Isle of Man TT

[OnMyWay]

I'm sure some of you know of the Isle of Man TT races.  I may have seen some bits and pieces in past years, but I didn't know much about it.

Amazingly dangerous and historical!  Here are a couple of you tube videos that will give you an idea of the speed and danger!

This one is a short documentary that gives a bit of the history:

 

Some reactions at this year's race:

 

[bastonjock]

It's something else the IOM TT ,it. Is not for the faint hearted ,they have a day called mad Sunday , everyone is allowed on the track ,it's madness absolute madness

[OnMyWay]

34 minutes ago, bastonjock said:

It's something else the IOM TT ,it. Is not for the faint hearted ,they have a day called mad Sunday , everyone is allowed on the track ,it's madness absolute madness

Yeah, I saw something about cars, etc., being allowed during the first week.  Do they have any requirements?

I used to live fairly close to Nurburgring in Germany, and on certain days, anyone who paid the fee could do the ring, as long as they passed a safety check.  I never had the guts to try it even though I had a Corvette at the time.

[bastonjock]

57 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

Yeah, I saw something about cars, etc., being allowed during the first week.  Do they have any requirements?

I used to live fairly close to Nurburgring in Germany, and on certain days, anyone who paid the fee could do the ring, as long as they passed a safety check.  I never had the guts to try it even though I had a Corvette at the time.

Don't know about present day , but I had a crack at it in 82 , the marshals gave your bike a check ,tyres etc ,nothing too onerous and off you went , the tyres on bikes in those days were awfull , I did it on a Kawasaki kh400 tripple , guys were whizzing past me all the time ,you had to have eyes on the back of your head , I did one lap that was enough ,these days you can buy a production bike , retune it and you have a 230 mph capable bike ,you have to be a real adrenalin junkie for that stuff ,There Are plenty of track days available on race circuits around the country,  I ride a Honda f6c ( valkyrie ) that's just what I enjoy,  no more knee down around the bends for me , just enjoy the wind in my face 

[OnMyWay]

22 minutes ago, bastonjock said:

I ride a Honda f6c ( valkyrie ) that's just what I enjoy,  no more knee down around the bends for me , just enjoy the wind in my face 

Nice bike!  I rode on the back of one a long time ago.  A friend in Netherlands had one and he use to get over to the Autobahns once in a while to open it up.

[bastonjock]

4 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Nice bike!  I rode on the back of one a long time ago.  A friend in Netherlands had one and he use to get over to the Autobahns once in a while to open it up.

 

[GeoffH]

I went across to the Isle of Man TT back in 1999, I sent some money across to a good friend of mine who lived in the UK and told him to find a reliable but cheap bike for me.  He ended up buying a 1985 shaft drive Kawasaki GT750 and we (and 2 mates of his) camped for a couple of weeks in a farmers paddock (the farmer was all set up for campers, he had showers with cards that you bought for water and a little kiosk that you could buy toasties at).   Lots of beer was drunk (including 'live beer' from a small keg) and we made some good memories.

 

Despite all advice to the contrary I went out for a ride on Mad Sunday, I don't think I'll even forget being lent over at about 200 kph when 4 GSXRs come flying past me one after the other doing about 40kph faster *grin*

 

I'm a lot mellower these days and when I'm in .Australia I'm content to cruise around on my Harley Street Glide (the red one is mine, the grey one belongs to a mate of mine).

 

I keep thinking I should buy a bike (instead of just a scooter) for when I'm in the Philippines and keep it at the house.  I don't want to spend a million on something I don't use a lot so I'm wondering about those 400cc Kawasaki Bajaj  (which has a version of the KTM single cylinder 390 engine in it), does anyone know anything about them?  They're only 160,000 which seems a bargain and they're backed by Kawasaki (although built in India).  Seems like a possibility.

 

Kawasaki Bajaj Dominar 400 Commercial Philippines (it's almost like a mini telenovela commercial lol)

 

 

Edited June 15, 2018 by GeoffH

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, GeoffH said:

I'm wondering about those 400cc Kawasaki Bajaj

Local bike enthusiasts are raving about the Kawasaki Versys 650 but it costs 425K pesos.

http://www.motortrade.com.ph/motorcycles/kawasaki/versys-650

There is also a less expensive Versys X300 which is a smaller version with a smaller price tag (270K pesos)

http://www.motortrade.com.ph/motorcycles/kawasaki/versys-x

I am not a fan of the larger bikes but these are said to be pretty nice bikes for the local terrain and driving conditions.

[GeoffH]

4 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Local bike enthusiasts are raving about the Kawasaki Versys 650 but it costs 425K pesos.

The Kawasaki Versys 650 has always gotten excellent reviews from motorcycle magazines when it's been reviewed in Australia and 425K pesos is not really that much when you think that my Street Glide (with options) cost me $39000 Australian (about 1.55 million) but I don't know how much I'd actually use a motorbike when I'm in CDO. 

I could always test ride a Versys when I'm in Australia I guess (probably easier getting a test bike than in CDO), no rush to buy just yet.

 

[Rooster]

On ‎6‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 11:21 PM, OnMyWay said:

I'm sure some of you know of the Isle of Man TT races. 

Excellent Post. Thank you!