back to article YouTube biker clocked at 189mph

Gloucestershire Police are investigating a YouTube video which appears to show a Kawasaki ZX10R clocking up an impressive 189mph: According to the Sun, the "speed freak forces other drivers to change lanes as he heads in the direction of the A417 Swindon to Gloucester road", while his machine is "also seen weaving …

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  1. Anonymous John

    Does Youtube log the IP number of uploaders?

    I'd be surprised if they didn't.

  2. kferr

    the 189 is bogus

    That's just an artifact of the speedo and the frame rate. During the change from 139 to 140 the change from 3 to 4 looks like an 8, and the 9 persists.

  3. Chris Collins

    Devil's advocate

    Clear day, dry conditions, vehicle capable of the speed, driver doesn't actually do anything reckless other than exceed the limit. He only opens it up when it's clear and responds to traffic conditions well ahead. I didn't see him bully or harass anyone, apart from weaving through traffic at 50 at the end.

    Of course, it's never acceptable to exceed the speed limit. All the Germans on the autobahn are dead and maimed in the gutter, having spontaneously combusted at 84mph.

  4. Andy
    Thumb Up

    Looks ok to me.

    He seemed in control. Nice sunny day. Not as wreckless

    as some police and granny drivers I've seen. Wreckless

    is not knowing what to do at a junction, wreckless is not

    looking where you are going, wreckless is indicision, etc

    etc.

    I'd rather have a speeder next to me on the road who

    knows what to do than a woman, any day of the week.

    Truth is, you know exactly what a speeder wants to do,

    and it's to be that dot on the horizon. Predictable and safe.

    A woman, sheesh, she'll be thinking about shoes or something

    and swerve to hit you.

  5. Richard
    Pirate

    Title

    I can't help but wonder that his clutch is slipping once he goes past 140, as the acceleration on the speedo doesn't seem to match the rate at which the scenery is passing by. At least this one is in mph, unlike the Woodhead Pass video, which was in kph. That video was shown on some ITV programme recently, and the token traffic plod and that Edmund King bloke were both fooled by it, thinking it was a mph readout on the speedo.

    Skull and crossbones for obvious reasons. Had it been the Nurburgring, then fair dos.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    189mph ?

    He wasn't doing 189 at any point. The speedo was showing that briefly when the wheel was spinning but the top speed shown after it stopped was somewhere between 160 and 170. So, with a standard uncalibrated speedo, probably around 150-155mph. Nothing really :)

  7. Iain

    Since it's a Kawasaki...

    ...is this another instance of someone importing a bike, not bothering to switch it to mph mode, and then getting really excited as they do the slightly less impressive (but still obviously dangerous and illegal) 117mph?

  8. adnim

    fun?

    ".... this is a fun thing to do, which is not the case."

    Of course it's fun.

    Wreckless endangerment of other peoples lives - YES.

    Absolutely stupid - YES.

    Should rider be banned? - YES

    But to say riding a motorbike at 189mph is not fun is pure bullshit.

  9. Olaf Silver badge

    something funny?

    It drops 20mph when he changes gear. Is he spinning the back wheel up to 189 without actually going that fast?

  10. Alastair Dodd
    Stop

    at the idiot kerr (and Andy)

    "That's just an artifact of the speedo and the frame rate. During the change from 139 to 140 the change from 3 to 4 looks like an 8, and the 9 persists."

    and who gives a fig - the guy is still an complete idiot, dangerous to himself and others at that speed. I don't mind a little over the limit, thats okay but 190(140) is just MORONIC

  11. Olaf Silver badge
    Boffin

    Bah

    Says it on the YouTube site.

    "zx10r wheel spinning at 180mph roads had hardly any grip"

    He's speeding but not 189mph.

  12. Steve Ives
    Paris Hilton

    Nothing dangerous here...

    As a former biker myself, he appeared to be well aware of the traffic situations well inadvance and in control of his machine.

    The anti-speed brigade in this country need to start clamping down on dangerous driving, rather than touting speeding as the sole evil. After all, what's more dangerous - doing 80 on a motorway in a modern car in clear weather or doing 29 past a school at chucking-out time in rain & snow? Oh, silly me - must be the speeding.

    Steve Ives

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    Devil's advocate's devil's advocate

    Re : "it's never acceptable to exceed the speed limit"

    I think the phrase you're after is

    "it's never lawful to exceed the speed limit"

    which is why you shouldn't whinge when you get prosecuted for it.

  14. Steven Jones
    Stop

    Wreckless and reckless

    If Andy has the same lack of care and concern towards other road users as he exhibits in his grammar, and the content appears to indicate that this is so, then I hope he isn't driving or riding around this part of the world.

    The video is wreckless because he didn't crash and leave a wreck. But reckless it most certainly is.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Andy

    Wreckless is spelled R E C K L E S S reckless.

    It wasn't me!

    Nick - Swindon Kawasaki owner

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    @Andy

    Can I have your licence plate, so next time I'm thinking about shoes & makeup I know which boy-racer to run over in my Range Rover ;)

  17. John Stag

    Something bogus...

    Shenanigans.

    Bikes are fast, but not "100mph to 189mph in two seconds" fast.

  18. Paul A. Walker
    Stop

    what a fool

    Read about this stuff in MCN - the police are tracking them down, and possibly taking their bikes off them. Now I'm not in favour of our ridiculously tight speeding laws, but the fact is that idiots like this give the rest of us motorcyclists a bad name and just give more ammunition to the groups campaigning to restrict what vehicles can do.

  19. DS

    That bike will not do 189MPH

    This is the problem with people throwing out their opinion. There is no proof from the speedo, that can be tweaked. The bike itself, if the model is right won't even get close to the speed those claiming to complain about it wish to claim.

    There is no law on this (well there is, but its stupid) as if you wish to nail someone speeding, it should be by properly tested and calibrated equipment.

    That aside, I grew up on the IOM, I find the speeding culture (or rather the attacks on it) to be stupid. The government lies about speed, its primary action is to skim drivers for additional money. Most of its actions in terms of traffic calming or control make things worse. We lose 5,000 people a year, and there are 60 million every year taking trips care of the road. More people are being badly treated in the healthcare system than by drivers, but drivers face punitive stupidity every day.

    Now, all that being said, if you want to ride a bike, and take it way above the admittedly stupid speeding limits, go and do some track days where the environment is clearly better for Hi speed antics.

  20. Nick Pettefar

    I can't believe

    you are actually quoting from The Sun! Please shoot the messenger.

    Ignore the text, the only real content is on Page Three - forever capitalised.

    - Yesterday's blond, sideways on, now there's a speedbump!

    --

    Wiltshire ZZR11 owner

  21. Craig
    Thumb Up

    Looked quite safe to me

    No dangerous weaving, using the lanes as intended etc.

  22. Daniel
    Thumb Down

    yes but ...

    the guy IS a bloody fool, but ... people love DO to focus on speed, get all up in arms about it. "oooh, bad boy ..."

    but on ANY day on the road, you can go 5 miles up the motorway, and encounter numerous examples of the 7 deadly sins of motoring:

    - pulling out without indicating

    - bad lane discipline

    - aggressive driving

    - pulling out while indicating but into the path of another vehicle who is then forced to brake

    - driving with mobile phone clamped to head

    - leaving inadequate stopping distance (tailgating)

    (that's only 6, I'm sure someone will think of the 7th ...)

    and the chances of those people ever getting so much as a ticking off are close to zero. absolute bollocksing short sighted murderous hypocrisy.

    But let's all get up in arms about speeding, shall we. Cos that's dangerous, innit.

    fuckwits.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Fun!

    If people didn't take risks we'd still be sat in trees picking our noses.

    Death to the health and safety wimps who clearly have the wrong amount of testosterone in their bodies!

  24. Steve

    Re: at the idiot kerr (and Andy)

    Velocity itself does not make something dangerous, but the amount of control the driver has at that speed - if this guy was a seasoned motorcycle racer, he may have been completely safe or he could have been a 15yr old on a stolen bike. From the video he clearly seems to know how to handle the machine and was paying attention to the road - at the speed he was going, he was probably more aware of the other road users than they were of him as he would not have avoided crashing otherwise.

    Remember, speed doesn't kill - stopping does.

  25. Rich Harding
    Thumb Up

    What on earth are you on about?

    There isn't a single piece of remotely dangerous riding in the clip embedded on this page. Frankly, apart from a slight chuckle when he spun the back wheel, I was bored to tears by the entire thing. Judging by their comments, most of the posters on this page have never ridden a bike, would probably die of fright on the CBT if they did and are completely unqualified to comment.

