[capt1014]

WABASHA, Minn. (AP) - 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."

[ultraTwist]

He'll get off, everyone knows a Honda can't go that fast.

[bump909]

welcome to two years ago.

[wylee]

[ChicknStripEatr]

"Alright....do I hear 206?! ...Who's got 206!"

[OreoGitorio]

Originally posted by bump909
welcome to two years ago.

that happened a LLOOONNNNNGGG time ago. And no... the kid DIDN'T GET OFF what a friggin idiot.

[NinjaSwan]

Originally posted by capt1014
"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."

That Swanson don't know sh*t.

This Swanson knows what happens.... You Die!

[ZX-12R]

Originally posted by NinjaSwan
That Swanson don't know sh*t.

This Swanson knows what happens.... You Die!

At Vanson Leathers they have the riding suit from a guy who fell off his drag bike at over 200MPH. Except for a few broken bones, the guy walked away from it.

[hqp921]

Originally posted by NinjaSwan
That Swanson don't know sh*t.

This Swanson knows what happens.... You Die!

That's what I was thinking - especially on the street and not a closed environment (like a race track... where people wear "the kind of protective gear professional motorcycle racers wear")

[NinjaSwan]

Originally posted by hqp921
That's what I was thinking - especially on the street and not a closed environment (like a race track... where people wear "the kind of protective gear professional motorcycle racers wear")

If you dress for the crash then you more than likley will live to tell about it. Now what if the kid was in a t-shirt and jeans. diffrent story.

[chr|s sedition]

holy repost! I think they ended up reducing the 'speed' down to like 160 or something, but he didn't get off in any rea sense.

[trickphoto]

Wasn't it an RC51, too?
That would be his best defense...
"your honor, there's no way that bike will do 205..."

[Daytona440]

Originally posted by trickphoto
Wasn't it an RC51, too?
That would be his best defense...
"your honor, there's no way that bike will do 205..."

Yes it was an RC51, and after the fact the dyno tested the bike to find it's top speed and they could only reach 160ish...