The "Tonne"

[p.dath]

To me, the "Tonne" is signified as doing 100 mph. I was talking to an "old fella" and he was telling me me thought the term originated from some measurement of force. Aka a tonne of pressure is experienced while doing 100mph.

The best I can come up with is that a "Tonne" is simply British slang for 100.

Anyone know?

[gunrunner]

This is also what it can cost if you crash with no insurance at this speed .

[vifferman]

Nup.
100 mph is "The Ton".

[sinfull]

Nup.
100 mph is "The Ton".

So if a metric ton is also known as tonne, if my speedo reads in KM and i do 165 kph (roughly) am i doing the ton or the tonne
Or if my vehical puts out 2204.62 FP of torque does it have a ton of power or a tonne of power

Ahhhh the tonne is 2204.62 avoirdupois pounds
2. Avoirdupois = Informal. bodily weight: He carries around a lot of excess avoirdupois.

So the tonne is a fat fuck doing the ton !

[Mikkel]

This really shouldn't come as any surprise:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonne

As for slang... dunno:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tonne

More discussions here:
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/1141373

[MSTRS:Me]

The Ton is the correct term for 100mph. It is an abbreviation for 'Ton Up Club' who were the predecessors of the Rockers of the late 50s-early 60s.
Wikipedia does not give an explanation for the meaning behind this reference to the speed.

[gwigs]

Bring back MPH I reckon....161kph doesnt have the same ring to it as "The Ton"....

[MSTRS:Me]

Bring back MPH I reckon....161kph doesnt have the same ring to it as "The Ton"....

The other benefit is that at 100 you are miles away from 'walking'. My speedo is in MPH. That'll be why cops just wave to me...

[Skyryder]

To me, the "Tonne" is signified as doing 100 mph. I was talking to an "old fella" and he was telling me me thought the term originated from some measurement of force. Aka a tonne of pressure is experienced while doing 100mph.

The best I can come up with is that a "Tonne" is simply British slang for 100.

Anyone know?

If memory serves me correctly 100mph was ton. Tonne is the metric of 100kph. I don't think it has the same connotations as the mph ton. Well not for me anyway.


Skyryder



Skyryder

[Skyryder]

Double post edited.

Skyryder

[Ixion]

Ton. It's ton. Not tonne. The ton is 100 (mph). Nothing whatsoever to do with ton, 2240 lb, or tonne the metric not-quite-eqivalent. Totally different word.

Originally from Romany , 100 (of anything)

[Skyryder]

The Ton is the correct term for 100mph. It is an abbreviation for 'Ton Up Club' who were the predecessors of the Rockers of the late 50s-early 60s.
Wikipedia does not give an explanation for the meaning behind this reference to the speed.

Yep that rings a bell. It must be rembered that not all production bikes could do 100 mph. In fact at the time very few so the Ton Up club was exclusive.

[Hitcher]

The best I can come up with is that a "Tonne" is simply British slang for 100.

Anyone know?

Yes. And it's "ton" in that context, not "tonne". Nobody travelling at 100mph would dare use a metric weight to describe their speed.

[McJim]

Bring back MPH I reckon....161kph doesnt have the same ring to it as "The Ton"....

MPH never went away. Just all these French-loving europhiles that insist on talking in kilometres and stuff. Ignore them and go for a 250 mile ride.

[SPman]

MPH never went away. Just all these French-loving europhiles that insist on talking in kilometres and stuff. Ignore them and go for a 250 mile ride.

Hear hear!
Bloody metrics.........
Frenchmen - an excuse for a sound drubbing!
161kph is just another number on a speedo, 100mph is REAL speed!

A ton wouldn't be cock a knee rhyming slang for a 100, would it?