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."

 

wow

that is fast!

 

"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 think if you fell off or crashed at 200 MPH you would be better of without the safty equipment. A quick death is better than a slow and painful one.

At that speed a rock on the road could ruin your day ....

 

http://apnews.myway.com//article/200...D85892U00.html

Please work

 

Or a large pothole... that would send you FLYING!

I COULD say that that is just plain dumb... but, I know that if I had a bike that could go that fast, I'd probably do it if nobody were around.

 

I'm sure that's what they thought. Beware of the eye in the sky.

That was so stupid.

 

Here's the story from The Minneapolis Star Tribune. http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4992111.html

 

That is the best quote in the article! 215% over the speed limit!

You would be jailed for about 6 months and banned for 6 years here for doing that kind of speed. I think they might ban the rest of your family as well, just for safety!

 

Um, at 205 mph on a bike, no safety gear would save you. If he wrecked, they'd be cleaning up the mess with a shovel for 2 miles.

 

I bet that was one $$$$$ ticket. Not very smart.

 

I have always seen the signs for "Speed Monitored By Aircraft." But I have never heard of anyone getting a ticket from it.

 

how can someone get a ticket when their airborne!

 

wow, that's pretty crazy fast
like they said, only a handful of cars can do that speed
I think motor trend put it best into perspective during that GT vs Enzo vs Carrera GT test:
200mph = 3 football fields a second

 

It happens a lot on I-5 north of LA through the interior valley. There are lines painted on the shoulder at one mile intervals and if you look up (easier in a vert) you can often see a spotter plane.

 

Thats insane!

 

Exactly.

 

Nah... THREE footbal fields a second?

Doesn't make sense... There is 300 yards in 3 football fields, and 1,760 yards in a mile. If the cop's math was correct, and it took the kid 4.39 seconds at 205 mph to go 1/4 mile, this cannot be true. Three hundred yards per second would be equal to 1 mile per 5.87 seconds. At 4.39 seconds per 1/4 mile (at 205), it would take 17.56 seconds to go a mile.

Although, at 200 mph, you WOULD be travelling at just under 98 yards per second. Which is pretty freakin' quick, still!

 

As a side note, the guy would have actually been going 206.5 mph at 4.39 seconds per 1/4 mile.

 

I'm gonna start paying more attention in algebra from now on...