Police Question their Own Radar Gun
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"They don't realize the peril they're in when they're traveling at that speed," Dougherty said.
This is the line that normally kills me when comes to police. They right up a million tickets because the motorcyclist is endangering himself. However in this case I'd have to say that it is justified because if a pedestrian happened to attempt to cross the road there is no way the motorcyclist could avoid him. At 160 mph the motorcyclist is covering 234 ft/sec. The pedestrian wouldn't even know the motorcyclist was coming until it was too late.
This is the line that normally kills me when comes to police. They right up a million tickets because the motorcyclist is endangering himself. However in this case I'd have to say that it is justified because if a pedestrian happened to attempt to cross the road there is no way the motorcyclist could avoid him. At 160 mph the motorcyclist is covering 234 ft/sec. The pedestrian wouldn't even know the motorcyclist was coming until it was too late.
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1. The new F4i's will go roughly 156mph (Cycle World, June 2001); figure at least 5% error in the radar gun means plus or minus 8mph, and figuring that most police radar is probably set up to read on the high side of that, I bet he was going 152-156mph, not 160. Maybe he had a pipe and jet kit (he sounds like that type of rider). But that's still exceedingly fast, especially for chicago.
2. This guy is an obvious idiot. No insurance, no plates, no signal? He deserves to get busted.
3. Why in Chicago? He could have at least gone out to boonies, IL if he really wanted to max out.
2. This guy is an obvious idiot. No insurance, no plates, no signal? He deserves to get busted.
3. Why in Chicago? He could have at least gone out to boonies, IL if he really wanted to max out.
Wouldn't he need at least a mile+ to reach that speed, as well as mucho braking distance. Sounds like confused cops to me. When speed testing bikes, most magazines use two mile+ straights to be able to reach those speeds and stop safely. I can't imagine that there are roads that long in Chicago. Cops lie, and they tend to trust equipment that isn't set up right or used correctly.
All cops are bad, all bikers are good.
All cops are bad, all bikers are good.
That's a good point. A quick perusal of the street maps seems to show that there is not sufficient room to get to that speed. The bike was surely close to it's top speed and even though in a 1/4 mile, the bike could perhaps get up to 120 MPH, it takes a bit of time to build up the addtional 35-40MPH as reported (though a bit less distance to stop). The story sounds fishy (and not just because it occured in the proximity of a lake 
.
.Being from Chicago and driving/riding on LSD many times, I find it hard to beleve anyone could be clocked that fast and still be in one piece, there are just too many curves, cars, and rises - especialy north LSD, and it's a bit optimistic for a 600. He really does get what he deserves when there are 100's of flat, straight & lonely roads just
45 mins out of town.
45 mins out of town.
I've ridden on lsd before too and the highest i got was 4mph before the road melted.
Wow imagine 160..
actuualy i ride to daytona doing 160 plus the whole way wich makes a 3 hr trip a 1 1/2 hr one
but the funny part is when i get passed by another bike like i'm standing still.
Wow imagine 160..
actuualy i ride to daytona doing 160 plus the whole way wich makes a 3 hr trip a 1 1/2 hr one
but the funny part is when i get passed by another bike like i'm standing still.
It's hard to believe, but I do think it's quite possible he was doing 160.
There was a famous wreck here in SF when a brainless squid cranked up his 600 in front of his high school to show his buddies what it could do after he did some performance mods. On a city street going up hill, with only about a half mile run, he was doing well above 150 and accelerating when he hit an older couple who turned left in front of him. The estimated speed was calculated based on the damage done. Both he and the couple were instantly killed, with the bike impaling itself into the passenger compartment of their full-sized car (I think it was a Cadillac, actually) and flipping it over. He landed on the other side of the car, which then rolled over on top of him.
His parents actually had the audacity to sue the estate of the couple, claiming they were at fault. The accident investigators hired by both sides concluded he was taveling more than a block per second at that speed, in a residential area. They lost.
Things that make you go "hmmmmmm."
There was a famous wreck here in SF when a brainless squid cranked up his 600 in front of his high school to show his buddies what it could do after he did some performance mods. On a city street going up hill, with only about a half mile run, he was doing well above 150 and accelerating when he hit an older couple who turned left in front of him. The estimated speed was calculated based on the damage done. Both he and the couple were instantly killed, with the bike impaling itself into the passenger compartment of their full-sized car (I think it was a Cadillac, actually) and flipping it over. He landed on the other side of the car, which then rolled over on top of him.
His parents actually had the audacity to sue the estate of the couple, claiming they were at fault. The accident investigators hired by both sides concluded he was taveling more than a block per second at that speed, in a residential area. They lost.
Things that make you go "hmmmmmm."
No plates or insurance?
Has anybody put it together that this bike was possibly stolen?
Or... better yet...
