Please tell me none of you are this insane...

[phendric]

Do any of you ride this insanely?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN3MFLwlsEg&feature=player_embedded

[Shadow Shack]

As you saw in the few spills depicted in that video, the failures are quite epic in proportion...

[KZ-Rob]

Isle of man is the best to watch! I wish I had 1/10 the skill required to even attempt it.

[LoDownSinner]

The riding isn't insane, the environment is.

[mz33]

Kinda surprised so many of them agreed to have a camera mounted somewhere on their bikes. It made for great photography, though.

Scared the poor sheep.

[shonuff]

The riding isn't insane, the environment is.

Ding ding ding

[Karl_L]

Kinda surprised so many of them agreed to have a camera mounted somewhere on their bikes. It made for great photography, though.

Scared the poor sheep.

I would guess that most of them mounted their own cameras. Go to any WERA race and there are cameras mounted to half the bikes it seems.They are even more common at trackdays.

I like watching the Isle of Man TT but I wouldn't want to race in it. That video was pretty good but did they have to include that one crash 3 times?

[asp125]

None of us have balls that big!

[Prof._HH]

Agree with LDS. The environment is far more dangerous than the riding. That said, if I had the skill and funding to get there, I'd run that race in a heartbeat.

[NORTY]

No desire to run race pace. Ride briskly? Sure., but not race pace. I'd rather enjoy the ride than be in a constant state of recovery from bad lines thru turns!

[AZridered]

For a better look at the TT, "Closer to the Edge" was released last year at TT week. It is not readily available in the US, but my wife managed to come up with a copy last week. It is fascinating. The feature mostly follows Guy Martin, but there is a lot of good coverage and many rider interviews.

There used to be a few street races here in the US, up until fairly recently. The races in Steamboat Springs, CO were ended not because of safety concerns, but because merchants objected to having the streets closed for most of four days. A few years after they stopped the event, the business community realized that without the races the racers and fans did not come to Steamboat for a week and spend money. By then though, getting new insurance coverage had become unreasonably expensive.

[Catt42]

Not crazy enough to ride it, but I seriously plan to get a group together to go watch it one day!

[spotbeagle]

My friend has raced IOM TT twice (Macao GP a 3-4 times also) and he thought I was insane for doing the 2-up ride on the track with Chris Ulrich.

I'd love go to watch someday.

[Missy B]

Not crazy enough to ride it, but I seriously plan to get a group together to go watch it one day!

That'd be awesome. One of our RCs has been at least once. His last set of pictures made me haz jealous.

[shonuff]

Not crazy enough to ride it, but I seriously plan to get a group together to go watch it one day!

That would be epic for sure.

[Trials]

None of us have balls that big!

:shock:

...depends if they have a 50cc class :smug:
:crackup:

[Trials]

I'd give sidecar a go too
:twisted: ...anybody volunteers to be my monkey ?

[NORTY]

I always thought that Palomar Mtn would make a great venue for an "American IOM."

Let's see, 7 miles with 63 turns and a 3000' elevation gain, then an 11 miles of HUGE sweepers and a 3000' drop, then across the front a subsonic speeds (HWY 76) about another 10-12 miles with rises and falls of a few hundred feet with sweepers. Yup, about a 30 mile loop would be perfect. Now to get rid of the 400 residents on Palomar for the weekend...


hmmm, maybe they'd like a weekend in the Gaslamp area....


Don't give me that Pelosi that "it can't be done!" It WAS done last year for the "Tour of California" bicycle race....the Mtn was closed to all traffic for 2 days while those spandex wearing pedal pumpers were making their wheels go 'round and 'round!

[speeddemon]

I really want to go to the NorthWest 200 in Ireland (which is the major warm-up race for the Isle of Man). Some friends of mine went last year and said the access spectators have is amazing. One of the regulars at the bike night I attend is Dave Roper, the only American to ever win at the TT. Super-nice guy.
www.motorcycleclassics.com/.../dave-roper-1984-isle-of-man.aspx

[NoCo Gal]

Going that fast is insane to me. I don't care where you are. Wow.

[asp125]

The "Doctor" on IOM, from cyclenews.


CN- If you could, would you do like the old pilots - Agostini, Surtees, Read or Dunlop - and win the [Isle of Man] TT.

VR - Just last night I was looking at a DVD - "Close to the Edge" and I recommend that. I don't think I can win the TT because it takes a lot of experience to understand the track. But it's a fascinating race. I've been there with Dainese four years ago, 2009... but I don't want to race it. It's just too dangerous.

