205 mph ticket, can you beat it?

[outsider]

Minnesota Trooper Writes 205 MPH Ticket

WABASHA, Minn. (Sept. 21) - 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."

09/21/04 16:39 EDT

[Jack M]

No "minor modification" buys you the double-ton.

[Speedzilla]

There is no way that this rider was going 205mph.

The Honda factory superbike team reached a top speed of 195 on the mile long front straight at Brainerd this year, and they have a couple hundred thousand dollars into those machines.

BTW: The kid was on an RC51. I owned an RC51 a few years ago, and there is just no way that those speeds are possible, even with some mods.

This kid is an idiot and was surely at insane speeds, but I would be shocked if he was anywhere near 180mph.

[Enzo]

How about this one from last year....

read the entire 4 page affidavit here: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/faenza1.html

SEPTEMBER 4--While we normally don't concern ourselves with speeding arrests, we're making an exception in the case of one Dr. William Faenza. The 35-year-old New York City man was arrested Sunday after Pennsylvania cops clocked his 1997 Lamborghini Diablo going a remarkable 182 mph on State Road 443 (a 55 mph zone). According to the below criminal complaint, a tipsy Faenza was not only moving at Jeff Gordon speeds, he was driving recklessly and sped away from pursuing cops. After getting stuck in traffic at about 6 PM, Faenza, a research chemist who was in the area visiting family, refused police orders to exit the blue sports car, but finally relented and "stumbled out of the vehicle." Faenza failed a field sobriety test, which cops administered after smelling booze on his breath and noting that his eyes were bloodshot. Faenza is now facing a variety of charges, including driving under the influence, resisting arrest, and reckless driving. (4 pages)

[skategoat]

I like the bit about "courting death" unless the guy was wearing protective gear. Unless the guy was encased in some kind of Nasa landing pod, he was dead no matter what he was wearing. They don't call 'em donor-cycles for nothing.

[kamran]

I had a CBR 1000 in europe and I never could get it go faster than 265 km/hr (about 164 miles/hr) on the Autobahn (it was a 94 model though). But sure enough, there were buddies who would pass me easily at that speed on their ZZR 1100 and CBR 900 RRs...

But then again,..over there it was kindda the norm, and unlike here, the cars ahead of you on the road, do look in their back mirrror constantly.

[Speedzilla]

According to Sport Rider magazine:

Honda RC51 Top Speed: 163mph

Honda 1000RR Top Speed: 175mph

It would take an insane amount of modifications/money to make the RC51 a 180mph bike.

[kamran]

Instead of questioning the abilities of the dude's bike, perhaps we should check the trooper's stopwatch accuracy and his reaction speed to clock it.

If I were the biker, I'd use the official numbers posted above to take the case to the court and get it dismissed,...just say, my bike could have never reached that speed to begin with,....

[sic t 2]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.... can't be done.

1 more tooth on a $25.00 countershaft sprocket,

select a road that runs south easterly and has a slight elevation drop on it,

wait for a Canadian high weather high to come through and put a 30 mph draft up your ass.

this is not about rules. its about going fast.

the only hard part is the cop.

Sic t 2

[Speedzilla]

Originally posted by sic t 2

Yeah, yeah, yeah.... can't be done.

1 more tooth on a $25.00 countershaft sprocket,

select a road that runs south easterly and has a slight elevation drop on it,

wait for a Canadian high weather high to come through and put a 30 mph draft up your ass.

this is not about rules. its about going fast.

the only hard part is the cop.

Sic t 2

Well, according to the gearing calculator that is listed on the ROGUE site, adding a tooth to the front will give add 12mph to your top end.

So, based off the recorded top speed test by Sport Rider of 163mph, we are now up to 175. Add another tooth (if you could even get an 18 tooth CS sprocket), and your up to 187.

The RC51 is geared so tall, that changing the gearing that dramatically would make this a bike a complete bitch to ride around town. I'm not saying it's not possible for someone to do this, but anyone in their right mind would be changing their gearing the other direction.