  26. Ash
    IT Angle

    Ghost Rider

    THAT dude was dangerous. Wheelie past traffic doing about 90mph.

    Jesus did he have some skill, though.

  27. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Nothing fancy here...

    I ride a Honda CBR-XX 1100 and here in germany some of our "highways" don't have speed limit. From time to time I go 280 - 300kph (reading spedo).

    And I tell you that this is fun. But you have to keep more than one eyes way ahead on the street...

    And in that video the weather is fine and there no traffic ahead when opened up. So this guy just lives in the wrong country... ;)

  28. Gulfie
    Thumb Down

    Hmmm...

    Reckless (not wreckless, pulease...) is going so fast that you can't stop or avoid an obstruction in time - regardless of if that is 50mph over or 50mph under the limit.

    If somebody had decided to cross the road (there are foot crossing points, I use the road regularly), what notice would the pedestrian, or the biker, have had, at 140 let alone 190? How about a bull, or a horse, loose on the road. Any idea how many 100's of yards the stopping distance is at 140? How many seconds ahead the biker has to see the obstruction in order to stop without hitting it? No? Then stick to a speed where you know you can stop in time.

    I love speed but the only place to do this sort of speed is on a race track. Go to a test day, it is cheaper than getting caught and safer than using the 'open road' whatever that is, you don't get any points and the ambulance crew are already on site if you get it wrong...

  29. Rick Eastwood

    Signalling

    He drives at a ridiculous speed yes but apart from the speed he does ride well.

    He even signals correctly when he turns round. Most of the other throbbers you see going roundabouts dont signal or are even aware that anyone else might be on the road.

    I'm just jealous of Robert Neville. Now he could really stick his foot down safely :-)

  30. Tim Williams

    I've seen more dangerous at 20mph...

    I totally agree with Chris Collins. While he was going fast, he wasn't doing a ghost rider thing of weaving in and out between cars. He wasn't "forcing traffic out of the way". Yes traffic got out of the way, but I very much doubt that if they stayed in his lane that he would been able to do much about it. It's quite nice to see drivers that weren't hogging the outside lane for once.

  31. Hedley Phillips

    Plain lack of respect

    Obviously doesn't care if he hurts anyone else.

    Shows a basic lack of respect for others.

  32. Julian Bond
    Thumb Down

    KPH.

    Pah, that was all pretty tame. Seemed like he was taking it pretty easy and only doing bursts of speed when there was plenty of room.

    I'm fairly sure it's showing KPH as

    1) He wasn't passing cars and trucks at 100mph more than them.

    2) Even a ZX10 doesn't get the last 20mph as fast as that. It'll get to 150 amazingly quickly but 150 to 180-ish takes a while.

  33. Allan Hack-Barr
    Pirate

    @DS

    That bike could easily exceed 189mph - seems it has a turbocharged engine producing 450bhp, also a lengthened swingarm which explains why it seems to go round corners like a pig on stilts. Look at the chap's other videos.

  34. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Heck, my FJR 1300 does 165

    Of course, I have no idea how much the speedo is lying as I didn't have my GPS with me that day. I was very bored on the way from Orlando to Kennedy Space Center, and the road was empty and very straight. I passed only one car in 20 miles.

    I shall have to grab the GPS and take a day off, in the name of science and El Reg.

    However, it's a lot more fun to cane the tits off it round corners than in a boring straight line like that, no matter how fast. That's why I've also kept my SV-650.

  35. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh goody... yet another hysteric article in the Sun

    Come on. The Sun ALWAYS publishes hysterical outbursts. Hello, proof of that is the anti-hysterics hysteric outburst from Mr Jeremy I'm-Mr-Smarty-Pants Clarkson... only to be blatted by his own stupidity.

    Yes, the rider was being irresponsible by doing this on a fairly crowded road, but there's not a chance he was doing 189 mph. That's over max speed (as mandated by the manufacturer) for a bike of that calibre... It's max speed is 186mph.

    And the Sun has a problem with bikers anyway, although I sometimes want to shove my size 10 Alpinestars into someone's butt when they ride like complete plonkers (doing 100+ mph with sneakers and jeans on FFS).

  36. Curtis
    Paris Hilton

    whels spinning....

    the only way the wheel spinning would affect the speedo is if it's the front wheel. that's where the speedo gear is, not on the drive wheel. it's easy to fake a high speed on a video just by swapping the speedo gear for one meant for a bigger tire. as for his actual speed, why not count the time between unique checkpoints? that would give a far more accurate speed reading.

    and was there a strumpet on the back of said crotch rocket? evey bike needs a seatcover.

  37. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I call bullshit

    The acceleration to 189 seems to quick to be feasible. The rate at which the surroundings go past does not increase similarly. The bike itself is exceptionally unlikely to make 189.

    As another observation, he seems to be riding within both his ability and 'sensibly' for the road and weather conditions - if he really was the drooling nutter that some people will portray him as he would have gunned it it the roundabout at which he stopped.

    I showed this to a mate who immediately trotted out the old 'but speed is a factor in 2/3rds of all accidents' line.

    Unfortunately this is a misquote from a report which found that 'the misperception of other drivers' speed was a factor in 2/3rds of the accidents studied'.

    Big difference - one implies 'reduce all speed'. The other implies 'more driver education about speed perception'.

  38. Vulpes Vulpes

    Left me standing

    That's my Ford Focus he overtook on his way up through the gears.

    Bugger went past like I was standing still, and I was doing 125mph myself.

    Ooops.

    Er, no I wasn't. Not really. Honest, officer.

    Lid, leathers.

  39. Nigel Rook

    According to the Sun "We've been eating the mushrooms we found in the garden"

    According to the Sun, the "speed freak forces other drivers to change lanes as he heads in the direction of the A417 Swindon to Gloucester road", while his machine is "also seen weaving dangerously in and out of traffic on a single carriageway in an urban area".

    -------

    Sorry, where? I'm thinking the first quote relates to someone moving out of the fast lane having passed a slow moving vehicle, but that's not really being forced to change lanes by the rider. The second quote... i'm guessing it's referencing the single lane dual carriageway section at the end, though weaving seems like something of an exaggeration, his road position is fairly constant. "Filtering at what one might argue is a slightly excessive speed" seems more appropriate.

    Was he going too fast? probably. I know i'd have browned my pants at 190 and based on what I've done on my SV650, i'm pretty sure I'd be feeling too edgy to ride safely at 140 either (which happens to be its top speed), but then again, that's me with my awful eyesight and nervous disposition. On this occaision at least, this guy doesn't present a hazard to anyone, except maybe any jumped-up speed fascists who fly into a blind rage when he goes past them

  40. Ben Oldham
    Paris Hilton

    Go on...

    In a fair democracy, surely he should be allowed to kill himself however he likes. If his vehicle of choice is a 450BHP (His numbers...) bike with an extra long swing arm, then thats up to him.

    Bearing in mind the pic of the bike in a fairly undesirable area of Gloucester on another vid, can i presume he works at Fasthosts?

    /Leathers

  41. Andrew Poodle
    Thumb Up

    I've seen far worse at legal speeds

    Apart from the speed itself (which I would also dispute as being 189mph) That riding didn't appear particularly dangerous.

    If you look in the reflection of the speedometer, you can even see him do a lifesaver over his left shoulder on the roundabout. He was obviously well aware of the traffic, and slowed when he approached other vehicles. The point regarding pedestrians is also somewhat irrelevant, as even at 70mph, any driver or rider would be unable to stop shoud a ped-lemming decided to cross a busy dual carriageway without looking properly.

    People in this country need to stop blaming everything on speed, and look at driver education. I'm sure there are far more fatalities at legal speeds that are down to stupidity.

  42. Owen Carter
    Go

    Not as good as..

    If all the other bikers in the crowd want to watch a youtube video that will have them twitching, try searching for 'Paris Ring Road'. Total madness.

    It's the counter-example to this, huge speed in the wrong conditions..

  43. Gianni Straniero
    Pirate

    Redline

    You won't get many spares out of that engine by the time he's finished with it.

  44. Richard Hopwood
    Thumb Up

    Its great to see some sensible comments on speeding for a change

    first off, the ZX-10R is electronically restricted to 300KPH (about 186mph) although this can be lifted with a bit of electronic jiggery-pokery.

    Secondly, it's great to hear some sensible points of view on what constitutes dangerous driving, I'm with many people here in thinking that it was a clear day, clear road ahead, obviously well in control of his vehicle and probably more aware of what's going on around him than many other road users. The only danger would be to himself if there was a major mechanical fault which threw him off, although I don't know how much more dangerous that would be than if it were to happen at 70MPH. It's actually quite hard to hit something head on with a bike even at that kind of speed, they're only about 2 foot wide and quite manoeuvrable.

