205 mph earns biker citation

Speeding ticket may be Minnesota record

BY HANK SHAW

Pioneer Press


Al Loney couldn't believe his stopwatch.

The Minnesota State Patrol pilot had been flying near Wabasha on Saturday afternoon, watching a pair of motorcycles racing each other along U.S. 61. When one of the bikes accelerated dramatically, Loney was ready — clicking his stopwatch when the cycle reached a white marker painted on the roadside.

A quarter-mile later, he clicked it again. It read 4.39 seconds, which Loney calculated to be an astonishing 205 mph.

"I was in total disbelief," Loney said. "I had to double-check my watch because in 27 years I'd never seen anything move that fast."

The bike was moving nearly twice as fast as Loney's airplane. 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.

Several law enforcement sources said Tilley might have set the record for the fastest speeding ticket in Minnesota history.

No comprehensive records are kept, but 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, the son of a Washington County sheriff's deputy, did not return calls to his home Monday.

Few vehicles can reach speeds in excess of 200 mph. Only a handful of cars, such as the Dodge Viper, the Porsche Carrera and several Lamborghinis, can hit the 200 mark. But many of the so-called "crotch rocket" motorcycles popular with young men can top 175 mph. With minor modifications, they can top 200 mph. Tilley was riding a Honda 1000, Loney said.

State trooper Steve Stromback, one of the officers who arrested Tilley, said the biker was taking part in the semi-annual Flood Run, a motorcycle rally that started in Hudson, Wis. The ride, in which thousands of bikers participate, raised money for the Gillette Children's hospital this year.

Stromback said most of the participants obey the law, but added that police cited another eight bikers for driving more than 100 mph last weekend. Speed demons show up every year, Stromback said, which is why the State Patrol had aircraft and extra troopers in the area.

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 riding at such a velocity.

"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."

This dude is fucking nuts

Was he from Jersey?

Sweeny79 said:

Nah, he's a local kid (Minnesota).

lovemachine said:

Completely! That's crazy!

Holy crap! At least he picked the best stretch of Hwy 61 for attempting it. Any other part of 61 would mean certain death.

man, he woulda been total hamburger if he wiped out

nakedpianoplayer said:

He would have ended up a hamburger at McD's in Winona just down the road.

Just an update....

New Questions About 205 MPH Ticket

Sep 27, 2004 9:12 am US/Central
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) People across the country are shaking their heads over the kid ticketed for allegedly riding his motorcycle at 205 mph -- some out of disapproval, other because they doubt he went that fast.

Ever since a State Patrol pilot clocked Samuel Armstrong Tilley's 2002 Honda RC51 going a quarter-mile in 4.39 seconds on Sept. 18, people in chatrooms, garages and biker bars from Sturgis, S.D., to Los Angeles have been buzzing about the alleged feat on Highway 61 near Wabasha.

"Certainly anyone who flouts the law to that extent is seen by some as a latter-day Robin Hood, flying in the face of authority and doing stuff we all want to do but common sense stops us from," said David Edwards, editor-in-chief of Cycle World, a magazine based in Newport Beach, Calif.

Edwards is among the many experts who doubt Tilley's bike could have gone so fast. "More likely, the cop with the stopwatch had an itchy trigger finger," he told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis.

"There are lots of guys who have been spending a lot of money and a lot of years at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah trying to join the official 200 Club and most still haven't done it," Edwards said. He said Tilley's bike would have needed an add-on turbo charger to go above 165 mph.

State Patrol pilot Al Loney, a 27-year veteran, and his superiors stand by their report.

Tilley, who graduated from Stillwater High School last year, hasn't returned numerous calls seeking comment. He's due to appear in Wabasha County Court on Oct. 25.

Tilley purchased his motorcycle last summer from Tousley Motorsports in White Bear Lake, where he once worked.

Tousley President Larry Koch said Tilley is a nice guy, "but I really want to ask him: 'What in the hell were you thinking?"'

MrJoker said:

And you thought there was no fun to be had in Utah.