"One would call it, colloquially, a meltdown," defence lawyer Steve Gill said.
Connell's doctor described it as "a destabilisation of his mental state".
"He did this foolish, dangerous, arguably possibly fatal behaviour, instead of doing what he should have done, which was seek proper medical advice about how he was feeling at the time," Gill said.
"How the defendant or anyone else on the road wasn't killed is truly remarkable and probably good luck rather than good management."
Connell travelled up to Rotorua to buy the high-performance, 1000cc sports bike with a top speed of more than 299km/h, Judge Harrop said.
"You admitted to police on the way back home you did briefly reach that speed near Taupo."
You placed an unknown number and undoubtedly large number of innocent members of the public at risk of death or serious injury without thinking of them, and all because you suffered a personal difficulty in your life.
Once at home in Lower Hutt, Connell altered the registration plate, changing two letters.
He was before Judge Harrop today on 31 charges, about six of which were representative and covered a total of 47 incidents. The judge said it came to 72 incidences of offending, the "vast majority" of which were driving offences. The other charges were driving without an appropriate licence, failing to comply with police, and altering the number plate.
Over a period from January 16 this year to February 26, Connell activated three fixed speed cameras 45 times, mostly around Wainuiomata.
You acknowledge that you have become unhinged.
Judge Harrop said there were 31 occasions where Connell exceeded the speed limit by 50km/h or more.
On one occasion the speed camera clocked him going 174km/h and photographed him riding past with his front wheel in the air.
Another occasion he was snapped overtaking cars in the median.
On one occasion police tried to pull him over, but he sped away.
"You said that you didn't stop because you didn't hold a motorcycle licence."
Connell has not been before the court since May 2000.
"You acknowledge that you have become unhinged. You were not deterred by the potential for significant harm or death.
"You simply had what could only be described as an extreme reaction to the relationship break-up ... one might understand a brief excursion on reckless behaviour in response to the incident, but to have something that was so planned and prolonged is, in my experience, most unusual and concerning.
"Lots of people have relationship break-ups and most of the consequences are limited to their own immediate environment and don't involve any risk to members of the public, but here, self-evidently, you placed an unknown number and undoubtedly large number of innocent members of the public at risk of death or serious injury without thinking of them, and all because you suffered a personal difficulty in your life."
Judge Harrop said it was the most unusual sentencing he'd done in his 10 years as a judge, and he had never seen anything like it.
Connell has since sold the bike and was now in a new relationship.
Judge Harrop sentenced him to six months of community detention, 125 hours community work, 12 months' supervision, and disqualified him from driving for two years and nine months, as well as making an order that Connell was not to have an interest in a motor vehicle for 12 months.