    ZX-9R Owner

  45. Matt

    Come on, get a grip.

    I agree, this guy was driving safely. I know it's hard for people to believe (well for those in the UK), but going above 70mph is not the work of the devil and you don't instantly die.

    Let me modify that a bit, his last dash around the cars at 50 was a bit dubious but not enough to cause a fuss.

    On the other hand I've seen the British police flash by me while I was doing 70 on a very busy stretch of motorway. Now that's dangerous.

  46. This post has been deleted by its author

  47. Rob

    Its modfied

    Will quite easily do 189mph

    As someone has already mentioned:"seems it has a turbocharged engine producing 450bhp, also a lengthened swingarm which explains why it seems to go round corners like a pig on stilts. Look at the chap's other videos."

    Looks more like the back wheel is spinning up and thats why it shows 189mph as it is read off the rear sprocket

  48. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Re - That bike will not do 189MPH

    Um, yes it will. The ZX10R is a complete animal of a bike, and the latest version has had a whole bunch of work done on the frame and suspension which makes the enormous power output of the engine a whole lot more useable.

    Remember, this is a current model bike (Fuel injected), and I've done 170-odd on a '96 Suzuki GSX-R (carburated) over in Germany on the way to Berlin. Big advances have been made in power output and fuel efficiency since then.

    I'm training for the IAM advanced riding qualification, and it does really piss me off to hear to kneejerk reactions people come out with in regard to mention of speed above the legal limit. Illegal it is, yes, but the aside from that the key factor is SAFETY.

    Above the legal limit does not necessarily mean unsafe. Think about the machine he's riding - its cutting edge technology, which can accelerate but also brake and change direction far better than most cars on the road. As another poster has already commented, the weak point in the equation is the meat sack in the saddle. Is he in control of the bike, reading the road far ahead, adjusting speed and course in anticipation of hazards ... or is he a dickhead just cracking open the gas regardless...?

    You don't know from a tiny low-res video clip, but some people are so quick to parrot the politically correct expression of outrage. Why then aren't you people spending your weekends standing on the bridges over the M1 waving 'slow down' signs at the 'idiots' driving at 120 if you are so outraged by this. No, its easier to not really think for yourself isn't it.

  49. Chris Taylor
    Paris Hilton

    Not that I have

    gone quite to these extremes.

    But generally going fast is fun, if your normal and not the owner of a hemp sandal factory. Naturally Brake are unhappy that this person has proved that speed doesn't kill. But as they will only be happy when we revert to the stone age then who cares.

    well done that person

    I have chosen paris as she too likes a fast ride

  50. Ex Pat
    Linux

    Linux is to blame

    Nah, he's actually doing about 35mph. The reason the speedo says 189 is that it is running Linux and there is a bug in the billion line bloated software app that measures the speed. The bug got introduced because the author also decided to make the program calculate how long it takes a cup of tea to brew and he miscalculated somewhere.

    Don't worry, I hear that my 12 year old neighbour is working on a patch that he will submit next week when he has finished his woodwork project. You'll be able to download the patch from www.nogirlfriend.com

  51. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Bah

    Another German chiming in here, it's funny to see Brits whine about the speeding all the time. Of course, speeding is dangerous, but only if you lack control of your vehicle or fall victim to other people's unpredictable behaviour. This driver exhibits great driving skills on a free road and decent behaviour when among other drivers – frankly I fail to see the problem. In fact this much better role model material than any dimwit changing lanes with improper speed or timing, speeding in bad weather, tailgating, crawling, yacking or texting on the phone, tending kids while driving... there are a lot of stupid things people do on the road. Opening up when nobody else is there is not among them.

  52. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wonder if radar guns work at that speed....

    No matter whether or not he could see far enough to avoid vehicles already in the road, no sane person joining the motorway is going to expect some crotch-rocket approaching their arse at a closure speed in excess of the motorway speed limit. *If* the guy had had an accident at those speeds (or a collision with another vehicle) it is entirely possible he would have killed not just himself but other, innocent parties too. While I daresay some peopel posting on this topic woudl applaud that, I'd simply say it's a waste of a nice bike :-)

    You can argue "he was in control" as much as you like but all it takes is for a splash of oil or a shower of grit / sand + an emergency to completely f*ck up that argument. At those speeds you're relying on divine intervention to keep you alive, not your own skills. That's a road, not a racetrack and the conditions there are never as nice, clean or predictable as they are on the circuit.

  53. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    @Andy, @Daniel, @Chris

    You guys are 100% right. This guy obeys all the important traffic rules, and stays in control. He is obviously observant, and aware of traffic way in front of him. The only law he breaks is speeding, which is the least relavent to safety than lane usage, attentive driving, etc. This guy is clearly capable of doing 140-155 (which is what it looks like to me, speedo be damned), and doing it safely, at least given the riding and conditions in that video.

    Low Speed != Safety! Safety is based on observing traffic, keeping distances, maintaining and out, and always paying attention. People drive far less safely @ 65mph.

  54. Liam O'Flaherty
    Alert

    Ooh, SOO reckless he went fast!

    What is it with all these buffoons who have never travelled above the national speed limit, thinking that we'll all die and take half the county with us at the same time?

    The rider in question here does nothing more than travel at a rather high speed and I would happily be his pillion passenger if he rides that well whilst travelling at/ under the rather ridiculous 70mph limit and would feel more comfortable travelling at over twice the national speed limit than at the national speed limit, or well below, than with either of my elderly parents with no reaction times!

    I see NO reason for not travelling close to the rated speed for a car's tires if the vehicle is well maintained, the driver observes the conditions and is familiar with the handling characteristics of said vehicle; the only reason speed is slated as the main cause of accidents is that it is the most easily blamed and measured factor involved in accidents and can also be a handy revenue generating tool.

    Are there any plans for our wonderful, forward thinking, noo labour government to put stupidity cameras up around the UK to catch idiots that want to drive into me at any given opportunity and extract money from them instead (as they can afford to pay fines seeing as they drive Porsche Cayennes)?

  55. Justin

    Still an SP30 but not 189mph ...

    What a muppet, the speedo is defo in KM/H not MP/H so he's only doing 117mph

  56. Adam Collett
    Go

    Speed Kills???

    I keep seeing these Speed Kills signs everywhere and I'm getting sick of it.

    If speed kills then everyone who EVER went in a jet plane would be dead.

    As a biker a hearty HEAR HEAR for those of you who know and have stated that speed is not the killer - idiots who don't know how to control their vehicle are.

    I see idiots in cars and idiots on bikes - they're all the same, and they are the ones to spoil it for everyone else.

    That said, as a biker, I have to also mention that for a small fee you can take your new monster on a track day and have immense fun blasting round a race track to your hearts content. The surface is better for it, there aren't going to be any trucks/lorrys/tractors/grannys or anything else in the way and you can film it using your latest webcam/phone or whatever. I don't have a problem with people going at speed, I agree that people who drive stupidly should be clamped down on rather than those speeding. But I do also think there is a time and a place and sometimes a main road/motorway isn't it.

  57. JasonW
    Paris Hilton

    @ Steve Ives

    >>After all, what's more dangerous - doing 80 on a motorway in a modern car in clear weather or doing 29 past a school at chucking-out time in rain & snow? Oh, silly me - must be the speeding

    Which offence is easier to get an automatic camera to flash pictures and send out NIPs?

    We need trained traffic police, not Kodak Box Brownies.

    (Paris because apparently she has nips too)

  58. Sir Runcible Spoon
    Thumb Up

    Stopping distance vs FUN

    "It's putting the message out that this is a fun thing to do, which is not the case"

    Firstly, whoever sid this can fuck-off- I don't like people telling what I will or will not enjoy.

    Second, I've done 140mph on a clear dual carriage-way and this guy was definitely doing more than that based on my experience of scenery blur and closing distances. My main issue with this little stunt is that if someone had overtaken ahead and occupied the lane in front of him he would have been hard pushed to stop in time unless he has seriously uprated brakes to go with that claimed 450bhp.

    I had a lorry pull out in front of me (about 1/4-1/2 mile ahead) and I went full on brakes (front and back) arms stuck out sitting bolt upright and I only matched speeds with him when I was about 20 feet short of his rear end. Speaking of rear-ends I needed a new pair of leathers afterwards :)

    irresponsible = yes, but it certainly looks FUN :D

  59. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    being serious for once

    Roadcraft actually states "speed does not kill, inappropriate speed kills".

    personally I believe the national speed limit should be abolished and the standard of driver education improved, if someone wants to do 189mph or 220 or 250 or whatever their vehicle is capable of, provided it is SAFE why shouldn't they?

