Is this film sped up or not?

Holy E36 M3!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVXc29ZgutI

The lap time counter and the soundtrack seem to indicate this is actual speed... My brain really wants to believe otherwise though. Yikes.

The commentator said, "180, 190 miles per hour." It's probably legit...and scary

Holy hockeysticks! That was almost painful to watch, but if you listen to the commentary just before the end of that first video, the bike is hitting 207mph. I can believe that that footage is actual speed. Damn, just damn.

those are not brass ones that rider has... but titanium

Dude, those are plutonium.

And HUGE!!

It is not sped up. Actual speeds.

There are Isle of Man racers, and them there's everyone else.

My Gawd, the lean angles... They must use a differerent paint for road stripes over there. Over here, touching one of those at speed leaning like that on the contact patch of a motorcycle is dangerous as hell.

Why do you think that riders at the IOM (and similar races) still end up with fatal injuries? One tiny mistake and into a stone wall you go.

Appleseed wrote: It is not sped up. Actual speeds. There are Isle of Man racers, and then there's everyone else.

Fixed that for you.

You may recall that Nigel Mansell is from there...

Not sped up. Actual speeds. It kills me how much air they get over the humpbacks and under the front wheel Consistently. Also, these bikes are very close to road bikes in the suspension department as the course has such varied surfaces. It can also be dry through town and then foggy/wet in the country side portion.

Another odd tidbit. Mad Sunday occurs the Sunday after this. I think it's called Mad Sunday. A brit can chime in to correct me. The basic gist is the course is open to ANYONE in a car or on a bike. Also, no speed limits.

I must get to this race at least once in my life.

Also, doesn't it sound like Spud from Trainspotting is narrating?!

How in the world do they remember the course?

Isle of Man racing has always fascinated me. Love the on-bike cam.

This: http://www.ridingman.com/ is a book I bought after seeing him on Lenos Garage. Worth the purchase price if you want the inside skinny on prepping for the race as a privateer.

scary how much the bike leaves the road surface completely

I can't believe they can even swing a leg over a bike with a nutsack that big.

There was a documentary on SPEED some time back (before they went all NA$CRAP) showing a stone curb not far from the start/finish line which the riders have to come within about 8" of at ~140 MPH. They don't have much choice, if they are too far out they are not set up for the best line through the next curve. There was a video camera set up there and it was absolutely insane to see.

The IOM TT is on my bucket list.

Oh yes, the TT guys are the ones that all us rally drivers think are madcap insane.

Yup, actual speeds.

OP you now understand why I giggle when people think their GTI or M50E30 is fast.

I'm going to have to own another sportbike someday.

hrdlydangerous wrote: How in the world do they remember the course?

That's one of the things that weirds me out. Aside from going insanely fast next to stone walls 8" away, they have to remember which way the road is fixing to go, upon arriving at the curve at 170mph, blind, over a crest, into the sun, after having guessed correctly on the last 153 turns...

Just doesn't seem humanly possible to me. Then again.. I'm not one of these speed machines disguised as a human, which I suspect most of these"guys" are..

Damn.

hrdlydangerous wrote: How in the world do they remember the course?

Consider the option of not remembering......

Scarier is the fact that last year John McGuinness went faster than that and set a new lap record.

Two words: Testicular Fortitude

Funny part was the commentator couldn't remember the official names of any of the places on the course but his racing brain remembered the proper way around every corner, along with great detail why.