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I found the title a trifle sensationalist - Those riders are the cream of the worlds best road racers and if, as the title suggested, they took insane risks most of them would have been long dead.
The Isle of Man TT races are, perhaps, the greatest of all road race challenges although the Manx GP and some of the Irish road circuits come pretty close. To actually be there and watch the skill of the riders, a few feet away, as they lift a shoulder a couple of inches so that it is just brushing a stone wall, or lean their heads at a slight angle to miss a wall or post, is to see the best in the world at work. There is nothing to compare to it. It makes MotoGP, WSB, BSB and AMA look like kindergarten stuff although, in truth, they are just other forms of 'bike racing.
I have a friend who has raced at the TT and he said that compared with his usual short circuit racing it was another world. After one lap of the course, just over 37 miles, every fixing on his bike that wasn't lockwired was loose. Luckily he found a new friend and mentor, who had raced there a good few times, and knew the tricks to ensure that things didn't work loose and fall out or off. (On the fairings he used Dzus fasteners, then the heads were sealed in with Silicone and finally covered with a Duct Tape patch.) He said that after his first practice session he told the friend that he felt that he and the bike were being shaken to pieces only to be told 'That's because you aren't going anywhere near fast enough, you aren't riding the bumps.' Once he got used to the roads, and his speed started to increase, he found the guy was right, things seemed to smooth out a lot - or so he said! His best lap was around 99 mph, the top runner, John McGuiness, averaged over 130 mph.
Ken.
I can remember listening to those races when I was a teenager and can recall Geoff Duke being the man to beat after he came on the scene in 1950.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoff_Duke
Check out around 2:25. Looks like he took a detour.
Also, you see the whoop-de-doos where they launch up onto one wheel then ride a speed wobble!
Yikes!
If that is not insane it has to be pretty damn close!
Hey, Trevor, that brought back some memories. I remember all the grand old riders, Duke, Agostini, Read, Surtees, Hartle, Minter, Hailwood, Redman et al. They were the riders of my formative biking years - 1949 onwards.Quote:
Originally Posted by tcolby
Ken.
That was what we refer to as a slight error of judgement. It happens, occasionally when you are pushing 200 mph on ordinary roads. The IOM TT course is not a custom race track, it is just ordinary roads used by the islanders all the rest of the year.Quote:
Originally Posted by dom
Tank slappers look horrifying but it doesn't seem to bother them at all. The 'bikes have limited steering lock and are heavily damped and they just seemed to ride through them - most of the time. :cool:Quote:
Also, you see the whoop-de-doos where they launch up onto one wheel then ride a speed wobble! Yikes!
OK, insane, but in a very calm, professional, calculated, manner. :DQuote:
If that is not insane it has to be pretty damn close!
Ken.
Those names plus McIntyre. This may be nostalgia, but I doubt whether there has ever been such a time when there were so many good riders competing against one another. What do you think?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken
I bought my first bike in 1949 when I was a 16 year old engineering apprentice in King's Lynn, Norfolk.
It was a 1929 350cc BSA Sloper with twin exhausts that sounded like this one but a lot noisier, and in nowhere near as good condition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5Ae4GjF3aE
Not quite sure how I missed out Bob Mc, must be old age creeping up on me. That BSA was a lovely piece of engineering, exposed valve springs, lovely sound - drool!. My first real 'bike was a Sunbeam B23S in a Matchless tele forked frame. 250cc 80 mph+ on scrambles gearing with an engine that would not look out of place today. I'll see if I can find a picture.Quote:
Originally Posted by tcolby
Ken.