    We should have limits like 30mph in town on main roads, 20 on sidestreets and de-restricted everywhere else. Then we can concentrate on avoiding idiots not watching for cameras.

  60. Dave
    Flame

    A title is required.

    whooo, good man! May not have been a real 189 but still, that's some smooth riding!

    Dangerous? Well I couldn't have done that safely.. or at all, but I didn't see him put a foot wrong.

  61. Adam Foxton

    "dangerous to himself and others at that speed. I"

    Dangerous to who exactly? The zero people on the road? He didn't even overtake that van at the start even though he probably could have fitted between it and the concrete, didn't whizz round the roundabout, and seemed 'dangerous' only when you were looking at the speedo and consciously considering it as 'dangerous'.

  62. 3x2

    Had to laugh

    at this the other day

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/7171154.stm

    especially the emergency that got her on the motorway to begin with...

    "I really didn't want to go on the motorway, but I desperately had to go to Staples for an ink cartridge," she said.

  63. Giles Jones Gold badge

    Re:Nothing dangerous here

    Nothing dangerous? what if you get mechanical failure? Not to mention our MOT inspections and car insurance rates are based on us doing 70MPH max.

    Anything mechanical has the potential to go wrong. If the bike fails and you fall off the bike could end up in the middle of the road. A car driver or HGV driver would have to swerve to avoid it or the debris would cause a blow out. The result would be very dangerous.

  64. Martin Richards

    Wreckless?

    Wreckless it was. The reckless bit was probably posting the video, in case he gets caught!

    I've just got back from 140 mile round trip, mostly M3 and A34, and as ever saw consistently far worse driving than anything on that video (why do they bother to build lane 1 when so many people seem determined to drive in lane 2 all the time?!) Even the bit on the single carriageway didn't look too horrific - he was hardly blasting by the cars, and they don't come in for any criticism

  65. JasonW
    Coat

    Hang on

    isn't the LCD the rev counter? The speedo looks to be a needle around the edge of the dial.

  66. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    limp wristed daisy pickers

    so what if he WAS doing 189? He seems to have been in control, not shooting past any traffic in a way that was dangerous.

    It just seems that there are loads of groups out there who want to stop us having fun. Speed IS enjoyable, toy guns are fun, paintball rocks and competitive sports are actually useful in school and the only people who dont agree with it are crazy feminists who want do immasculate every man and make us hug and cry or men who are too limp wristed to try driving at 150+.

    Best drive I ever had was doing 120+ in the countryside up north in total blackness at 2 am trying to find a hotel. but on the flip side I never do more than 20 past a school.

  67. This post has been deleted by its author

  68. geoff
    Pirate

    crash and burn

    im hoping his next trip ends with him riding headlong into a brick wall so making the roads that little bit safer for the rest of us.

    of couse i wouldnt wish the wall to get hurt but they can be repaired.

    may sound a bit harsh but i have little tolerance for bad drivers after being given a disabilty for life because some dumb arse idot of a driver was more worried about getting home 30 seconds quicker than respecting other road users.

    so all you speeders out their i hope you crash and burn or at least lose your licence,vehicle and job.

  69. Anonymous Coward
    Alert

    Lets see how good a rider he is

    If I slam on in front of him to not hit the child that just ran out in front of me. There is no excuse for this at all, it doesn't cost that much to go to a track. Anybody who rides/drives like this on public roads or thinks it as acceptable to do so has an appropriate title - TWAT

  70. Chris Taylor

    @ Giles Jones

    Are yes, because *loads* of Japanese Superbikes suffering from catastrophic mechanical failure. yep regular occurence, sheet no point even buying the damm things they way they constantly breakdown.

    Of course in a bizarre paranoid, lets never get of out bed just in case universe you are right.

    A tin tack in the middle of the road could have killed him easily. Just like all those german bikers that are dying every day through just this kind of accident

    In fact as a mark of respect to your prescient post. This idiot, going at well over 70 might have found that motorway maintence left the manhole cover off after routine inspection, so this bloke hits the hole, comes of his bike and dies, the hgv carrying a secret hydrogen bomb on its way to the raf base, runs over his crumpled bike, the bomb explodes destroying wiltshire and the americans think that russia have started something so launch all ICBMs and in fact it IS THE END OF THE WORLD

    Sheesh - hope someone gets that on youtube

  71. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Safer than the "speed kills" brigade would have us believe, I think

    OK, that sort of speed on a public road is lunacy, mainly because you're sharing the road with inattentive idiots who might change lane without bothering to look first, but other than the bit at the end where he's passing traffic, there was nothing I would call overly aggressive or bullying, the whole thing was rather dull in it's lack of "OMG danger!" moments, actually. Even that passing wasn't exactly toe-curling stuff. Given the choice I'd rather be passed like that by a crotch-rocket jockey than tailgated for 10 miles by some knuckle-dragger in a white Transit van.

    As many others have pointed out, this is a rider who is clearly in full control of the bike (which is itself engineered for speed), is checking his mirrors on lane changes (watch his reflection in the speedo glass), is not tailgating or doing anything stupid other than the extreme speed and the conditions are dry and clear.

    Frankly, I'd feel safer with this guy on the same stretch of road than I do sharing it with the inbreeds who fill the roads around here, who drive without any clue about their surroundings, pay no heed to road conditions, fail to maintain a steady speed, drive indecisively (like stopping at the top of the freeway on-ramp then trying to merge into 55mph traffic from a standing start), stray into oncoming traffic and in all likelihood are chatting on their cellphone while smoking and drinking their morning cup-o-joe. They're the meatheads responsible for most of the carnage on the roads, half of them drive *below* the speed limit, but "excessive" speed is so much easier for lazy authorities to prosecute, isn't it?

  72. Frank Bough
    Stop

    70mph Speed Limit, Why?

    Why is someone a lunatic for riding at 180mph in the UK and yet not so in Germany? I'm not suggesting that we all try and drive/ride as fast as possible, but what is WRONG with speed? If you were allowed to drive at 140mph on (suitable) UK roads instead of 70mph, the obvious point that everyone seems to forget is you could get places in half the time. Time is a valuable commodity, why is speed such an unthinkable aspiration in our culture? Going quickly at the appropriate time is not in the least bit anti-social.

    Of course, we all (should) know that the 70mph is arbitrary and was introduced during the fuel crisis.

    Personally, I'd favour a proper, variable limit on motorways, set according to prevailing conditions with a much higher upper limit than 70.

  73. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    RE - Stopping distance vs FUN

    "he would have been hard pushed to stop in time unless he has seriously uprated brakes to go with that claimed 450bhp"

    http://www.kawasaki.co.uk/zx-10r/default.asp?Sub=6549116

    138.3 kW converts to 185.46 raw horsepower, which suffers loss through the transmission and drivetrain. (http://www.statman.info/conversions/power.html)

    I think you'll find thats 160-170BHP. You only over 200 or so on drag bikes fitted with Nitrous injection ... and they've got super-long swingarms to keep them on the floor during acceleration!

    That and this particular bike weighs almost nothing, and is fitted stomping big opposed 4-pot brake callipers and 310 mil discs on the front end along with the upside-down forks. Oh and don't forget tyres so sticky they might have been manufactured by Araldyte (They look like the new Bridgestones to me).

    You can scrub off speed pretty damn quick with kit like that.

  74. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Giles

    LOL! If you really think the MOT covers the *true* mechanical state of your car, you are sadly misinformed. It's a few tick boxes to make sure your brakes "work" (performance brakes will out perform any MOT requirement by a huge margin), your lights are adjusted, your wheels aren't about to fall off and that your exhaust emissions meet some arbitrary green criteria dreamt up by some goverment numpty.

    Anyway, I think you'll find that mechanical failures can potentially happen at any time and speed and doing 70mph and no more will not preclude you from ending up in the middle of the road on your arse about to be collected by an HGV...

    Stop bleating "what if, what if", it's rather sad... "What if" your head fell off? Very little, I would guess...

