Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128345
Happenings in Motorcycling Trooper Writ:e§ 2[]S Mph Ticket: The Honda Res 1 is a fast motorcycle, but 205 mph? Give us a breakl Accordi ng to The Associated Press, on the afternoon of Saturday, September 18, Minnesota State Patrol pilot AI Loney was flying near Wabasha, in southeastern Minnesota on the W isconsin border, watch ing 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 late r. The watch rea d 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 edition. "I had to double-check my watch because in 27 yea rs, I'd never seen anyth ing move that fast." Several law enforcement' sources to ld the newspaper that , although no official records are kept, it was probably the fastest ticket ever wr itten in the state. After about three-quarters of a mile, the biker slowed to around 100 mph and let the other motorcycle catch up . Bythen , Loney had radioed ahead to another state trooper, who pulled the two over soon afterward . The State Patrol officer arrested the faste r ride r, 20-year-o ld Stillwater resident Samuel Armstrong Tilley, fdt reckless driving, driving without a motorcycle lice nse... and for driving 140 miles per hour over the posted speed limit of 6S mph . After reading the above story, we seriously questioned the reality of the claim, due to the fact that Tilley was aboard a 2002 Honda RCSI . It is very unlikely that the 1000cc Honda V-twin would be able to get anywhere close to that speed in stock form , especially considering that a 2002 RCS I is only good for around I 2S horsepower at the rear wheel on the dyno . Just for reverence sake , the last year that Honda fielded a factory RCSI in the World Superbike Cham pionship in 2002, Co lin Edwards' fastest trap speed at Monza (the fastest track in the series) was recorded at 187.24 mph . It sounds to us like Tilley is going to ge t a bad rap when he appears in court d ue to officer Loney 's mistiming of his speed . But at least Tilly w ill have his mo ment in the limelight and be ab le to say he got the fastest ticke t in Minnesota state history. PHOTO COURTESY OF HONDA 5upermot:o Debut: for RM-Z4S[] Former SOOcc Grand Prix World Champion road racer Kevin Schwantz will ride Suzuki's new RM·Z4S0 in its American racing debut at an upcoming round of the AMA Supermoto Championship. He was originally scheduled to part icipate in the Reno round of the series on October 3, but according to Pat Alexander, Suzuki's sports promotion manager, Schwantz aggravated his wrist while testing the new bike in preparation for the race . "Kevin's wrists have bothered him since his GP days, and preparing for this event, coupled with what he went through last month at the Bol d'Or, just proved to be too much . Obviously, we don't want him to go out at anything less than 100 percent," Alexander said. Alexander confirmed that Suzuki still plans to have Schwantz debut the highly anticipated RM-Z450 at an upcoming round of the AMA Supermoto Championship . Suzuki is introducing its highly anticipated RM-Z4S0 four-stroke motocross racer for the 200S season, and Schwantz will give fans a preview of the new machine in its supermoto guise (see art ist's rendering). "It's going to be fun to debut the new RM·Z here in America," Schwantz said. "It should make a great supermoto bike." Schwantz recently made his return to road racing by competing in the prestig ious - ""'~ Bol d'Or 24 Hour Endurance race (see Cycle News Issue #38) . One of his teammates crashed the team's bike in the second hour and they later retired, but not before the 40year-old Schwantz managed to show he still has plenty of skills by riding the bike from 18th to fifth place during his stint . While Schwantz will debut the new Suzuki, he isn't the only rider hoping to get his hands on the RM-Z4S0 in AMA Supermoto competition. Former AMA Motocross and X Games champ Travis Pastrana said he's hopeful his Cernic's Racing Suzuki squad will have the new bike by the end of the season . Pastrana made a successful AMASupermoto debut earlier this month in Nashville, Tennessee, riding a highly modified Suzuki DR· Z400-based machine . ARTIs r s RENDERING COURTESY OF SUZUKI 116 OCTOBER 13 ,2004 • CYCLE NEWS 40th Anniversary