[shonuff]

When he did the parade lap with Agostini a few years back, he made a similar comment about how dangerous it was. I don't know that the GP factory riders would be able to race it even they wanted to though. Ducati, Honda, Yamaha, and the like have invested a lot of money in those guys. I wouldn't think that Honda would risk letting Stoner plow into a wall or go flying off one of those cliffs at a high rate of speed.

[LoDownSinner]

IIRC, at one time (when Ago was winning multiple championships per year and making the other riders look like they were just joy riding) it was one of the GPs. Agostini dominated in an era where riders like Pedrosa would have never made it to the top level, and Rossi would have been considered "pretty good."

[WoodstockJeff]

IIRC, at one time (when Ago was winning multiple championships per year and making the other riders look like they were just joy riding) it was one of the GPs.

And it was Ago that lead a boycott that started the process towards the TT being pulled from the championship.

(and this concludes my display of knowledge of IOM TT history, based solely on the interview with Agostini in the January 2012 issue of Bike Magazine, entitled, "The only man Rossi can't beat".)

[diygrl]

I'd love to try it, just once, minus the crashing...guess maybe I'll have to tag along with Catt and crew to go see it :)

[Catt42]

I'd love to try it, just once, minus the crashing...guess maybe I'll have to tag along with Catt and crew to go see it :)

You have about 5 years to save up for that one. Its gonna be a hellava trip. I am serious here people, if we start planning now... :mrgreen:

[ds5160]

I am not brave enough to go that fast on a 90-mile straight, forget it with curves. I read the book Riding Man (http://www.amazon.com/Riding-Man-Mark-Gardiner/dp/0979167302/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324569225&sr=8-1) by Mark Gardiner, and it was fascinating. His friend also made a documentary movie, One Man's Isle. Basically, both are about the tale of him selling everything and setting a goal of taking one year to make the race.

[Trials]

IF I grew up there and that was the place I always rode, I probably would have been one of those idiots. :twisted:

...i just wouldn't want to be that poor guy who did the airborne rag doll over the guardrail :help:

[asp125]

You have about 5 years to save up for that one. Its gonna be a hellava trip. I am serious here people, if we start planning now... :mrgreen:

BBO meetup at IOM!! That would rock! I want to ride the course the week of the TT.

[phendric]

IIRC, at one time (when Ago was winning multiple championships per year and making the other riders look like they were just joy riding) it was one of the GPs. Agostini dominated in an era where riders like Pedrosa would have never made it to the top level, and Rossi would have been considered "pretty good."

To me, who am quite new at this whole riding thing, your statement would seem to imply that the top riders have actually gotten worse over time, not better. Is that the conclusion I should be drawing?

Phillip

[LoDownSinner]

To me, who am quite new at this whole riding thing, your statement would seem to imply that the top riders have actually gotten worse over time, not better. Is that the conclusion I should be drawing?

Phillip
Sort of. Not really worse, but their skill set is more limited. Some of them around today probably wouldn't have had much success without traction control, wheelie control, and launch control. The power delivery of the old two- strokes has been termed 'violent.' The power bands were quite narrow and they'd go from say 30hp to 150 or so in just a few RPM, causing exciting things like wheelspin, wheelies from full lean (if you were lucky), and spectacular high sides (if you weren't so lucky).


A lot of people are calling Rossi the Greatest of All Time, but IMHO (as well as Rossi's) it's Agostini. Ago absolutely dominated the competition, strike that, he didn't have any. It was kind of boring racing though, he'd run off and lap up to about 3rd or 4th place on a regular basis.

Rossi did come up prior to the four stroke era, though. To quote him "The first time you ride the 500 is, like, f*ck!!!"

And, uh, I don't Pedrosa could have ridden the GP bikes of even 10 years ago. He relies too much on the electronics. The old two-strokes would have flicked him off like a booger.

[ds5160]

I have also read Stealing Speed (http://www.amazon.com/Stealing-Speed-Biggest-Scandal-Motorsport/dp/1844259757/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324596241&sr=8-1), and while not the greatest writing in the world, it was interesting. I knew next to nothing before reading the book, and knew nothing about 2-strokes. Amazing to consider a peak power band of only 300 rpm, and if riders did not change the fuel settings in the middle of races, they were dead, sometimes literally.

[LoDownSinner]

Looks like a good book. I'm familiar with the story, but haven't read the book.

[ds5160]

I knew nothing about the story, and it is interesting. The writing isn't the greatest, but it is still a good read.

[WeBeNinjammin]

I would love to be able to race like that, but don't think I would be able to keep it up forever...the visual of me sliding off a cliff would be enough to make me quit, probably sooner than later. I have, however, enjoyed pushing my Ninja in some interesting situations, including opening it up until I was afraid of being sucked off while riding the Autobahn. Try peeking your head over the windshield at 160+...as scary as it gets.