  75. Jason Harvey
    Stop

    Yes, the sudden stop kills... at 120mph in Tulsa

    I can't find the original link, but snopes has some pics from the email that got sent around. don't click on the link unless you REALLY want to see it. There's no blood and guts shots, but it's still pretty bad looking. The guy on the motorcycle was doing about 120mph and went head first into a semi trailer (lorry). Speed doesn't kill... it's the sudden deceleration... but saving the excessive speed for a race track or drag strip is much safer. You don't need to put others at risk to get your speed kicks.

    http://www.snopes.com/photos/accident/tulsacrash.asp (with pics)

    http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070418_1_A10_hAPer17382 (news article without pics)

  76. Dave

    Owners

    From what I can tell its was built by bigccracing.com

    Larger pic http://www.bigccracing.com/UserFiles/Image/Copy%20of%20DSC00828.jpg

    and original

    http://www.bigccracing.com/shop/category.asp?idCategory=63

    he's a brave (or is it stupid) bloke, that section of the A417 is a speed gun hot spot, I've been zapped on that small section of road!

  77. Brutus
    Go

    @Frank Bough

    It's 'lunacy' mainly because we have this arbitrary 70mph limit. This means that almost everyone is conditioned to expect traffic to move at around that speed.

    So if they even bother to look in the rear-view mirror before pulling out, they don't really take note of the relative speeds, they just assume that as the other vehicle is behind them then it's safe to pull out.

    Now, as someone who finds it hard to travel at less than 100mph on the motorway, I do pay attention to relative speeds (and also have developed that 'sixth-sense' about which pillock in front of me is about to pull into my lane without looking).

    That being said, I think I would have difficulty grasping the idea that the guy behind is coming up on me almost as fast as I'm coming up on the scenery ahead!

    In the end, it's not speed that causes accidents, it's inappropriate speed and other people.

  78. Sam

    My 2P

    As an ex-biker...other than the fact he broke the speed limit (when IMHO it was safe to do so), his anticipation, consideration, and control when in traffic were better than a lot of 4 wheel wankers I've seen, and a few fellow bikers.

    They could use that as an instruction video, it was exemplary.

    If you've never ridden a bike, your replies to this post are meaningless, so please fuck off at the sound of the tone.

    Beep.

  79. Mike Moyle
    Coat

    A couple of thoughts...

    By Andy: "He seemed in control. Nice sunny day. Not as wreckless as some police and granny drivers I've seen. Wreckless is not knowing what to do at a junction, wreckless is not looking where you are going, wreckless is indicision, etc etc."

    By Olaf: "Says it on the YouTube site.

    'zx10r wheel spinning at 180mph roads had hardly any grip'"

    IMO, reckless is noticing that your wheels have no grip on the road and NOT immediately backing off of the throttle. But maybe that's just me.

    By Tim Spence: "(...) Lets be real, he almost definitely is speeding - we all know that - but I thought the law was "beyond any reasonable doubt", as in, any evidence submitted has to be checked as being 100% fact. (...)

    Prosecuting does one of two things:

    A - Confirms that he was as far above the speed limit as he says he was, and he gets a pedestrian's license for being such a fuckwit as to post a video of himself breaking the law, or;

    B - Confirms that his speed was nowhere near where he said it was and he gets laughed off of YouTube for life.

    Sounds like a win/win to me!

  80. Ross

    Stuff

    Determining the speed of a dot like object in a rear view mirror is extremely hard. If you're doing 80MPH yourself and the law says you're already risking a speeding ticket then you can't be expected to think that the dot behind you has a closing speed of 100MPH+.

    Speed is fine as long as everyone is on the same page. The problems arise when one idiot thinks the rules don't apply to them, whether that be a boy racer pushing two ton or an old biddy doing 25mph on the M6. Either way things can get real messy.

    I agree that many roads could have their limits raised to 80-90MPH no problem. Cars and especially bikes have far superior braking capability than they used to. Until then tho ppl need to realise that not everyone else on the road has 20" discs and ABS and 20 years experience, and if you want to speed way over the legal limit (i.e. what everyone else is doing, give or take) then make sure your family know what colour box you wanna be buried in. *Especially* if you're doing it naked (on a bike) - kevlar stops bullets, it's not so good versus trucks.

  81. Anonymous Coward
    Heart

    Speed brings out the idiots

    the 189 is bogus / It's real

    Title / The back wheel is slipping

    Since it's a Kawasaki... / It's in mph

    something funny? / He is spinning the back wheel and going that fast

    189mph ? / Not hard on that bike at all

    That bike will not do 189MPH / It has 450bhp

    Oh goody... yet another hysteric article in the Sun /nope

    I call bullshit / It has 450bhp

    Still an SP30 but not 189mph ... / easy for that bike

  82. Rich Harding
    Happy

    Observation

    @Dave: "he's a brave (or is it stupid) bloke, that section of the A417 is a speed gun hot spot, I've been zapped on that small section of road!"

    Agreed - and not having a dig at you but go back and watch it again; as many others have pointed out, this guy is quite clued up - lifesaver on the roundabout, respectfully waiting for others in front to move in in good time etc.; when he comes off the first roundabout, watch him momentarily hold his speed just over seventy until he can see the bridges :)

  83. Ian Dedic

    UK vs. Germany

    I've driven at 150mph in Germany in perfect safety on a lightly trafficked 3-lane autobahn (little/no traffic in middle lane), but it wouldn't have been safe in a 2-lane one with traffic -- you can't safely overtake cars in the next lane with a speed difference of >100kph, if they pull out without looking you're dead even if you have the reactions of a racing driver.

    But you have to get used to driving there -- if you look in the mirror before pulling out and see the nearest car is 1/4 mile behind and think that's OK, a few seconds later it's right up your arse with headlights on full beam and smoke pouring off the tyres.

    However, given the number of dozy buggers on UK motorways who don't seem to know what that reflective thing attached to their windscreen is for, I wouldn't feel safe doing similar speeds here unless the road was almost empty.

    For those who keep saying "but going that fast is inherently dangerous" -- rubbish, millions of Germans do it every day without their cars exploding. And one reason it's safe is that they do it every day, so their reactions and attitude (and those of others on the road) are used to fast driving.

  84. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Here we go again..

    Every time there is a story on speeding the 'we should drive as fast as we can' brigade start to whine about how unfair speed limits are and the rest try to convince the unconvincible why they are wrong.

    Look, it is simply impossible to impose a 'fair' speed limit on any public road because the safe speed for any specific driver on that road at any specific time depends on a huge number of ever-changing factors. Someone's always going to think they should be going faster.

    Yes, if, like me, you like to drive fast it sucks sitting on an empty motorway knowing you could be doing 100+ and probably be safe but that frustration should be tempered by the knowledge that if the speed limit *was* 100 there will always some twat who wants to do 110, in the fog, during rush-hour, while videoing it on their phone for youtube.

    So, variable speed limits sound like the solution but they are not because they will still have to be set in that area between the capabilities of the best and worst drivers in the existing conditions so there will still be 'too many' accidents and there will still be people who want to go faster.

    Sure, if we quintupled the tax on petrol it may just pay for enough traffic police to implement a no-limits scheme where you only get busted for driving in an unsafe manner or at inappropriate speeds for the conditions but that's not going to happen because the court-time taken to argue what is appropriate in specific conditions would cripple the legal system unless a 'whatever the copper says goes' approach was taken.

    It's just too hard to police something as subjective as 'safe speed' so we're stuck with one-size-fits-all speed limits until the centrally controlled, self-driving car becomes ubiquitous.

    How to learn to live with it..

    If you think the accident rate is too high the best way to help is to learn to be a better driver and to encourage others to do the same. Or take the bus.

    If you think 140mph is an acceptable speed for a public road the best thing to do is book a track-day to get it out your system THEN learn to be a better driver so you'll know why it's not. And get a donor card.

  85. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Think bike

    Think Bike. That's what the signs and the adverts on the telly say. I think I'll not think bike. Thanks.

  86. Peter Norris
    Paris Hilton

    Too good to be true

    That bike so so well ridden that my guess is it was a trained Police Motorcyclist.

    He always had a safety zone around him, he was very aware of his surroundings, he didn't harass other users and a key one for me, he showed the ability to rapidly change speed both up and down as circumstances needed it or allowed.

    Of course you cannot condone such skill and speed no matter how much fun it is...

    (Paris Hilton logo 'cos I like her)

  87. This post has been deleted by its author

  88. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    He should have stuck to 159mph...

    ...plonked a tit on his head and claimed he was familiarising himself with his vehicle.

  89. Anonymous Coward
    Go

    @all

    Though the video now has disappeared from youtube, I think this is the same bike as in zx10 450 hp guy. No way that a bog flav zx10 have this sort of performance. He has wheelspin in 100mph +. That other video shows a drag race modified, slick race rubber, extended wheelbase, turbo charged zx10 that surely is capable of such performance.