The rider had just finished reading a link from MO that riders in England speed like crazy & get only a slap on the wrist because they take their license plates off (or however it goes).
Has anybody put it together that this bike was possibly stolen?
Or... better yet...
The rider had just finished reading a link from MO that riders in England speed like crazy & get only a slap on the wrist because they take their license plates off (or however it goes).
Equivalent to Funny Car
I read a report recently that a High Powered Sport Bike is equivalent to Pro-Drag Funny cars & dragsters... with respect to weight & power & torque, blah blah blah.
For example...
In order for a corvette to do what a Hayabusa will do, it would need 10,000 horsepower. (Top fuel dragsters can achieve this horsepower)
For $10,000, you can have the same thrill (not top speed) as a very lucky professional drag racer is able to achieve with the NHRA.
Any thoughts?
PS: Nobody can get to 160 on lakeshore! BUT, if you research radar guns... you will find that a brick wall can go about 90mph - given the right operator error
I read a report recently that a High Powered Sport Bike is equivalent to Pro-Drag Funny cars & dragsters... with respect to weight & power & torque, blah blah blah.
For example...
In order for a corvette to do what a Hayabusa will do, it would need 10,000 horsepower. (Top fuel dragsters can achieve this horsepower)
For $10,000, you can have the same thrill (not top speed) as a very lucky professional drag racer is able to achieve with the NHRA.
Any thoughts?
PS: Nobody can get to 160 on lakeshore! BUT, if you research radar guns... you will find that a brick wall can go about 90mph - given the right operator error
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Re: Equivalent to Funny Car
Do you mean, like.. equivalent power to weight
ratio's or what? Not sure I'm getting that one.
I'm probably missing something... did you
typo and mean to say 1,000hp??...
It hardly takes 10,000 HP to get a car to run
in the mid-9's in the 1/4 ( I think the 'busa
runs like 9.80's?? ).
A very typical Super Gas car (a car-class in NHRA
drag racing) will run low 9's, do 0-to-60mph
in about 1.5 to 2 seconds (in not much more
space than 60ft!), believe it or not.. all on a
naturally aspiriated motor making something
around 800hp.
Now then.. those cars only weigh 2300lbs, granted.
And they have big slicks, tube-chassis.. yadda..
but the point is that even if you added 1000 more
pounds, I don't think you'd need even 1000hp more
to keep it in the 9's... and very probably not
9,000hp more.
Do you mean, like.. equivalent power to weight
ratio's or what? Not sure I'm getting that one.
I'm probably missing something... did you
typo and mean to say 1,000hp??...
It hardly takes 10,000 HP to get a car to run
in the mid-9's in the 1/4 ( I think the 'busa
runs like 9.80's?? ).
A very typical Super Gas car (a car-class in NHRA
drag racing) will run low 9's, do 0-to-60mph
in about 1.5 to 2 seconds (in not much more
space than 60ft!), believe it or not.. all on a
naturally aspiriated motor making something
around 800hp.
Now then.. those cars only weigh 2300lbs, granted.
And they have big slicks, tube-chassis.. yadda..
but the point is that even if you added 1000 more
pounds, I don't think you'd need even 1000hp more
to keep it in the 9's... and very probably not
9,000hp more.
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230 Posts
...and a big thank you to the Honda dealership for telling the police department that the 600 is capable of 165.
If it were me, I would hope that my dealership would tell the police that the top speed of a CBR1100XX is "oh, 64, maybe 65 miles per hour. Maybe your radar gun needs a tune-up?""
If it were me, I would hope that my dealership would tell the police that the top speed of a CBR1100XX is "oh, 64, maybe 65 miles per hour. Maybe your radar gun needs a tune-up?""
Re: Equivalent to Funny Car
I think the confusion is that most people assume that power-to-weight ratio equals acceleration. It's certainly an important factor, but, once you start talking about dragstrip times on anything quicker than a family sedan, traction and other factors become more important.
In other words... yeah, you might need 10,000hp in your Corvette to give you the same peak-power-to-weight ratio as a Hayabusa (I didn't do the calcs, I'm just using the above examlpe), but that does not mean you'd need 10,000hp to make a Corvette run 9.8s in the 1/4 mile. Among the many other factors, the vastly increased traction available to an 800hp Corvette with drag slicks would more than make up for any deficit in peak-power-to-weight that it might have.
Also keep in mind that neither machine is going to be squirting out peak horsepower during the entire run, so comparing peak-power-to-weight ratios is pretty meaningless.
If you just sit there at full throttle spinning the rear tire(s) or flip the 'busa over backwards, even my grandma could beat you down the strip in her Buick.
I think the confusion is that most people assume that power-to-weight ratio equals acceleration. It's certainly an important factor, but, once you start talking about dragstrip times on anything quicker than a family sedan, traction and other factors become more important.
