way back in the late 80s ...

Post #419,448 by drook 8/3/17 12:35:02 PM 8/3/17 12:39:25 PM Reply	way back in the late 80s ... My dad had one of these: I borrowed it one day to go to work. The route home included a stretch of brand-new freeway - four lanes, fresh concrete, well-lit, no traffic. It came on boost at 50 in 5th gear and started pulling like a freight train. When I finally looked down to see the speed I couldn't find the needle. It was buried all the way to the right. I suspect they marked the gauge lower than the top speed to avoid the hand-wringing from busybodies. [eta] And now that I've looked up the measured top speed, and pictures of the instrument cluster, I see that I'm mis-remembering just a bit. But that needle was further right than where I was looking. -- Drew Edited by drook Aug. 3, 2017, 12:39:25 PM EDT Expand All History
Post #419,463 by Ashton 8/4/17 6:24:49 PM 8/5/17 12:36:30 AM Reply	Heh.. Ticket (on Vincent) SF-Oakland Bay Bridge, way-back. Cop eyes the big (~7" dia.) speedo, sees "150" ... asks "is that in (KPH) ??" Moi tryin-fer-leniency: "Er no Sir, thats MPH." Don't recall his reply, but he wrote me up light.. He claimed to have been tryin to catch-up (on his antediluvian-Harley du jour) for some time; hell I was just idling along at ~65, no traffic-threading and like that. aka "No Sir, wasn't trying to elude; didn't see you at all.. " [Did not add any inner-juvenile] like, "If I'd meant to elude ... ... ['Course, re this thread: that '150' was Actual ~top-speed. But.. on the Black Lightning model.] == see Rollie Free's record which lasted decades. Still, most L.s likely came only with a tach + other customer specs. Guy I bought the Acura Plutocrat from had a new KZ-11? 13? whatever for 2004, in his garage. Scary is: the fact that NOW any 16 yo +/- could.. walk in and buy a factory-200 mph Beast; I no answers to that conundrum, aside from Parent-->child Prohibition-via-whatever ƒeare-generator works. V r o o o m . . . . Ed: oTpy Edited by Ashton Aug. 5, 2017, 12:36:30 AM EDT Expand All History
Post #419,464 by drook 8/4/17 6:41:29 PM 8/4/17 6:41:29 PM Reply	(Likely apocryphal) Story from the late 80s Distinguished grey-haired gentleman appears in traffic court for a triple-digit speeding ticket. The prosecutor presents as evidence a picture of the bike, which looks like a full-on race bike, before that was the style. Elderly gentleman says, "That's not proof of anything." Prosecutor: "Are you saying this machine can't go 110 mph?" EG: "It can do that with 2 gears to go. But if having the equipment is evidence of guilt you might as well charge me with rape." -- Drew

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