    As to the driving; Nothing dangerous to rant about, chose his speedrun to no traffic and a dry, sunny, well lit day. And wind is no factor whatsoever in that speed, ppl thinking that, is just wrong and have NEVER ridden a motorbike.

    I have the rule of never going below the speed limit; keeping just above keep all other motorists happy and as a result no dangerous passing occur. I have some rules though, I always stop for red lights, always stop for pedestrians in Xings and ALWAYS go slow nearby schools or where children are present.

    That said, have a powerful car and bike, and lost my driving license several times, and more speed tickets than I like to count, I have NEVER EVER hit someone or been in an accident..

    Be safe, drive smart ppl..

  90. Martin Usher

    My 2c

    That Kawasaki is fast, but not 189mph fast. But it really doesn't matter -- 100, 120, 140, 160mph, all a bit quick for a normal road, no matter what the conditions or time of day. You just have to watch video from the TT races to realize how narrow a road gets at 100+, there's no room to maneuver and no time to react. At least the racers know the course and didn't have to deal with normal traffic.

    Everyone thinks the Woodhead video was metric. Possibly. I think not. The giveaway is how the bike reacts to subtle curves in the road. That video ended too soon -- just as it was ending he was approaching a tightening downhill right hander with the (wet) road narrowing and with a vehicle in the way -- and I reckon he was doing 120-130 at the time. The next few seconds would have been interesting.

  91. Nexox Enigma

    Germany, etc

    From what I've heard high speeds are safer in Germany because they actually care about driver education. I haven't driven in the UK, but from the sound of it the drive education is about as serious as in the US. As long as you can remember to check your wing mirrors, signal, and stop 36 feet behind the car in front of you at lights, you get a license. Then everyone immediately forgets all the stuff that was in the little manual and starts becoming a hazard.

    In my recent cars (07 and 08 GTIs) doing 100-110 MPH (on my GPS, the speedo is off by as much as 12-15 MPH at those speeds) is trivial, even with some of the potholes that show up on freeways from time to time. When the weather is clear and there is no traffic on a road that I know well, while I pay attention to the road with my full concentration, I imagine that I'm pretty safe. But of course I'd lose my license if I got caught, whereas the new driver that totals 3 cars within 6 months of getting her license (Might have been 4, I try to forget high school) just keeps getting more cars. I think that if you manage to roll your SUV by hitting a fire hydrant in reverse while putting on makeup, then maybe something is wrong with letting you on the highway.

    And to all those that claim people just try to save 30 seconds on a trip - I've cut a 4 hour drive down to 2.5 on a regular basis by choosing to drive when there is no traffic and maintaining a high average speed. I tend to think that being safe in my home for 90 minutes instead of on the road probably offsets the slightly added risk that speeding offers.

  92. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Bikes are gay...

    Guys impressing guys. Assless leather chaps. Need I say more...?

    There are a number of mechanical devices which increase sexual arousal, particularly in women. Chief among these is the Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible. - P. J. O'Rourke

  93. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Vid pulled

    D'oh! They have removed the vid! I can't bloody think why YouTube should care.

    I agree that the real killers on the road are the twats with zero situational awareness, no lane discipline, an inability to flick an indicator switch, drinking coffee & most especially tailgating.

    Whenever I'm on the motorway I always end up wanting to be a rozza (and that really hurts me deep inside) - I'd never travel more than a few feet without having to arrest another middle lane hog or tailgater.

    I can think of a speed that kills - a rigid 70 mph in the fast lane, there was a guy who used to drive around the M60 religiously sticking to 70 in the fast lane, I'm pretty sure he's dead now, but probably not by accident.

    My pet hate though is all the arseholes who can't maintain a steady pace without have to step on the brakes every 5 fecking seconds!!! I've never taken a car test, but don't they teach people that engines slow you down when you don't apply the throttle??

    However it's not the speed that's fun for me, it's trying to keep your arms in their sockets once you hit 9k revs.

    20 years all weather biker

    GSXR-1000

    (anonymous because I said I want to be a rozza)

  94. Sam

    @Tim Spence

    If you actually read my observations, they were all about the riding style and the riders consideration, anticipation, skill, and care....

    Beep.

  95. Bruce Leyden
    Stop

    To every commenter here who sees motorists as a persecuted group:

    Get real.

  96. Rich
    Coat

    @anon-1

    You wouldn't be allowed to bust people for "middle lane hogging or tailgating".

    Too hard. Unless you managed to video them doing it, it'd be your word against theirs, possible court appearance, questions as to whether you what angle you were looking at them at, how far away, etc.

    Much easier to press a button and get a photo of somebody doing 95.

  97. golverd
    Linux

    Cool speeding!

    Police has nothing else than the video. I'd claim I editted it. Prove me wrong.

    Police should only rely on their own cam crap, laser guns and whatever stuff they have. In court this should not hold up for long - oh! I forget Uk uses a civilian jury! -

    I just hope he does not use small/slow roads for this.... highways are for fun.

    If the bike would run windos vista, it would have stated '38,344 days, 10 hours and 2 seconds ETA'. Clearly, the bike runs linux and shows accurate speed reports.

    Now I remember why I refuse myself a 2 wheeler license: I simply couldnt help using all the horse power available.....

  98. Tyler
    Thumb Up

    ZX636 here

    I regularly had my bike pegged at 174mph (actual speed more like 160mph or so with the crap calibration most bikes have) and never once endangered anyone but myself. Like others have said, it's all about the rider. If the rider knows what he/she's doing bikes are the safest thing on the road. Nothing has the handling and response time of a bike.

  99. Charles Manning
    Thumb Down

    Ross: spot on

    As Ross says, the speed itself is not so much a problem as is mixing verry high speed and legal speed traffic on the same roads. If you're doing 70mph and see a reasonable gap you're OK to pull out if they're doing up to, say, 100mph (30mph difference) but not if they're doing 185 (115mph difference) and are at the limits of their traction. It is close to impossible to tell the difference when looking at the mirror.

    Safe driving is not just about how you drive, but alsomaking allowances for other people having a bad-hair moments and those 70yo biddies that change lanes for no reason, mums getting distracted by juice-spilling infants etc. When you're driving to **your** limits, or your vehicle's limits you're not making allowances for other people to screw up. That makes the situation potentially unsafe. While someone else might have actually caused the situation, you should still be driving so as to be able to recover.

    If you really want to play with speed, then go to a race track or autobahn... somewhere where people are expecting high speeds.

  100. Anonymous Coward
    Alert

    Some of you need to move to Germany..

    .. or at least nearby. That way you learn what APPROPRIATE speed means. I frequently drive through Germany, and there really is no extra risk driving at speed IF you use your brain. I've done a good 260 km/h on parts of that stretch (when I felt like blowing petrol at 5x the normal rate) but it simply depends on circumstances. Weather, vision, type and volume of cars on the road and even then you will ALWAYS ensure you can throw out the anchor or move aside when someone screws up (we're all human). This means generally that you'll be going a lot slower, usually between 160 and 220 km/h (and I rather cruise at a sedate 130 km/h if visibility is bad than risk my life :-).

    In addition, gaining speed is never a problem - losing it is. It's a bit like skiing, there will always be people that think they can go faster then what you tell them to do - they're the ones causing accidents because they will only realise they have no control when they need to stop. German drivers are generally quite disciplined except when it comes to roadworks (they don't quite slow down as much as the signs say).

    Oh, BTW, UK Gravesend to Folkestone is an excellent stretch to get a regular (1.8 20v) A4 up to 143mph. It's downhill, and the spoiler will be the rev limiter which you'll hit in 5th. That is, of course, theory. I obviously have made that one up while I still lived in the UK, as well as the fact that I blew the exhaust sensor on that trip and temporarily ended up with the fuel consumption of both Prescotts Jaguars at once..

    Now, one last question: how the hell can this driver ever be prosecuted? It's an uncalibrated video with at best suspect metrics (sorry, Imperials :-), there were no witnesses unless someone comes forward (hey, Crimewatch appearance?) and even that will be a stretch because nobody will be able to offer an objective judgement of speed and quality of driving.

    Sure it's a stupid thing to post without a gazillion do gooder messages attached, but unless they catch you doing it I think they should not be trying to do it retrospectively. Instead they could try and get some ^%$ lane discipline back, would also do miracles for traffic flow.

    But that would mean *work*, and would be *useful* - not gonna happen..

  101. This post has been deleted by its author

  102. heystoopid
    Joke

    alas

    Alas by popular demand the video in question has been given the flick pass !

