan]

Nice picture; I'm jealous! Maybe next year . . .

BTW, what's with the tank? Don't you take pee breaks?

[wardaddy]

ridiculous.

[wizr]

Many of us Harley riders can be boneheads (me included), and many like the 'mine's, bigger, better, faster than yours syndrome, but 200 mph or anywhere near it on a public road is just insane.

[wizr]

Why didn't the lane stripes blur?

[wardaddy]

who tweaked that one?

I see Yoshi and others like to geek them up.

I've been out of hotbikes since GS-1100RS and GPZ days (broke my cherry on an H2...I'm old...lol)

Are all these 1300s?....I remember the KZ 1300...clumsy beast late 70s

I don't think I ever did over 175 or so on my triple bored GPZ with kunis, NO2 and yoshi handblown pipes etc..

My original H2 was a 3 into 3 exhaust...Denco....uncapped...sounded like an battalion of chainsaws.

I always wanted to be Kenny Roberts or Terry Vance....or Russ Collins (huge stones).

We had a young fellow killed here recently on one of these....they said he was doing around 180 when he left the highway (and this planet)

Merry Christmas!

how many horsies do these tweaked ones do?

[Lazamataz]

Without a trial, Tilley and the State Patrol won't be able to make their case about how fast Tilley was actually going. In September, a state trooper flying above U.S. 61 in southeastern Minnesota used a stopwatch and road markings to clock Tilley going 205 mph in a 65-mph zone. But motorcycle enthusiasts - and Tilley himself - said they doubted his Honda RC51 could move that fast. Tilley had his bike tested by a mechanic, who said it wouldn't exceed 159 mph.

With the relativistic red light-shift, how could they tell?

[wardaddy]

Great Pic....I was there back in 78 or so......in a Honda Civic...me and my hippie backpacker buds.


...the horror.

[Valk Rider]

****Nice picture; I'm jealous! Maybe next year . . .

BTW, what's with the tank? Don't you take pee breaks?****

LOL...Yes, I do. That's a ACE fuel tank. Holds just over 9 gallons. The Valk is notorious for bad gas mileage. Those 6 carbs will guzzle gas if the throttle hand gets heavy.

I got tired of filling up every 100 miles or so. I was always the 1st one who had to get gas. Then when we were all back at work sitting at the break table, I had to listen to all the ribbing about my junkey old Honda being a gas hog. LOL

Now, in most cases, I can get 200 miles or more before I have to start looking. I've gone over 250 miles on one occasion and still had about 1.5 gallons left.

All my touring buds whom I work with have the full dressed Harley's. They have to start looking at 180 miles. Now, I just fill up when they do.

Tom