TT top one hundred
nick205 - 4/6/10 at 10:06 PM
Just been watching the TT top one hundred compilation on TV.
Watching some of the riding and the commentary that goes with it is just amazing.
(I've never been into bikes, probably on the grounds of self preservation TBH - I know I'd do myself an injury)
180mph+ on roads and streets with average lap times in the 130mph+ zone
Is it inate skill, huge kahoonas or a bit of both...?
I'd challenge 99% of "keen" road bikers to get anywhere near that sort of commitment and pace.
The margin for error just seems too slim for me that's for certain, but hats off to those that can.
Steve Hignett - 4/6/10 at 10:21 PM
It is not natural for a rider to achieve those speeds on a road. To average 131.3mph on a slightly repaired but still bumpy road circuit is not
conceivable to me (and I ride faster than most of my friends, and have been the faster of the fast groups on bike TD's)...
Oh, and they're doing over 200mph at some points...
It is a natural ability and even more than that it's the ability to switch off from the dangers - John McGuiness witnessed someone crash on one
of his fastest laps - he felt it later, but not whilst "on the job".
And as an aside, I have changed jobs, and am now making stuff that will be appearing on the bikes that are running at the TT including an experimental
(pair of) "funnels" to cool an overheating rear shock!
norfolkluego - 4/6/10 at 10:47 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Steve Hignett
....and even more than that it's the ability to switch off from the dangers - John McGuiness witnessed someone crash on one of his fastest laps
- he felt it later, but not whilst "on the job".
!
I think that's racers rather than bikers, whether it's bikes, cars, powerboats whatever, it's that ability to not think about
'what if', you couldn't do it if you did. That doesn't make them suicide jockeys just that ability to accept the risk then get on
with it. There is no way I could ever ride a bike at those kind of speeds on the IOM, a car maybe but not a bike.
Steve Hignett - 5/6/10 at 01:50 AM
I don't wish to start (or take part in!) an argument at all, but I think you contradict yourself slightly at the end of your statement.
I agree on the whole that racers, in general, will have the ability to switch-off easier than most riders/drivers (probably) but I think racing bikes
takes that "little bit extra" than racing cars...
LBMEFM - 5/6/10 at 04:06 AM
quote:
but I think racing bikes takes that "little bit extra" than racing cars...
Totally agree Steve, the commitment on a bike is so much greater. Corner too hard in a car you may spin off, on a bike your just off.
franky - 5/6/10 at 07:43 AM
Plus the fact that there's no room for error! They're in a totally different league.
MakeEverything - 5/6/10 at 08:22 AM
I went to the IOM for the 100th Anniversary and it was awesome.
We got there at about 5 in the morning, and had a blat around the whole course on the bikes (with luggage mind). With my bike probably weighing
nearly three times that of a TT Racer, and reaching nowhere near the speeds they do, it was still hairy. The hump back bridges and inclines are far
more severe than you see on TV.
It is incredible how the riders manage to take their rains out and leave them at the start line.
a 130mph flying lap is an incredible achievement and takes nerves of steel on parts of the course.
The IOM is a beautiful island, and the roads are fantatic. I would recommend it to anyone even outside of TT week. The speed limitless roads reflect
in their condition and they are nothing like those in England. Just beware the speed limits where they are posted, because ironically, speeding in
the posted areas is frowned upon and youl end up in court during your visit.
40inches - 5/6/10 at 01:34 PM
You just don't give any thought to the possibility of anything serious happening, I stopped racing when I DID start thinking of the possibility.
I had an entry for the Manx GP, bottled it and sold the bikes, I haven't been on one since, that was 1974.
norfolkluego - 6/6/10 at 12:42 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Steve Hignett
I don't wish to start (or take part in!) an argument at all, but I think you contradict yourself slightly at the end of your statement.
I agree on the whole that racers, in general, will have the ability to switch-off easier than most riders/drivers (probably) but I think racing bikes
takes that "little bit extra" than racing cars...
Not arguing and certainly not denigrating the TT boys at all, I genuinely think they must have nerves of steel and the biggest dangly bits in the
world. But it fascinates me how people perceive what's an acceptable risk to them.
I remember (I'm old enough) an interview with Barry Sheene (hardly a member of the health and safety brigade) about going into F1, he said he
wouldn't as he considered the risk of being trapped in a fire was to high, this was just after sliding along the Daytona track on his nose at
170mph or whatever the speed was (high definitely). He'd probably done the most dangerous motorsport event possible and come a cropper but
thought something else was riskier. Admittedly F1 was dangerous back then but not as dangerous as what he was doing. Obviously he'd looked at it
and decided one risk was OK to him, one wasn't.
I work with a woman who goes skydiving, back in 08 she had an accident, one of the lines went over the top of the parachute and partially collapsed
it, she smacked the ground hard and fractured her pelvis, first thing she did when she had recovered, a skydiving holiday in South Africa.
Just interests me how something I would consider unacceptably risky (and I'm not particularly risk averse) others think is OK and probably vice
versa.
[Edited on 6/6/10 by norfolkluego]