    Ah given the power of modern computers and latest generation laptops together with the ease of a bit of film tricks it is extremely easy to merge and edit various sections frame by frame and modify the frame rate and as it is very low resolution many editing errors will not be easily resolved anyway ! Also electronic trickery is available to modify the timing pulses to the speedometer and is child's play to fit same

    As PT Barnum was reputed to have said "A sucker is born every minute"

    The moment he claimed the engine horse power was such and such the fix was in !

    Unless proven otherwise it screams "Fake" to me !

  103. Paul Murray
    IT Angle

    Credibility

    "It's putting the message out that this is a fun thing to do, which is not the case"

    For heaven's sake. If you are going to preach, you mustn't blow your credibility by telling obvious lies. Of course it's fun! Reckless speeding is fun. Train surfing is fun. Unprotected sex is fun, too. We refrain from these things in spite of that.

  104. Kathryn Hopwood
    Happy

    Ever met or talked to a biker??? I wonder..

    I'm a Biker (and a biker chick too) and I have absolutly no problem with this guy being on ours roads. I have a powerful motorbike, sometimes I drive fast, sometimes slow, all depends on the conditions - and that is what defines a driver's ability, being able to distinguise the different road conditions.

    For those who think this bike can't do that speed - Oh yes it can :-)

    For those who think mechanical issues need great consideration - you've not met a biker then, never seen how anal they are about the condition of their pride and joy....

    For those that think bikers have no consideration - you don't know any bikers either then, all bikers know someone who's been hurt or worse in an accident, 9 times out of 10 caused by a 4 wheeled driver! And most have fallen off at some point, and we all know it can really hurt at any speed!

    In my years of driving the worst drivers I have seen are the nervous people who get scared and panic on the roads, those using phones and satnav as if the world waits for you to finish typing...

    And all those people ranting about speed, I wonder how many of you smoke and throw fag ends out of your car window, never thinking about where those burning embers land... Thats not fun, hitting you in the face at any speed!

    p.s

    @ "bikers are gay" comment - Some are of course, but some definatly arn't ;-)

  105. J
    Paris Hilton

    Re: Wonder if radar guns work at that speed....

    Well said, you and some other guys. And nothing like an article on either:

    -speed

    -global warming

    -high-def

    to get past a 100 comments in no time. So here goes my contribution.

    Yeah, yeah, all you macho super drivers/riders are great, I'm sure you're completely objective and realistic about your skills. I'd love the speed limit to be higher too. Problem is the world is full of:

    - bad roads

    - bad, BAD drivers

    - loose animals

    - people's expectations (as said above, you don't expect someone to catch up to you from half a mile in 15 s -- which is what would happen at 120 mph)

    - fallen objects (how many damn pieces of tailpipe or other blocks of unidentified mechanics have I swerved around, I lost the count)

    - sudden mechanical failures of the crappy 1980's pieces of junk ahead of you

    - ever seen how those big lorry tyres (trying to speak Brit now) disintegrate and fly all over the place sometimes, leaving quite a few dangerous pieces behind?

    - all kinds of unpredictable crap -- gravel, puddle of oil, who knows. I've had my scares more than once on my bike, even going only slightly above speed limits (cough cough).

    Ever heard of tunnel vision?

    Ten, twenty or so mph above the limit is nothing to get worked up about, obviously. And yeah, crazy speeds can be fun sometimes, but it is just plain stupid out there in the real world. Go get in a track, or does that defeat the purpose of looking macho to your chav mates?

    Damn, they banned the account of that video at least several hours ago. But that "Paris ring road" one sure was pure stupidity, there's no way anybody could defend THAT one.

    Paris, because of the "Paris ring road" AND because she must be the only one who can't understand the concept that the real world roads out there are not to be mistaken for race tracks (or a place for drunk drivers).

  106. Amanda
    Paris Hilton

    Why would you WANT to drive that fast in Britain?

    Or much anywhere else, for that matter? 100-110 mph feels great on a well-maintained stretch of German autobahn in a Swedish mommymobile, but I don't really like driving over 80 back in Texas or much of the East Coast, where normal highway conditions would often be marked with "Strassenschaden" (road damage) signs in Germany.

    Remember, speedy Brits: Americans can rent right-hand drive cars with UK plates :) Only thing saving you is that it's just entirely too expensive for most of us to drive there.

    (Paris for my fellow right-side-of-the-road drivers visiting your fair country and getting very confused at motorway entrances and roundabouts)

  107. Mat

    re: I wonder if radar guns work at that speed

    Surely most 'talivans' utilise cameras that photograph the front of the vehicle..

    Could someone please tell me where the numberplate (Licence plate for the septics) is on a bike?

  108. Rich

    Re: Andy

    Reckless also has no "W" in it. Wreckless would be an area of sea without a sunken ship.

    With regards to the biker, everyone knows that going over the speed limit instantly kills several children in a 3 mile radius, he should be executed.

  109. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Speed doesn't kill?

    People on here keep saying that its not the speed but the amount of control or skill the driver has, but thats the point you idiots. At such high speeds you can have all the skill in the world but you won't be able to stop your hundred and whatever mph bike when something unexpected happens in front of you. High speeds are dangerous because you CANNOT have control at those speeds.

    Nontheless I see more danger everyday on the M25 from people try to overtake in the smallest of spaces well within the legal limit.

  110. Johnny FireBlade

    189mph?

    "Um, yes it will. The ZX10R is a complete animal of a bike, and the latest version has had a whole bunch of work done on the frame and suspension which makes the enormous power output of the engine a whole lot more useable."

    Dude, the 'busa barely tops 200mph and that's 1300cc (even the latest ZZR1400 just about manages it). The ZX10 may reach an *indicated* 189mph, but the chances of that being genuine are pretty remote, I'd suggest. The 2008 ZX10 is 998cc and may be DOHC, 16v, but it's unlikely that it would hit 189mph in reality. Don't forget that speedos over read out of the factory anyway. No doubt the guy was well into triple figures, but as for how high, I reckon 160-170mph is probable.

  111. Ian Dedic

    Fast bikes on the road (and cars)

    I wouldn't personally want to do that kind of speed on a public road on a bike where so many things can go wrong -- even in a car with crumple zones seatbelts and airbags, if you hit someone who pulls out without looking at 150mph you won't be a happy bunny.

    Any bikers who want to ride like this, just remember what a paramedic friend told me they call high-speed bikers...

    Donors.

    Ian

  112. Neil
    Linux

    @ Daniel

    "but on ANY day on the road, you can go 5 miles up the motorway, and encounter numerous examples of the 7 deadly sins of motoring:

    - pulling out without indicating

    - bad lane discipline

    - aggressive driving

    - pulling out while indicating but into the path of another vehicle who is then forced to brake

    - driving with mobile phone clamped to head

    - leaving inadequate stopping distance (tailgating)

    (that's only 6, I'm sure someone will think of the 7th ...)"

    Err the 7th would be going 150mph in a 70mph limit Daniel :-)

    Ever thought people driving too slow are dangerous, because they're not matching the speed of the other traffic? well same goes for people going to fast, double the speed limit is too fast.

    I have a feeling that if he'd committed another of your 7 sins and posted a video of it you'd not be defending his case so much.

  113. Luiz Abdala
    Pirate

    I witnessed myself...

    ... a pair of bikers passing by me way over speed limit as I traveled once. One of them was in a Hayabusa, the other one in a Ninja. The Ninja guy was not alone, there were two in the bike. I was doing legal 120 kph on that road, and it seemed that I was parked on the road. They showed on the horizon, in 4 seconds they were by my side, in 4 more seconds they were back on the horizon in front of me.

    It was a clear day, the road was near empty (one car every 5 minutes on the opposite direction, and one every 30 in the same direction has to be called empty), and they were using full racing suits. The whole thing, helmets, gloves, boots. It felt like watching a superbike race from within the track. I bet they were doing 200+ kph.

    It didn´t seem any dangerous from my POV. They saw me with enough response time, overtook, and kept going, in that perfectly smooth road. I couldn´t see the video, youtube pulled it out.

    On the other hand, I saw some serious reckless driving at 50kph.... inside a town... sheesh...

  114. Paul Smith
    Pirate

    @Johnny FireBlade

    Despite your user name, you don't seem to know a lot about bikes. Japanese companies agreed to limit top speed to 300km/h (186mph)back when the 'busa and the ZX12R were first going going head to head. Since then, all the litre class bikes, including current versions of your own fireblade, have as much OR MORE power then the original 'busa, but are also smaller and more aerodynamic and so can reach their speed limiters quicker. The improvements are not to how fast they go, it is to how fast they go around corners.