I know the road well, I was on it the same road on Sunday. Although there are some straight sections, the road curves along the Mississippi river, and is flooded with tourists on a nice Saturday afternoon.

There is no doubt that this kid was riding at insane speeds, but there is no way that 205 is accurate. At those speeds, the smallest error with the stopwatch will result in big differences in the speed that is calculated.

This is from another person I have discussed this with on another board:

Let's see, that's 1/(4.6 * 4)*60*60 to get mph... equals about 195 mph

If you are off by a tenth of a second you would get

1(4.7*4)*60*60... equals 191 mph

If you are off by a quarter second, you get 1(4.85*4)*60*60... equals 185 mph

[sic t 2]

Good points. I don't know the road. Never thought about the timing error over the relatively short distance of a 1/4 mile. Certainly it sounds like a bogus ticket to me now too. Well, sort of bogus. Hate to be arguing that "167 mph" was a more realistic speed to the judge.

But I don't think it takes any great effort to get a bike over 200 mph when anyone "who can change a spare tire" can bolt on a $600 nitrous kit on that that new Kawi or a Busa. Select the right conditions and you are there easily. Of course, it means absolutely nothing to a seasoned biker/racer (but that doesn't mean there are not a few thousand spodes who would give their right nut to try it).

Sic t 2

[joecarve]

Originally posted by chooblaykhan

Instead of questioning the abilities of the dude's bike, perhaps we should check the trooper's stopwatch accuracy and his reaction speed to clock it.

If I were the biker, I'd use the official numbers posted above to take the case to the court and get it dismissed,...just say, my bike could have never reached that speed to begin with,....

Really. Let's say there's a .75-sec spread between start and stop click reaction time...175mph.

[Speedzilla]

[Jack M]

Originally posted by Bob Jenney

I got a ticket in ME a couple of weeks ago. Michelle was in the car, (It was her fault actually) so she can attest. The ticket was $180 for going 70 in a 55mph zone.

Friggin' Mass-holes! If it's called "tourist season", why can't we shoot them?!? Ayuh!!

[Tommy D]

Bah! Only 3 citations on the same ticket? Sheesh. He got off easy. Well, except for the arrest, of course. :rolleyes:

As opposed to the interstate speedlimits as I am, (not in having them, but in how low they are...) there is such a thing as too fast on public roads. No matter the protective gear, there would be nothing left after a crash at those speeds on open highway, not to mention the carnage if other motorists were involved.

I think it is a good argument regarding the performance parameters of the mcycle and the 'timed' speed given by the officer. However, I don't think it would be prudent to argue that in front of judge and executioner. (Proving cops wrong is never taken very well in court ...) But an attorney would know better than I.

[Tommy D]

Originally posted by Bob Jenney

I got a ticket in ME a couple of weeks ago. Michelle was in the car, (It was her fault actually) so she can attest. The ticket was $180 for going 70 in a 55mph zone.

Yup. I just got $200 for 80 in a 55 in CT. My fault, definitely.

[Neil Gendzwill]

In Canada, after a certain amount over the limit you can get "driving with undue care and attention" or even "reckless endangerment". I think this guy doing near triple the speed limit would be in the "reckless endangerment" category. Seems to me jail time and lifetime license suspension are some of the possibilities.

[Guest Jon Rutherford]

I've hit 176 on an R1. I heavily question the ability for that honda to hit 205...i'd like to see the mod list for myself.

[nils]

IF you like watching idiots risking their lives at 200 mph, just do a few research on kazaa, edonkey etc with the word getaway in the video them!

I personnaly like the norway guy doing 200 mph on a small country side road ( bike norwegian 300 kmh is the name of the file), the F-40 doing 205 mph on a english /austrialian road... but my fav is this one ( please use right click on the link, and save as...i'll remove the file from my server in a few days)

Police chases a Opel Lotus Omega ( in vain )

For those who never saw that car, it was a lotus modified Opel around 1989-1990.. Basically your everyday sedan with 400 hp..

