Posted on 06/18/2003 8:15:48 PM PDT by chance33_98
Motorcycle was clocked at 157mph, court told
By Stewart Payne (Filed: 18/06/2003)
A motorcyclist was recorded travelling at 157mph as he flashed past a police camera, followed by a friend doing 148mph, a court was told yesterday.
It is believed to be the highest speed recorded on a British road and both riders were warned to expect a stiff penalty after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.
Neil Bolger pleads guilty after being caught in a police speed trap in Buckinghamshire doing 148mph
The men, both 29, were said not to be racing each other. Andrew Osborne, from Leamington Spa, Warwicks, who was clocked at 157mph, and Neil Bolger, from Gaydon, Warwicks, must wait until next month to find out their sentence, but were given interim driving disqualifications.
Magistrates in Aylesbury, Bucks, heard that the men were spotted on the A421 near Buckingham speeding through an underpass on a dual carriageway noted as an accident blackspot. The road had a 70mph limit.
Theresa Murphy, prosecuting, said they overtook a lorry on a sweeping bend before being caught by the speed trap.
Darren Rogers, defending Osborne, a master technician, argued that the case should be dealt with by magistrates and not referred to the Crown Court.
Nicholas Devine, defending Bolger, a lorry driver, said that although he was travelling at excessive speed there were no aggravating features. "There is no evidence of alcohol or drugs," he said.
The case was adjourned for four weeks for reports.
It was a 1969 Buick Skylark- with drum brakes, no cage.
I saw a recent brake test where a drum brake equipped car took a quarter mile to stop from 100 mph. I am surprised you could haul that thing down from 167 before you got to Colorado.
I rode by an elderly gentleman on an elegantly understated Vespa the other day. It was painted a beautiful pale blue with tan custom striping. He was wearing a helmet with a matching paint scheme, a pale blue short sleeved shirt and tan polyester pants. The old guy was stylin' down the boulevard around 15mph. I thought he looked great!
As I overtook him (with my clutch in and throttle down), I waved and turned my head to offer him a smile. His face wore this look of fun and excitement. It would have been impossible for him to conceal the enjoyment he was having. I started to imagine myself in his polished wingtip shoes; twilight years, gentle breeze in the face, gliding along on a refined, quiet, unassuming platform . . .
Nah . . .
Now how on earth could the metric system possibly suck?
One of their past issues had a story about the tricks they had to use to redo the Pentagon on a metric grid. Also, a lot of the high-end shingles these days are a meter long, instead of three feet.
That old man has got it right. Ride till you die! That's my motto!
And with aerodynamics. Without a fairing over the front tire and wheel, at a little over 160mph, sufficient lift is generated by the front rim to raise the front wheel off the ground, eliminating steering control, and can raise the front end enough for the airflow to continue raising the front end up until a 160mph endover occurs. They found that out back in the 1940s at Bonneville, but there are still folks rediscovering it on the streets with their new rice rockets every day. Usually only once.
-archy-/-
I once ran a BMW factory R60 bike with taller than usual gearing [being prepared for the 24-hour endurance race in France, where the speeds average over 100 MPH for 24 hours, with a usual relay of riders] on the then speed limitless South Autobahn out of Munich at 138 MPH/222 KPH on a certified speedo...at those speeds, I was much more interested in watching what I was doing rather than looking at the clock.
But it was a beautiful and unseasonably warm Bavarian morning, with minimal traffic, and just right for a flat-out free ride of a VERY nice bike. And just as I topped the rise of a nice, long straightaway, I became aware of a pretty little red sportscar pulling up alongside of me. For all of a second or two, the driver looked at me with a *Very nice bike- I'll have to get one of those* look on his face. Then he pulled away from me at a good ten or 15 MPH better than I was doing.
Nice car.
Refrigerator magnets work nicely. If your home state is one of those that uses aluminum plates, a plate-sized square of galvanized sheet steel beneath the license tag solves the problem.
And you'll sometimes see two shop towels sewn together with a magnet at each of the four corners. Same idea.
-archy-/-
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