Posted on 06/06/2005 8:12:11 AM PDT by Responsibility1st
Rico Lamar Porter doesn't have a license to drive, but apparently he thought he had a license to fly Wednesday afternoon.
Porter, 27, of 25 Dyer Drive, Hickory, was arrested after leading state police on an eight-mile, 170-mph chase on traffic-congested Interstate 70.
That's no misprint. Commonly referred to as a sport bike or "crotch rocket," an aerodynamic motorcycle like the one Porter was operating is capable of speeds of around 200 mph.
Trooper Martin Gonglik was running radar about 4:20 p.m. near the Dunningsville exit of the highway when he clocked Porter going 120 mph.
Gonglik activated the lights and siren on his police car and attempted to stop Porter, but the motorcylist instead took off. With the trooper in his marked police cruiser in pursuit, Porter weaved in and out of eastbound traffic.
At times, he drove on the berm to get around vehicles. And not surprisingly, Porter didn't use his turn signal during lane changes.
Porter got off the highway at the Centerville exit and momentarily lost control of his slick speedster. Gonglik swerved to avoid a collision, hitting a guard rail. Porter again tried to flee, going south on Route 481, but ended up hitting the side of the police cruiser. Porter, who was wearing a helmet, was slightly injured and taken to Washington Hospital for treatment.
District Judge Jay Weller initially thought police had made a mistake when he read the criminal complaint filed against Porter.
"When I asked about going 170 mph, he just nodded his head," Weller said of Porter. "He was very forthright about everything. He said he just got the bike two weeks ago and hadn't even made the first payment."
Porter told Weller that his bike-riding days were over.
"He said it was a good thing that the trooper caught him because he probably would have killed himself," Weller said. "He was trying to catch up with some friends. He wondered why he caught up with them so quickly, but they had seen the trooper and slowed down."
Porter was arraigned before Weller on charges of reckless endangerment, fleeing and eluding police, driving with a suspended license, having no registration, having no insurance, driving off the road, not using his turn signal, failing to drive at a safe speed, speeding, careless driving, reckless driving and not having the vehicle inspected. He was placed in Washington County Jail on $2,500 bond.
A preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday before District Judge Curtis Thompson.
He probally wasn't running... It is hard to look back when you are going that fast... Have to keep your eyes in the road or you can be toast fast.
He was pegged at 220 at 10K. He wound it out to 11K!
I think the bike finally came down the following winter and was too damaged to rescue (not to mention difficult to get to), but that was just what I heard from people who claimed to know the guy.
Cycle's gone? They used to be my favorite bike mag.
I saw the completed bike in some mag years ago. I would have tried to ride it (then). The one I saw had outriggers on it. I guess it was just too dangerous without them.
http://www.amadirectlink.com/legisltn/100yrs/nightmare.asp
No pictures though.
Thanks for the ping. I like scenery. Can't enjoy it going anything over 70. To me, MOST of the fun is getting there, and the longer it takes the more enjoyable the ride.
you sound like my wife.
LOL. No worries there, mate. I've hated the BrainBuckets ever since the day when a friend accidentally dropped one of the 'hi-end' ones in a showroom -and it cracked like a glass balloon. I 'drive' with seatbelts because I believe in them (despite horrid laws that state I must do so), but helmet laws are just so much pap, in My view. Just like the seatbelt laws. We are supposed to be a free nation. Leave us alone so we can be free.
Not to mention hearing about mates Downunda that died from neck injuries when before they would have merely sustained some head trauma...
My wife used to work in a tissue-typing lab for organ transplants. They called these bikes 'donorcycles'...
This has been a huge problem for racing as well. Last year, there were two "catastrophic tire failures" during qualifiying at Daytona. One at about 170MPH, the other at nearly 190MPH. IIRC, one of the guys slid nearly 300 yards! Both riders were in the hospital for a while.
In racing, what they've been doing for a while, especially on tracks with a high bank turn like Daytona, is have tires with multiple compouds. One side (the side that contacts the track during the high bank turn) is a "harder" compound, able to deal with the additional heat and stress, while the rest of the tire is made of a "softer" compound, which gives better traction, but doesn't last as long.
Mark
IIRC, the factory HRC RC51s raced by Miguel DuHamel and Nicky Hayden just a few years ago, wouldn't quite hit 200MPH. Those were hand built, "factory" racers, that would have had a price tag somewhere near $200,000 to buy (which you couldn't... Honda only leases their racers to the satellite teams, and Miguel and Nicky were riding for the Honda factory).
Mark
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