    @Ian Dedic re "donors":- We (bikers) are called "donors" because when we kill ourselves (and we very, very rarely kill anyone else) we die quickly and cleanly with no secondary damage to the internal organs. Car drivers, and their victims, tend to die slowly of secondary causes (blood loss etc.) significantly reducing the quality of their organs for transplant purposes.

  115. Spleen

    Pleasant surprise

    Nice to see that most people take a sensible view of this.

    My belief is that only actions that cause real harm or loss should be crimes. Crashing your car causes both. Dangerous driving *may* cause a crash. And driving at a fast speed *may* be dangerous driving. So what you have with speeding is a "crime" that is not one but two steps removed from anyone actually suffering.

    Of course if the police effort put into speeding was put into actual crimes - for example, catching the uninsured who know they can hit and run with impunity - they'd get a lot less revenue (since when was the police force a business?) and cops wouldn't be able to spend their New Year's evening living out their Stasi fantasies by setting up roadblocks and interrogating every driver. In return for triple overtime pay, of course, as if anyone would ever invite them to go somewhere else.

  116. Daniel
    Flame

    @Neil

    "I have a feeling that if he'd committed another of your 7 sins and posted a video of it you'd not be defending his case so much."

    welll done. You have clearly demonstrated the fact that you didn't actually read the first sentence of what I wrote.

    And anyway? "if".. well yes. Indeed. And also, if he had posted a vid of himself drinking a bottle of Jack Daniels with his feet while doing 90 through the grounds of an old people's home, I would have been most disgusted as well!

    so what was your point exactly? you *did* have one, didn't you now, dear ...?

  117. Ian Dedic

    @Paul Smith

    It's indeed true that -- in contrast to car drivers -- high-speed bikers present a much bigger hazard to themselves than others, their accidents are more often fatal, and I expect there are many recipients around the world grateful for the continuous supply of high-quality organs that results from these facts :-)

    I'd rather retain the use of my own organs for my benefit though, I'm not *that* much of an altruist...

  118. threaded
    Alien

    The outcome of the police investigation should be amusing ...

    The outcome of the Police investigation should be amusing, as that guy rides just like someone who's been through the Police motorcycle training scheme.

    The roads could really do with a few more people who can drive that well.

  119. Mike

    My 2c

    @geoff

    I have no idea how you got your injury and I know nothing about you or the situation, it must have been traumatic for you and it will stay with you for the rest of your life, I'm sure that the anger you feel towards speeders is justified and nothing will change this now. Do you think the situation would have been different if the speeder was paying more attention and drving within their abilities and with respect to the road conditions?

    Unfortunately people do not concentrate fully, over-rate their abilities or fail to correctly fully assess the environment, which is why we have speed limits, parking restrictions, yellow boxes, stop signs etc. we can't trust people to do the right thing, because people think they are more capable than they are or don't assess the risks correctly, this video was a bit of fun for someone, probably carefully planned after years of motorcycling experience, what is unfortunate is that this video may encourage less able riders to do the same thing or to chose the wrong time and place to do this and people will get hurt.

    Stop squabbling over what is and isn't possible, there's no point.

    If you enjoy speeding and think you do it safely keep quiet about it, if you boast about it people will either think you are a fool or think they can do it too.

  120. N

    189 MPH?

    Cant have been doing that in Wiltshire, the roads are complete cr@p

  121. Kaz
    Go

    NO!

    No, mr "brake" ... i took my CBR to 165, and yes, it was fun! was it dangerous.. no...

    the time i was doing 30 and the white van man pulled in front of me without indicating or looking in his mirrors let alone his blind spot, now THAT hurt MUCH more than doing 165...

    while everything else in the world gets faster, why don't speed limits keep up? it's because of the stupid idiots who can't drive properly! sort your act out mr DSA! (i suggest a test every 5/10 years!)

    speed doesn't kill, it's the tosser who makes a move causing rapid decelleration from that speed!

    grrr

  122. Tony
    Pirate

    Recession

    Looking at the times of the postings its no wonder recession is on the way, no ones doing any bloody work!

    For all those bikers who ride fast cos they think they're so good and everyone else is shit - you're not and you are still more likely to die compared to non-bikers. Plenty of self proclaimed expert riders died thinking they could defy the laws of physics.

    Personally every new driver/rider should be taken to a fatal collision and made to watch it be cleared up. And then spend a night in Belmarsh to get a feel for it. With those two thoughts in their heads the "I'm so good" crew might do us all favour and grow up. But of course that would no doubt infringe their fundamental human right to act like tw8ts and put the rest of us at risk.

  123. Boris H.
    Black Helicopters

    Police has no other choice

    The factors in most car wrecks are spped and driver stupidity,

    We still havent invented a way to quantify "Stupid" so the only other thing the cops can go by is speed.

    So untill we find a way to measure Stupidity , the sped is going to = dangerous.

  124. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Mike Moyle

    > IMO, reckless is noticing that your wheels have no grip on the road and NOT

    > immediately backing off of the throttle. But maybe that's just me.

    Yes, it is just you.

    In contrast to a car, when you're riding a bike you *don't* immediately back off the throttle when you spin the back wheel. Similarly, you *don't* come off the brake when you lock it.

    What you do is to keep it spinning / locked (depending on what you've done) until you are *absolutely* *completely* *certain* that you are pointing in the right direction. Only then do you allow the wheel to regain traction.

    To do otherwise risks a highside - for the non-riders here, that's a very big accident. You get spat off the top of the bike at roughly twice the speed you were previously doing, then the bike tumbles down the road and mashes you into the piece of street furniture you've just hit. A highside is a very dangerous situation.

    Conversely, keeping the rear wheel spinning for a few seconds just costs you a bit in tyre wear.

    So whatever else you might say abut this rider (and since the video has already been pulled, I can't comment), keeping the throttle on in a rear-wheel spin was most assuredly not reckless...

  125. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Mike Moyle again

    Cutting the throttle when the back wheel is spinning has the same effect as hitting the back brake - the wheel skids because it's not in full contact with the road.

    Sometimes the answer to a developing problem is more power, not less. Brakes cause far more accidents than anything else combined. How many idiots on the motorway hit the brakes just because the car in front hit theirs ? How many traffic jams are caused by that idiotic action ? The idea is not to stop, it is to keep moving. If the outside lane is clear, then move across and maintain your speed, not slam the brakes on and block the lane. If you are moving, then you are in control. Being parked is not being in control, it's called being an obstruction, and other idiots drive into obstructions.

    And as for you Gavin Taylor, you are the worst kind of idiot. The three lanes on a motorway are for overtaking slower vehicles, not "slow lane, medium slow and fast lanes". The reason trucks take so long to overtake each other is because they have limiters and they are heavy. It's not a big conspiracy to piss you off. If the idiots in the middle and outside lanes could drive properly, then there wouldn't be a problem, but usually what happens is the idiots in lane 2 slow down and stay behind the truck in lane 2, and the idiots in lane 3 keep going at high speed and block anybody in lane 2 from overtaking. So in fact you lot create your own jams. Add to that your incessant lane changing when your current lane looks a bit full and you have a recipe for an accident. BTW, the trucks are doing something useful, not just clogging the arteries for personal gain.

    Oh and while I'm ranting, you do not have right of way when joining a motorway or dual carriageway. If there is traffic coming it is your responsibility to either speed up or slow down and merge with the traffic. You do not just get to pull out whatever the conditions. In fact it is an offence to pull out "if by doing so, you cause an oncoming vehicle to change speed or direction". Don't just get to the white lines and peep in your poxy wing mirrors then decide, have a good look as soon as you can see what's coming up on the main road, that's right, turn your head ! Give yourself time to adjust your speed according to the conditions.

    I'll tell you this for nothing. I drive an artic, and if I'm in lane 1 coming up to a slip road, and there is traffic either alongside or about to be alongside in lane 2, I am NOT going to slow down or change lanes, so it's up to you to deal with it accordingly. If that involves running into the side of my truck, that's up to you - I won't suffer. Christ, I'm doing a maximum of 56 mph - if your car can't beat that then there's something wrong with either you or it.

    Obligatory disclosure : Biker since '82, driver since '84, trucker since '04. (soon to be pilot)

    Cars are the Microsoft Windows of the motoring world - designed for clueless users. (just to keep an IT angle in there).

  126. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What an idiot

    Great news story and I'm glad hes been sought after. 189mph is mad speeds for a racing track, never mind public roads.

    I didnt get a chance to view to video in time before it got took down, but these videos just encourage more people to speed excessively - illegally.

    I'm glad hes had his YouTube account deleted, but I bet he'll be back with another account & a new video.

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