What is the best motorcycle adventure that you've had?
- Thread starter MTVR
- Start date
The TT is the most deadly motorsport event on the planet.
Five riders died during the two weeks we were there. Our reserved grandstand seating on the outside of the iconic Creg-Ny-Baa corner, was destroyed by a vehicle coming off the course at speed the day before we were there. As spectators, we had three near-misses just on the last day. I have video of my wife standing within arm's reach of riders going by on the Sulby Straight (the fastest part of the course) at 209-210 mph. A rider died at that spot a day or so before we were there, when his front tire failed upon landing a 190 mph wheelie.
There is no speed limit on the Isle Of Man outside of the towns, and the Snaefel Mountain Course is comprised entirely of public roads, so anyone can ride the course at speed, except when the course is closed from 1800 to 2100 hours every evening during practice week, and Monday/Wednesday/Friday during the day during race week.
We rented a bright red big-bore Ducati, and rode the course at triple-digit speeds both solo and two-up. We got our laps in early during practice week, leaving the starting line in Douglas at sunrise, and pretty much had the whole course to ourselves. I would DEFINITELY avoid attempting any laps on Mad Sunday, as the course is clogged with motorcyclists of all skill levels, and many of them are still hung over (or even still drunk) from the night before...
We rented a bright red big-bore Ducati, and rode the course at triple-digit speeds both solo and two-up. We got our laps in early during practice week, leaving the starting line in Douglas at sunrise, and pretty much had the whole course to ourselves. I would DEFINITELY avoid attempting any laps on Mad Sunday, as the course is clogged with motorcyclists of all skill levels, and many of them are still hung over (or even still drunk) from the night before...
Scott Brady
Founder
I have enjoyed a few wonderful adventure in South America, but my favorite was a trip through eastern Colombia towards the Venezuelan border. . . that was when things got interesting 
Dodging Gunboats and Taming Elephants - Expedition Portal
Deep into the Colombian savanna, a ragtag team of adventurers get caught in a quagmire of mud, sand, piranha, and gunboats.
expeditionportal.com
This is the trailer to the 2014 documentary "Road", narrated by Liam Neeson. It features Michael Dunlop, his brother the late William Dunlop, their father the late Robert Dunlop, and Robert's brother the late Joey Dunlop. We were on the Isle Of Man to bear witness to Michael running the first 16-minute race lap, and we visited Joey's statue overlooking The Bungalow Curves.
Just go.
Accomodations are typically reserved two years in advance. Put down a deposit on your accomodations now, and just go from there.
You can buy your plane tickets a few months before you go.
Make sure your passport is current.
There is all manner of accomodations- tent camping, glamping, hostel, home stay, bed and breakfast, rental cottages, short-term rental houses, you name it.
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Douglas is the largest town. The main TT compound is there, to include the start/finish line, the hot pits, the main grandstands, the VIP compound, the Monster Energy show, yada, yada. The Promenade and Bushy's Beer Tent is there too. Douglas is for the younger party animals.
Peel is a nice quiet little town, with Peel Harbor, Peel Castle, a grocery store, and just enough pubs. We stayed in Peel. It's great for grownups that like a little peace and quiet. Peel Day is held in Peel, with pit bike road racing, a smaller version of the Monster Energy show, and so on.
Ramsey is kind of in between- more pubs, more people, but nothing like Douglas.
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Peel is a nice quiet little town, with Peel Harbor, Peel Castle, a grocery store, and just enough pubs. We stayed in Peel. It's great for grownups that like a little peace and quiet. Peel Day is held in Peel, with pit bike road racing, a smaller version of the Monster Energy show, and so on.
Ramsey is kind of in between- more pubs, more people, but nothing like Douglas.
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You can fly into England, rent your motorcycle(s) there (which is cheaper) and then take them over on the ferry, or you can do like we did and fly to the Isle Of Man and rent your motorcycle there. Our Ducati was $250 a day.
You can mail your riding gear ahead of you, to wherever you're staying, and then mail it back home afterwards, so that you don't have to shlep it on the plane with you.
They drive/ride on the left there.
There is no speed limit outside of the towns.
During race week, the mountain section of the course is one-way, allowing you to use both lanes.
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You can mail your riding gear ahead of you, to wherever you're staying, and then mail it back home afterwards, so that you don't have to shlep it on the plane with you.
They drive/ride on the left there.
There is no speed limit outside of the towns.
During race week, the mountain section of the course is one-way, allowing you to use both lanes.
...to be continued...
Buy a Go Card. It gets you onto all of the busses, as well as all four of the narrow-gauge railways, and into all (or most of) the museums.
The four railways are the horse-drawn tram on the Prom (Promenade) in Douglas, the Manx Electric Railway from Douglas up to Ramsey via Laxey, the Snaefel Mountain Railway from Laxey (home of the world's largest working water wheel) up to the pub at the top of Snaefel Mountain (via The Bungalow Curves and Joey's statue), and the steam train down to Castletown and Port Erin (there's a railway museum down there too).
The double decker busses are fun and they just keep adding more and more busses as the population of the island swells.
Don't drink and ride.
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You ask someone like me. We tried many of the most iconic viewing locations, we sampled as many of the grandstand options as possible, and we splurged on the VIP package. I'll try to type up some information on each spot.
Happy to help- it's too awesome to not share.
Would you guys like write-ups on a bunch of viewing locations?