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Closed Isle of Man TT - 2018

Discussion in 'Motorcycle Racing and Track Days' started by Andych, Jun 4, 2018.

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  1. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Just been watching some recorded Foxtel of the IOM TT races 2018.. These guys are insane.. but brilliant.. They lost a rider in Practice from the TYCO BMW team yet they still go out and set average speeds in excess of 132 MPH...

    This article shows kind of why these guys are different to most men...
    https://www.bbc.com/sport/motorsport/44083363
     
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  2. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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  3. GreyImport

    GreyImport Administrator Staff Member The Chief Contributing Member

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    I usually watch alot of it but got a bit put off when they announced the first rider had died within the first hours of practice in the opening of the first broadcast

    Its all good saying they choose to do it blah blah blah but the bikes just get faster and faster ..... just like the MotoGP bikes .... Ducatis 356.5km/h down the straight at Mugello .... crazy stuff
     
  4. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    Agree with your point. Why not make the IOM limited to 750cc? Which is what WSBK should be too. Who the hell needs 200+ hp?
     
  5. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Yes.. the circuit is much faster this year as well because the weather is perfect and everyone seems to be going faster. There was footage last night of Hillier (I think) coming over a rise at full noise crossed up in the air and he was off the seat.. how he managed to get it back under control is incredible.. more-so given that he didnt appear to even back off.. they are insane... but.. they believe they can always go faster on that course.. something like 200 plus corners and the rear tyre on the Supersports "just" manages 2 laps and needs to be changed in the pitstop..
    There was an interview with the owner of the TYCO BMW team and when they asked him if he considered pulling the team after the Death of Dan Kneen he said no.. that this is something that can always happen in racing.. and the rest of the team agreed that Dan would want us to go out and take the win.. set the records etc.. Seems very harsh but I guess unless you are a real racer in this elite group we just dont really understand..
    I certainly dont..
     
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  6. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    Well, I get the attraction of the IOM. There will always be deaths at the TT. But there is no need to exacerbate the problem. Once the speeds get too high, like at Mugello, the bikes are getting airborne etc and physics takes over. At this point it becomes just simple facts. WSBK used to be ZXR750's, Honda RC30's, Yamaha R7's etc. Some of the best bikes ever made, the racing was great, and we all loved them. What the hell do we need one litre sports bikes for. We didn't need them then, and we need them less now.
     
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  7. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    That's a good point. However, the problem with IOM is that it has always been dangerous and the TT series isn't just IOM. Riders have been dying there since the first meet. There are several classes and even the smaller capacity bikes get around that place at scary speeds. VR said NFW would he ride in the IOM. I guess he doesn't see the attraction of doing 200mph inches from a stone wall...I'm not sure I do (as a rider) either, but it does make the hair on the back of my neck stand up when I watch these guys doing it. I have to go there and see it in the flesh...just once. They're on a different planet. They should ask MM to do the IOM...my guess is he'd do well until the inevitable life-ending crash! RIP you crazy fearless IOM riders who are no longer with us.
     
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  8. GreyImport

    GreyImport Administrator Staff Member The Chief Contributing Member

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    Alot of them are Irish road racers and do it on a regular basis .... say no more

     
  9. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Definitely on my Bucket list.. along with things like Monaco GP and standing at Eau Rouge Spa watching an F1 car through there flat..
    I see that Hickman set a new lap record for the RL360 Supersport class (on treaded tyres) of 134.403 MPH... which is 219 kph.. Average Speed..
    It was good to see John McGuinness take the Norton SG7 V4 for a Demo lap around the full course.. I mean he can barely walk with a stick.. .but he did give it some as well .. he wasnt just out for a cruise :)
     
  10. kiffsta

    kiffsta Senior Member

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    Because it is the flagship model of the manufacturers and in America, bigger is better and we follow suit down under. Why do we need V8 cars when we have 4 cylinder car that easily do 100 ? Are we buying big bikes\ cars to compensate for something else ?

    I have owned a few liter bikes and they scare me silly and I cant even get them near WOT, even my 675 has more power than I will ever need. But in saying that, the punters want to see them doing 350 down the straight, if they tried to reduce the size, they would get crucified by the masses

    Apparently size does matter

    Kiff
     
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  11. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    For all the arguments back and forth about the IOM, remember the riders CHOOSE to do this and they know what the risks are.
     
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  12. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Good trifecta
     
  13. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    I must admit, I for one am in awe of what they do and I get chills watching it even on TV.. The onboard footage is mindblowing as they are going through villages at 200plus KPH barely metres or less from stone walls.. trees etc.. you really get the sense of speed.. Much more that at a racetrack where everything is at a distance..and your competition are mostly at similar speeds.. mostly these guys are racing against the clock.. You find it hard to comprehend how they can be setting up for the next corner or jump given the physical speed they are going..
     
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  14. ShaneP

    ShaneP Well-Known Member

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    Remember when MotoGP reduced their engine capacity to 80cc? They came out and broke previous lap times. They have more power than they can use at under circa 250kph. If you took some capacity off them, they'd simply make the engine and whole bike compensate to go just as fast. The litre and 600s are already similar times on tracks like Morgan Park - I think even IOM 600 speed is not a lot less. You can make a track more technical to slow them down but not tracks like IOM. If you really want to slow them down: tyres. The grip, corner speed, acceleration all rely on tyres. The advances in tyres have lead to greater average speeds. One, all-weather tyre for each category, with a lower traction rating, that'll slow it up.
     
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  15. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    They cant get too much more aggressive with tyres.. they dont quite last 2 laps now.. just enough to get them back into the pits for a change.. the proof of that is that the standing start lap times are more or less the same as the 2nd lap so the knock off on the tyres is quite substantial... And watching them they are right on the limit of adhesion and past it in many cases.. the electronics these days are so good it is the only reason they can go so fast..

    Anyway.. why slow them up.. we all watch it for the spectacle of speed.. unlike American Racing series where people love to see wrecks.. Bike lovers want speed and control.. or on the ragged edge of control..

    Hell the all electric bikes are doing over 100MPH average if memory is correct.... they just dont sound right...lol
     
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  16. minimac

    minimac Active Member Premium Member Contributing Member

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    I.O.M. is a big item on my bucket list, also. I am in awe of the whole event, not only the superbikes. I think the sidecar monkees are the real crazies!
     
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  17. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Close...they were doing 100mph average when they started the class. It's now just under 120mph average.
     
  18. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Found the records. 2fiftycc is 118mph...19 years ago!

    IOM Records.jpg
     
  19. GreyImport

    GreyImport Administrator Staff Member The Chief Contributing Member

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  20. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Such a tight spread of lap records through the years and across all sizes...:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:
     
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