To successfully run from the Arkansas State Troopers requires a higher displacement motorcycle with more RPM range as their Chargers can do 150 mph and this guy got hazed by officers for trying to do it with a 400cc machine that topped out a little above 100 mph. Good thing he stopped too as when he got slow enough turning somewhere they would bump his rear tire to crash him out (they’re much nicer to motorcyclists than other vehicles where they’ll PIT you full speed). Consequently, my 600cc sportbike below had a reported top speed of 163 mph with stock sprockets, with mine perhaps a touch more with re-jetted carburetors that measured on a dyno with 98.1 HP at the rear wheel (done to fix lean stock fuel mixture for emissions as 2002 was last year of carburetion and the late multistage carburetors were quite good).
Once when I did the three passes ride (pics below), I was just cruising as I was coming down the mountains on a two lane highway maybe 5 miles above the speed limit (CA speed limits are nanny state low) when I was passed in the oncoming lane by a law enforcement 4×4 Chevy Blazer. Just before I hit the next curve I saw him turn on his lights and flip a u-turn in my side mirror, but back a ways.
Consequently, I had gotten a speeding ticket the week prior because I was passing vehicles before a fun stretch of road in the Napa wine country not wanting to be held up for the upcoming fun twisty bit, and hidden behind a hill there was a California Highway Patrol officer sprinting to his car and flipping on his lights as I sped by. I had dropped it down a couple gears and spun it up to pass three vehicles at once, and this SUV had passed the lead vehicle while accelerating away so I might of hit 95mph to get all three vehicles passed quickly (kind of got setup by that guy). So I then pulled over and waited for the CHP officer who said he thought I’d run and called in the helicopter, and I explained to him that I pass quickly to get back safely in my lane (wrote me up for 75mph though he said he clocked me at over 90 mph, cost me $175 and online comedy traffic school to wipe it out, and only ticket I ever got on the motorcycle in 18 years).
So flash forward and I wasn’t in the mood for a petty ticket from this sheriff in the Blazer, so I jumped on it thinking that if the cop was going to write me up he was going to have to put in a little work to get behind me with his red light (legal requirement so technically not evading yet, and I know from jury duty where we convicted someone for evading). The highway got twisty and I eventually came up on a gaggle of traffic which I passed easily. And I never saw the Blazer again except for a long straight just before the traffic where he just barely appeared as I went into the next turn, as he had lost a lot of ground. Consequently, a motorcycle can straighten out turns using all your lane compared to a four wheel vehicle and you can’t beat the acceleration of a motorcycle with an inline 4 cylinder engine that revs so high, as you can easily and safely pass even where passing isn’t allowed. Probably not the smartest decision, but I wasn’t being reckless either as it was just some fun, sporty riding.
It might not of worked against these modern Chargers though, as where I gained in acceleration they might have compensated for in taking corners hotter than I was willing, especially if the corner was blind as many mountain curves are. Consequently, some cops are pretty aggressive and they’ll arrest you for evading even if they technically hadn’t gotten behind you with the red light yet, so beware playing this game with law enforcement as you might end up arrested with your vehicle impounded even if their evading case will ultimately end up dismissed. And definitely don’t risk your life over a ticket, and I can’t imagine why you’d want to risk your life and health by riding as recklessly as the guy above was doing when going through those red lights, as even law enforcement with lights and sirens slow down.