In other words... yeah, you might need 10,000hp in your Corvette to give you the same peak-power-to-weight ratio as a Hayabusa (I didn't do the calcs, I'm just using the above examlpe), but that does not mean you'd need 10,000hp to make a Corvette run 9.8s in the 1/4 mile. Among the many other factors, the vastly increased traction available to an 800hp Corvette with drag slicks would more than make up for any deficit in peak-power-to-weight that it might have.
Also keep in mind that neither machine is going to be squirting out peak horsepower during the entire run, so comparing peak-power-to-weight ratios is pretty meaningless.
If you just sit there at full throttle spinning the rear tire(s) or flip the 'busa over backwards, even my grandma could beat you down the strip in her Buick.
I am someone who recently moved from LA to Chicago (unfortunately).... The speed limit on Lake Shore Drive is 45mph, and 35mph in some places... Here in chicago 95% of the riders are squids.... Really squidly squids... Most people don't wear helmets here and ride like retards with no leathers or anything else... A lot of the bikes here are not in their original bodywork... If you think that california has bad riders who never ride on racetracks then come to illinois.
what's worse? a squid on a sportbike or one on a harley?
what's worse? a squid on a sportbike or one on a harley?
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53 Posts
As an electrical engineer in the Law Enforcement industry for the last 13 years. ( I do contract work for MPH Industries, Inc.) propably the leading manufacturer of radar guns in the world, (see them at www.mphindustries.com) ALL radars used in law enforcement are calibrated by a certified testing and calibration facility to the exact speed displayed. This is dictated by law. Also, as the approach or departure angle, (called slant range) increases, the speed displayed on the radar actually reads lower than the actual speed displayed on the radar. Each time an officer goes on shift, he has tuning forks with serial #'s on them, and he tests the radar to ensure that they read the speeds on the tuning forks and logs it.
If their is an error, the radar gun is not allowed to be used.
Also, as a Buell, VR1000, GSXR 750, and MG1100 sport owner, I think he should spend a little time waiting on the trains that run from Waukegan to Chicago and watch the others play and think about Darwin's theory and it's application in his case.
If their is an error, the radar gun is not allowed to be used.
Also, as a Buell, VR1000, GSXR 750, and MG1100 sport owner, I think he should spend a little time waiting on the trains that run from Waukegan to Chicago and watch the others play and think about Darwin's theory and it's application in his case.
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230 Posts
I'm sure that radar guns can be extremely accurate at measuring the relative velocity of the reflective items at which they are aimed. I bet you make a great product.
...but, the best calibrated, most accurate device in the world doesn't ensure correct measurements; the combination of the device and the operator does that.
Have you ever seen one of those unattended radar stations on the side of the road? They have a radar gun and a big display that shows "your speed is..."
Have you ever seen them swing wildly from 26 mph to 37 mph and back again, higgldy piggldy, when you're the only one on the road? I have. It's probably because the transmitter/receiver is pointed at the wrong thing. But a police officer could never point a radar gun at the wrong thing, could he?
But a motorcycle is only traveling at one speed, right? So you can just use the maximum reading, right?
Think about how a wheel works. If you are traveling at 10 mph, the part of your wheel that is in contact with the ground is moving at 0 mph (unless you are spinning the tires or skidding) that means the top of each wheel has to travel at 20 mph in order to get around the axle and make it back to the ground. So, the top half of each wheel on your vehicle (spokes, brake rotors, tire, rim, whatever) is traveling at a linear velocity that is anywhere between 1 and 2 times as fast as the bike is travelling as a whole.
So what part of the bike is being clocked by the radar gun? The operator controls that, not the equipment manufacturer.
...but, the best calibrated, most accurate device in the world doesn't ensure correct measurements; the combination of the device and the operator does that.
Have you ever seen one of those unattended radar stations on the side of the road? They have a radar gun and a big display that shows "your speed is..."
Have you ever seen them swing wildly from 26 mph to 37 mph and back again, higgldy piggldy, when you're the only one on the road? I have. It's probably because the transmitter/receiver is pointed at the wrong thing. But a police officer could never point a radar gun at the wrong thing, could he?
But a motorcycle is only traveling at one speed, right? So you can just use the maximum reading, right?
Think about how a wheel works. If you are traveling at 10 mph, the part of your wheel that is in contact with the ground is moving at 0 mph (unless you are spinning the tires or skidding) that means the top of each wheel has to travel at 20 mph in order to get around the axle and make it back to the ground. So, the top half of each wheel on your vehicle (spokes, brake rotors, tire, rim, whatever) is traveling at a linear velocity that is anywhere between 1 and 2 times as fast as the bike is travelling as a whole.
So what part of the bike is being clocked by the radar gun? The operator controls that, not the equipment manufacturer.
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