N.

[Gecko]

Originally posted by sic t 2

But I don't think it takes any great effort to get a bike over 200 mph when anyone "who can change a spare tire" can bolt on a $600 nitrous kit on that that new Kawi or a Busa. Select the right conditions and you are there easily. Of course, it means absolutely nothing to a seasoned biker/racer (but that doesn't mean there are not a few thousand spodes who would give their right nut to try it).

Sic t 2

whoa gotta raise a flag on this one...every year a few hundred folks head over to the salt with their Kwaks/Busa's in an attempt to break the 2ton, very few make it and those that do usually have another 20K or so in the engine alone...It is extreamly difficult to ride a bike over high 180's though this has less to do with hp and more to do with stability...or so I have been told by folks who have campaigned a 2 ton bike. NOS is not the easy fix to top speed that everyone thinks it is

[Chris Houghton]

NO chance. The cop must have flinched doing the timing. Most new liter bikes are restricted below 300Kmh(180), and as a few have said already, it takes a huge amount of power (more than twice as much) to get from 180 to 200. Sure he could have been going 170 and been mistimed. Done 170 many times on my Blackbird, but 205? No chance and it is not restricted.

[sic t 2]

You guys are so funny. All these self imposed AMA rules and regulations on street riding.

Been to the Bonneville Salt flats. Salt is dangerous! Slippery, rough and you are foced to do a two way time cancelling any slope advantage (if there were one) and any wind advantage (unless you plan very well in that one hour!).

Consider, on a straight and narrow surface, with no wind our snowboards do 0 mph. Yet they can achieve over the "one ton" in the right conditions. You mean to tell me that a box stock 180+ mph motorcycle can't be coaxed to go another 20 mph when slope and wind can be selected to optimize your environment? On top that a 40 horsepower boost of nitrous is not an advantage (seemingly cause its not real horsepower or something?). Put your head in between the rollers on the dino and you'lll find out soon enough if that pull is real.

Just free yourself from the AMA rulebook. After all, those same rules will make your snowboard go 0 mph on glare ice.

$1,200 in aftermarket parts will get you the two ton on the street (sprockets, nitrous, pipe).

http://www.zx11.info/zx11/aero.htm

Sic

[mirror70]

Originally posted by Gecko

whoa gotta raise a flag on this one...every year a few hundred folks head over to the salt with their Kwaks/Busa's in an attempt to break the 2ton, very few make it and those that do usually have another 20K or so in the engine alone...It is extreamly difficult to ride a bike over high 180's though this has less to do with hp and more to do with stability...or so I have been told by folks who have campaigned a 2 ton bike. NOS is not the easy fix to top speed that everyone thinks it is

The salt flats are much much slower than pavement. Until 2000, the record for a "stock bodied" 1.5L car there was only 142mph. That class allows for unlimited engine mods as long as the body of the car is stock-looking. A completely stock 150HP Audi A4 with the limiter removed will do 142mph (yes, I know it's a slightly bigger engine, but it's also stock).

[mirror70]

Originally posted by Bob Jenney

If you were caught in MA or anywhere in New England for that matter doing anything over 125mph, that's grounds for taking your license away for 30 days or more depending on your driving record and the area of offense.

AND, the ticket would most assuredly be WAY over $215. More like $500 to $1000. Plus bail and court fines.

That's not true.

Don't ask.

[Jack M]

Originally posted by sic t 2

You mean to tell me that a box stock 180+ mph motorcycle can't be coaxed to go another 20 mph when slope and wind can be selected to optimize your environment?

Air drag increases as the square of speed. That is, if you double your speed, you quadruple your air drag. So to go from 180 to 200, you're looking at a 23% increase in air drag alone. Then there's rolling friction of the tires, and mechanical friction, all which increase with speed. A gentle slope and a tailwind aren't going to make up for all that.