just a casual ride
- Thread starter MUSKYMAN
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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."
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."
Holy snikey,
My dad bought a little Cesna last year and I think it tops out at about 140 knots. This guy probably could have outran the state trooper in the plane. A rock can screw up your day going 60 mph on a cycle, I am pretty sure at 200 mph they would find pieces of you and cycle for about a mile.
My dad bought a little Cesna last year and I think it tops out at about 140 knots. This guy probably could have outran the state trooper in the plane. A rock can screw up your day going 60 mph on a cycle, I am pretty sure at 200 mph they would find pieces of you and cycle for about a mile.
A
anton
Guest
180, 190, 200, 210, who cares if it was exactly 205 mph. The dude was flying and would have got a 'reckless' ticket at at much slower speeds.
rover4x4 said:
LOL.
my bike tops out at 103
. damn 650 dual sport.im surprised the guy didnt just out run the cop and get off a couple exits down. they cant read a plate that fast.
I used to know a guy that did that once about 6-7 years ago... One of the guys he was with still got caught though.. Police radio was faster then his bike and he ran into a road block on the highway exit ramp.. From what I heard not only did they throw the book at him they hit him with it a couple of times also... They had some fast bikes though... The guy I knew had a reworked ZX-7 as well as a seriously fast ZX-11. Both were bottle fed.. I got up to 170 on his ZX-7 and almost crapped my pants and that was without the nitrous and it was still ready to go faster. Fastest that I have ever been in my life and probably one of the dumbest things that I have ever done. He was a good guy though and knew alot about making bikes go fast.
N
NorCalDiscoII
Guest
Ha! Gear or not, at that speed the guy would be toast. I've crashed at 40 mph in full leathers and had the nurse scraping gravel out of me with a brush that felt like a chain saw...
consumptionjunction.com had a picture from about two weeks ago of a guy in full gear who was torn to pieces... helmet in half, part of his face on one side of the road, other mixed somewhere between his torn arms/legs...
Ya, that's pretty much how the guy I knew ended up and why I don't own a bike.. I have always liked them, always wanted one, but, have never gotten one. In this area it's just to dangerous.. All of my friends that have or have had a bike except for one has gotten hurt on them.. Almost all of them were due to some one else in a car/truck that "didn't see them".
Eric N. said:
every time im out someone doesnt see me and i have to swerve onto the shoulder or brake hard and risk getting hit from behind cuz some asshole didnt check his blind spot properly. But then if you make you bike to loud so they hear you over their damn stereo you can get ticketed.
if they cant see me, maybe they'll hear me, and think to check their blind spot before coming into my lane.rover4x4 said:
I have a friend that dumped it hard while racing , he was going about 180 at the time.he lived but it was touch and go for about 6 mos.
speed dosent kill...deceleration trama does.
I think its cool that the guy stopped, back when I was doing alot of super high speed stuff with BMW's my wife and I got stopped after a airplane couldent keep up with us. the cop asked why we stopped, I told him "we didnt rob a bank or anything we just were having some fun on a deserted highway" I got off with a ticket for 24 over and drove away.
with stock bikes pulling 190+ these days this dosent surprize me alot. when guys run is when it gets ugly. suposedly fleeing cycles end in fatalities a huge percentage of the time...to the point some states are banning the pursuits all togather.
MM
speed dosent kill...deceleration trama does.
I think its cool that the guy stopped, back when I was doing alot of super high speed stuff with BMW's my wife and I got stopped after a airplane couldent keep up with us. the cop asked why we stopped, I told him "we didnt rob a bank or anything we just were having some fun on a deserted highway" I got off with a ticket for 24 over and drove away.
with stock bikes pulling 190+ these days this dosent surprize me alot. when guys run is when it gets ugly. suposedly fleeing cycles end in fatalities a huge percentage of the time...to the point some states are banning the pursuits all togather.
MM
S
Shawn M
Guest
I used to ride a VFR 750 years ago and more than once played catch-me-if-you-can with the local police. My hometown had no police aircraft so it wasn't hard to get away.
About a month after I moved away, a guy with the same first name as mine was killed in a motorcycle accident there. I dodged that bullet and still meet people that thought it was me.
Sold the bike shortly thereafter and have 2 kids now. I was lucky and have some great stories.
About a month after I moved away, a guy with the same first name as mine was killed in a motorcycle accident there. I dodged that bullet and still meet people that thought it was me.
Sold the bike shortly thereafter and have 2 kids now. I was lucky and have some great stories.