.
No doubt these guys are on the hairy end but hey I used to fly a - parachute jumpers - aircraft... these guys are more crazy to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft. I have some stories!! It's just another adrenaline pumping hobby...and.. there are many...

 

Sorry for not reading all the replies, but here's my opinion......

Those guys appear to be very skillful, and are certainly talented riders
BUT, what they are doing is most definitely stupid

The danger is not from themselves, but from other drivers around them

Car drivers don't think to look for bikes, they're only looking for other cars moving at the same speed as them

Car drivers are not prepared for bikes, and certainly aren't on the look out for bikes doing 200mph!!

If you're driving around expecting a bike to pass you at that speed it's no surprise when it happens

BUT, no one is ever expecting that to happen, and so they're never looking out for it

 

Example

I was driving my car down a perfectly straight road (straight for around 3 miles)
the road was clear of all traffic and quite wide

I was driving at in excess of 150mph, but I 'thought' I was safe

A driver pulled out of a side road directly into my path and I only narrowly avoided them

I could have killed somebody!!

It wasn't their fault in the slightest, it was all down to my young stupidity

I have no doubt that they checked before pulling out, and that they saw me coming, but I must have been so far away from them they must have thought they had loads of time to pull out

How were they to know I was driving at that speed?
People don't expect it, so they don't look for it

Bottom line is, what I did was stupid and I have very much learnt my lesson

What the guys in the videos above are doing is stupid, and I hope they learn this without any serious incidents

 

The video was fun to watch. But I'd say it's an "AND" rather than an "OR" in your thread title. Unfortunately, the two usually go together .

 

Unfortunately, one of my first times in Paris I saw a dead motorcyclist. He was lane splitting as is customary there. I made a comment about what a tragedy or something to that effect. Our driver said nonchalantly, "Oh, we lose a couple of them every few days here like that." Turned out that it wasn't the motorcyclist fault but a cage (car) started to change lanes without signaling (or looking). I ride myself but I wouldn't do what those guys are doing in the video. Not because I can't but because I believe the biggest danger when riding is from the other people on the road doing something unexpected.

 

Typical biker’s error. Too hot into the curve, running scared of further lean angle = automatic fear response - onto the front brake. Bike consequently stands up and shoots on the opposite lane, usually when there is oncoming traffic. Game over.

 

Having read all the replies I think as already said Big ***** AND Stupid. It was amazing to watch but it did make me feel uneasy to watch, a bit like the Russian rider video posted. WTF goes through the mind of that particular rider

 

Big ***** and Stupid. I guess some live for the rush

 

Which is exactly why I wrote
Those maggots are not only endangering themselves, they are putting all the other people on the road at risk as well. And those people were not looking to hang their cajones out. They only wanted to get somewhere.

If you equate the vid with the Franklin quote in your sig, you're taking Ben seriously out of context.

 

What caught my eye about the video was the prolonged time they raced for and the speed in excess of 180 mph. If it was a closed road race that would be another story but at those high speeds the poor motorist just doesn't stand a chance to judge the speed of approach.
The Russian rider.....just sheer stupidity, If that was an old vid i do now wonder if he is still alive, as he has ridden like that more than once you can tell. Rightly or wrongly he has skill as a rider just even if it is to stay on the bike long enough to make that video. However, you cant keep doing that, you just cant. Its pure mental which will deliver its own redress at some point.

 

200 mph through traffic, what could go wrong?