IN the modern era it’s hard to imagine an Isle of Man TT race without Honda lining up on the Glencrutchery Road, but with TT motorcycle racing beginning in 1907 and Honda not joining until 1959, it actually took 52 years for Honda to get involved.
And back then we weren’t talking about an all-star team of riders, and multiple bikes to pick and choose from, as this video shows, the early TT races were a very different affair. Honda raced in just one class, the 125cc race, with an untested bike and riders who had never seen the course in person before.
In this latest edition of Behind the Blade, Adam ‘Chad’ Child takes a trip back in time to ride the course that the Honda riders from Japan would have ridden. The Clypse Course is an 11-mile loop that took in parts of the current Mountain Course, and some of the local winding lanes.
The video also includes a rundown of the Honda-mounted riders taking part in this year's event, along with a look at how Isle of Man TT legend John McGuinness got on in the Senior TT aboard his CBR1000RR-R.
