I am putting together a couple of pages showing machines which contributed to development of two wheelers, made a special noise or revolutionised the TT since its return in 1947.

http://www.ianhuntly.co.uk/ultim.htm

I will credit those people who come up with the best examples (See mine first)

You can PM me or start a string on the subject..

From the sublime to the ridiculous - the fascinating Kreidler 50s, with 12-speed gearboxes - was it 4 on the foot and 3 on the handlebars (the latter like a scooter) ? Hearing them try to find the right gear after the plunge down Bray Hill was.....amusing!

A few on there already that I would have had in the list....

Here are a few additions of mine

Tarquinio Provini ....Morini 250cc Single
John Surtees ..........MV Augusta 500 '4'
Bob MacIntyre ....... Manx Norton 500


and the probably the two greatest pieces of motorcycle race engineering ever built,

Ralph Bryans ........Honda RC116 50cc Twin from 1966....and

Luigi Taveri ..........Honda RC149 125cc 5 Cylinder Racer also from 1966

I agree with all the above, some of which I missed!
But for me, its got to be the Honda 6s that stick in the memory the most.
That noise created by incredibly high revs and virtually no flywheel effect was simply awesome.
I would add the various "super twins" such as the hybrid Linton and the Stastny Jawa, plus even the wondefur little Tait Triumph 500.
Chris Vincents BSA was a bit special, too!
As were other sidecar engines such as the wonderful Rennsport BMWs, the Fath URS and the Gilera.
One of my favorites was the 500 Bennelli fours as ridden in particular by Kel Carruthers and the amazing Renzo Passolini!

You cannot write Renzo Passilini without an !

See how easy it is to start a ramble whe you have so many memories to draw on??
It does make me wonder if such memories will never be rekindled in actual TT racing.
For in syance, a Buell woul be nice.....

MV

Yamaha TZ 250/350 the ultimate pure road racing bikes ever built for joe public to go racing with, oh the sound, the speed.

http://ttsounds.com/page1.html

Even I got to race one.

And of course, the daddy of them all as far as production racers go - the Manx Norton. A memory that I will take to my grave is being woken before dawn by the sound of a Manx being started and ridden up to the line for morning practice - and this before the namby-pambies insisted on stuffing old socks up the megga in case some sensitive soul couldn't hear the solo violin in "Scheherazade" after being exposed to motorcycles for 25 years ! Imagine telling Bernie Ecclestone that his F1 cars must sound below 110db....................

For me it was the Yamaha 125 and 250 four cylinder two strokes disc valve jobs from the sixties.

I remember some really special bikes they used to have in the TT called 2-strokes. Anybody remember them? They were exciting, and I think the organisers really should think about bringing them back.

I nearly put the same 'strokers' in Harvey those fours were awesome machines.

One of the most distinctive 'sounding' two strokes was the late Fred Launchbury's 250 Maico single.

The baffling inside the exhaust used to rattle, so at times it would sound like it was dragging a milk crate.