I've visited a lot of famous races and famous race tracks in different countries on my journey of around the world on a race track in 400 days, and I've also chased down those motorcycle racers who are very dear to motorsport enthusiasts. This time, I'm going to the Mecca for motorcycle racing fans, the only motorcycle racing event in my 400-day journey - Isle of Man.

The Isle of Man is an island between islands of Great Britain and Ireland. It is a self-governing British Crown dependency, and is centered among England, Scotland, Welsh, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland. The capital of the Isle of Man is Douglas.

The three most important motorcycle races of the world is the Grand Prix motorcycle racing (Moto GP), the Superbike World Championship (WSBK), and the Isle of Man TT (Isle of Man Tourist Trophy).

The Isle of Man TT race course is undoubtedly the most dangerous track in the world. The race here is the toughest and the most spectacular race, with an average speed of over 200 km/h and a top speed of over 330 km/h. More than 250 people have died in the race so far, but the Isle of Man TT still attracts the motorcycle racing elite around the globe to join and compete in the fierce competition.

The first race on the Isle of Man started back in 1904. At that time, only cars were allowed in the race. The first Isle of Man TT was held on May 28, 1907 and it was interrupted in 1915 by World War I. The race resumed in 1920. Again in 1940, the Isle of Man TT had to stop due to World War II, and in 1947 the race is back on.

This longest race course on the Isle of Man is a road that stretches 37.73 miles (60.7 kilometers). It goes north, away from the capitol Douglas, loops around in the mountains, and then goes back to the starting point. There are a total of 226 corners on the course, and the terrain changes from plains to mountains through woods, towns, and remote areas. But the most dangerous aspect of this course lies in the corners. With hardly any buffer area in any of the corners, a lot of the red and white mark lines are drawn directly on the hard rocks, leaving a razor thin margin of error for the racers. Thus the Isle of Man is also known literally, as the isle of man.

The Isle of Man is unknown and intimidating to me, and I can feel it when watching the videos before my visit. Thus an idea popped up in my mind, I want to be a real rider and personally feel the Isle of Man.

There are two races on the Isle of Man each year, one is the Isle of Man TT held every June, and the other one is the Classic TT held in August, which I'm visiting for. The August Classic TT is more for appreciating the classic motorcycles than for the speed. For my visit to the Isle of Man, I've bought a 1953 BMW R51/3 in the United States from an auction a few month beforehand, but getting this old folk to the Isle of Man took a lot of effort. I had to put my motorcycle on a plane instead of a shipping boat I originally planned to get it to cross the different country borders, and it had only arrived in the Great Britain a few days before the race.

You might wonder why I'm taking a German BMW instead of a British classic like a Triumph, a Norton, or a BSA to participate in a British classic motorcycle race? There are two reasons behind this. One is that I'm a huge fan of the BMW classic motorcycles, and one of my favorites, the BMW RS 255 Kompressor, had won the Isle of Man TT 76 years ago. In 1939, German legendary motorcycle driver Gerog Meier rode on a BMW RS 255 Kompressor and won the Isle of Man TT, he had also become the first non-British racer to win the race.

Gerog Meiter was born in 1910, he started with BMW team to participate in all kinds of international motorcycle events in 1937. In 1939, his teammate, the starting racer died in an accident during a practice, Gerog filled in as the backup and won the Isle of Man TT. Then Gerog got injured in the Swedish GP, which spared him from the World War II. After the war, he won six GP titles and then retired to run a BMW motorcycle business. When Gerog turned 79 in 1989, he rode his BMW RS 255 Kompressor again on the Isle of Man to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his historical win. Of course, this prestigious bike sold for nearly half a million dollars in auctions later on.

About my second reason, I bet you've all heard of a guy called Guy Martin. This mechanic who looks like the Wolverine and talks super fast, is an absolute legendary racer in the history of the Isle of Man. Guy was the star in a low-profile documentary TT3D: Closer to the Edge, but he's never won the Isle of Man TT. And in this year, 2015, when Guy decided to retire, he finally won the long-sought-after championship on a BMW S1000RR.

So, that's more than enough for me. Riding a BMW on the Isle of Man, remembering the past and celebrating the present, it doesn't get any better.

Speaking of my BMW R51/3, this bike has the first engine BMW developed after World War II. This flat two-cylinder-four-stroke OHC engine has a displacement of 494cc, and can deliver up to 24 horsepower at 5800 rpm. The frame is from the first generation BMW bikes with rear suspension from 1938. It also has a four-speed gearbox.

This bike was refurbished at an American BMW motorcycle club. It was transported to Britain right after the work was done, so all the tuning needed to be done in Britain. Since I was forced to switch to air transportation from the shipping boat, the gas tank and all fluids in the bike needed to be drained due to the requirements. Once the bike landed in Britain, all those fluids need to be refilled and then the tuning can start. Finally when the gas is ready to be filled, we noticed that the carburetor was leaking. So we had to shut down the fuel line and then we found that the gas pin cannot be reset, meaning that the gas float cannot push the pin up so the fuel has been continuously pumped into the carburetor. We removed the gas float and we saw there was quite some gas in it, no wonder it couldn't float. After a detailed examination, we found that the copper float had some minor cracks on it, and that's how gas was getting inside. The cracks were so small that we could only use napkins to suck the gas out, carefully weld the cracks up, and then grind the solder down so it's still light enough to float. Eventually the leak was stopped, then we put the electric circuit through. The engine started running with a slight kick, the flat two-cylinder boxer engine finally started punching, steadily.

