Which racing motorcycles or sidecar outfits have made the strongest contributions to the Isle of Man TT over the last century? If you had to choose twenty-five individual machines for a fantasy museum, which ones would they be? Matthew Richardson has made his choices, and describes each one in vivid detail in this perceptive and highly illustrated book. He takes into account extraordinary achievements like lap records, race victories, technical innovations and other milestones in TT and motorcycle history. His selection highlights the engineering excellence and feats of riding skill that have marked so many years of racing on the Mountain Course. As well as examining the most significant machines, he includes profiles of the exceptional men who built and rode them. Modern bikes from BMW, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha are featured alongside the machines that dominated the early years of the TT such as Matchless, Norton and Velocette. The riders who took them to victory include many of the best-known names from every era of the sport
from Stanley Woods, Bob McIntyre and Mike Hailwood to Carl Fogarty, Joey Dunlop, Dave Molyneux and John McGuinness. AUTHOR: Matthew Richardson is Curator of Social History at Manx National Heritage and was formerly Assistant Keeper of the Liddle Collection at the University of Leeds. He has a long-term interest in military history and has published several outstanding books on the subject including ‘1914: Voices from the Battlefields, The Hunger War: Food, Rations and Rationing 1914-1918’ and ‘Eyewitness on the Somme 1916.’ He is also an expert on the history of the Isle of Man TT and worked with Dave Molyneux on ‘The Racer’s Edge: Memoirs of an Isle of Man TT Legend.’ 60 illustrations