285 mph on a motorcycle = not coming down for breakfast any more

[Rusty Heap]

285 mph on a motorcyle = not coming down for breakfast any more

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RIP crazy fool

Motorcyclist killed in 285 mph crash in Maine | Fox News

A motorcycle racer trying to top 300 mph died Sunday after losing control and zooming off a runway at a former air base in northern Maine.

Bill Warner, 44, of Wimauma, Fla., was clocked at 285 mph before he lost control but it was unclear how fast the motorcycle was traveling when it veered off the paved runway and crashed, said Tim Kelly, race director the Loring Timing Association, which hosted "The Maine Event" at Loring Air Force Base.

Warner was conscious and talking after the crash just before 10 a.m., Kelly said, but he died about an hour and 15 minutes later at a hospital in Caribou.

"No one will touch Bill's achievements or be the type of racer he was. He was a personal friend and the land-racing community is less for his loss," Kelly said.

Riding his modified turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa, Warner previously hit 311 mph on the same course in 2011, using 1.5 miles of pavement. That's considered to be the world land speed record for a conventional motorcycle, Kelly said.

This time he was trying to hit 300 mph using just a mile of pavement, and he'd made several passes before the one in which he crashed, Kelly said.

The Maine Event is an annual timed speed event that utilizes the 14,200-foot-long runway at the former Strategic Air Command base that closed in 1994. The Loring Timing Association uses 2.5 miles of the runway for its events, and there's an additional buffer of 2,000 feet, Kelly said.

On Sunday, about 400 spectators watched as Warner began veering right after passing the 1-mile mark, traveling upright for another 2,000 feet before exiting the runway and crashing, Kelly said.

The remainder of Sunday's event was canceled. The Limestone Police Department and Maine State Police were investigation the crash.

[aap1966]

Just how far does it take to stop a road bike from 300mph (and keep it upright)?

[Bill Douglas]

"In just a mile of pavement" duh, I think I've just figured out what went wrong.

[creaturecat]

sad.
an accident waiting to happen.
Like watching Evil jump the water fountain

[Don Ro]

A riding buddy claimed to have reached 185 (indicated) on his Suzuki Hayabusa a decade ago.
He said that he hooked his feet under the foot pegs because at that speed the wind wanted to rip him off the bike.

[jyl]

On the one hand, it would be sad if you knew him, and is maybe sort of sad even if you don't.

On the other hand, he had it coming, and he knew it. Every time he started a 300 mph run, he was fully aware that he was rolling the dice. So that limits how sad I can feel about it. Kind of a "hmm, bummer, shrug" reaction.

[asphaltgambler]

This is one reason that 'Funny Bikes' were outlawed at the Drags years back. Funny bikes are 4 cyl, large displacement, blown/injected running on 90+% nitro. They are Kawasaki / Suzuki based. Think Pro-stock Jap bikes with another 700+ HP. These bikes were running low 6 second 230mph+ in the 1/4 mile.

There were more than a few accidents and most were fatal largely because of the speed. As technology progressed so did the ET's and MPH until finally the tracks could not let the Funny bikes race anymore as liabiltiy insurance was unobtainable with these machines.

[BE911SC]

I bought a '93 Honda CBR900RR new and the fastest I went on it was 165. Great bike.

[GWN7]

My BIL bought a Hayabusa last year. He told my sister that he would save him lots of gas driving it to and from work. He's a oncologist........ She didn't believe him.