I did not have enough time to get a road permit so I scrambled three pieces of equipment together to get this old folk to the Isle of Man: a 1993 BMW E30 wagon, a E30 towbar, and a detachable travel trailer. With the help from my British friend James, it only took one day to transfer the title and get insurance for the E30. The towbar was ordered directly online, and it was married to the E30 perfectly after half a day's work. After a few practices, I'm able to manage the detachable trailer in under five minutes. Also the trailer could easily fit in the E30 wagon. The reason behind my practices were actually pretty funny. Because the ticket to the Isle of Man was almost sold out a year before the ferry even leaves the dock, I could only get separate tickets for myself, a car, or a motorcycle. The ticket for a car with a trailer is all gone so I must quickly detach the trailer, put it in the E30 wagon, load the car and the motorcycle individually, and then quickly put them together to disembark. It seems like a lot work, but it was actually fun to go through this on the way to the Isle of Man, and this combination definitely creates a view on the British roads.

I pictured all the greatness of the Isle of Man would start after I got on the actual island. But it started the moment I stepped on the ferry. The massive army of motorcycles boarded in order, all decorated differently to show off the loyalty to the brand and personality of the owner. What's in common is the passion of motorcycles. We talked, drank tea together, and laughed until we were all exhausted, and fell asleep on a table, on a couch, or even on the floor. It felt like being in a huge family, or going to the front lines with your comrades. Anyway, it was a great ferry ride.

The ferry docked at a little past 5am, I got off, still half asleep, put the trailer together with the car, strapped the bike in, and drove the E30 with the R51/3 on the Isle of Man before sunrise. It's not that I was in a rush, because of the tight schedule of the Isle of Man TT, the road is blocked for most of the day, and when the road is open, it's typically filled with motorcycles. I wanted to get to know the race course when there's little traffic, and on the other hand, I started to worry that this over-sixty-year old bike would break down and cost me my dream of riding on the Isle of Man.

The road after the starting point in Douglas has a lot of bumps, with rock walls on the side. I started to wonder if I got to the wrong course, because there is no way you can ride that fast on blocks like this. As I went further along the course, the town on the side of the road was replaced by woods, wide open plains, and then, mountains. All of the scenes from the movies about the Isle of Man started to emerge in my mind, and it's so fascinating… However, super fast bikes passing me from the right woke me up and dragged me back to reality, leaving goose bumps all over my body.

I went back to my temporary housing in the suburbs after a short spin. This is a newly built townhouse, it was lucky for me to find this room for rental from the visitor center since all hotels and campgrounds on the island were fully booked. It's very fortunate for me to get a comfy house like this, so I didn't mind the co-ed living situation. The hostess told us during breakfast that  unfortunately a racer lost his life during yesterday's practice. She said she felt sorry, but this was also normal. I was a little disturbed by the news. Although the Isle of Man TT is known for its high fatalities, but it's indeed upsetting when it's happening this close to you.

Actually I heard that another two motorcycle enthusiasts lost their lives in a head-on accident the following evening. I asked a lot racers, and people who live on the island about their views of death. They said they did fear death, but meanwhile, they would be more careful. Some racers have raced years on the Isle of Man and won many trophies without any incidents, but they died in traffic accident in other places afterwards. Nobody knows where they would end up. If there will be an accident, so be it, but one should never give up the passion for motorcycle racing.

You can't cross the race course and go through the woods and walls on the side of the road to find a different angle while watching the race on the Isle of Man. Maybe because the race is so well-managed, all the potential safety hazards are in the good hands of the staff. It was reported that more than 500 volunteers would provide service for the Isle of Man TT to ensure safety, however from my experience, the audience on the side of the race course have very little chance to escape the accident that's coming to them at high speed. The motorcycles would fly by in a split second, you can't even catch a glimpse of the color of the bike. All you can feel is a ringing noise in the ears and a fluttering feeling on the face. It's like sitting in a train, enjoying the view from the window, and suddenly another train just popped up from the other direction out of  nowhere. This must be more challenging for the racers, I think there's only a fine line for them to race on, with deep abysses on both sides of that fine line.

The Isle of Man has a 10-second separation between racers nowadays. The referee would rest their hands on the the shoulder of the racer, and the race would roar off with a tap on the shoulder when it's time. According to the historical records, the early races had a Le-Mans style start where the racers have to run to their bikes. Some slower racers were injured or even killed by the starting bikes, thus the Le-Mans style start was revised to the single start. The advantage of this style of start is that it provides a good reference for chasing, and since there are racers all over the long course, there's always some overtaking action going on, whether a racer suffering from the pain of being passed, or enjoying the joy of passing someone else.

I put my old folk who cannot legally get on the road in Britain but here to work on the only off day during the Isle of Man TT. This is his first trip, and my first ride on the Isle of Man, I couldn't keep the smile off my face. During the entire 60.7-kilometer course, I had to stop twice for a non-functioning brake, adjust the bike four times for fuel supply, I got a blister on my right hand from the sticking throttle, and I had to adjust once the clutch because the travel was too short. Other than that, it all went fine. And the ride was so satisfying, except of the fact that I couldn't pass anyone and spent all of the course being passed. My follow cameraman Xiaoer is a real motorcycle racer, he raced in multiple events before he switched to photography. He helped me resolve a lot of the issues on the old BMW this time, but unfortunately he sprained his leg before the trip so he couldn't realise his dream of riding on the Isle of Man.

We took the same ferry leaving the Isle of Man. A lot racers gathered at the bow to watch the sunset. It was a stunning view, I felt that I didn't come all the way to the Isle of Man to simply race, but to live my life more interestingly. And the motorcycle enthusiasts are actually nicer and more easygoing than other motoring fans, since we cherish every breathing day very dearly.

Han Yue

August 2015

From the Isle of Man