Gus Scotts musings on a 115 mph lap of the IOM TT

I used to mechanic for Birdie at the TT, he was fat with thick glasses and always late.
1989 we borrowed Gordon the roofers GSR-1100K road bike, Birdie had bought a lightweight fairing for it and some tyres to be fitted.
I fettled the unprepared bike outside a council house in Onchan where we were staying.
I lined up ,with the bike running ,on the start- Birdie was shaving with an electric razor under his chin “ so I don’t get a rash..”
I handed him the bike just before it was his turn and patted him on the back.
He did 109mph lap on a bog stock example of one of the worst handling bikes ever built.
 
Just watched this to refresh the taste of what it is to ride insanely fast around that 'track'. The noise kinda says a lot about what's going on. It was/is one thing to ride a Manx Norton around there, even on the tyres of old, but quite another to handle the sort of hp and sheer outright speed of a modern superbike, Hats off!

 
You can never account for human error during times of stress. whatever possessed April to run out into the road like she did we will never know. A tragedy for all concerned.
I too was riding that year, just before I moved permanently to the Island to avoid the annual ferry rip-off, on a bog stock SFC1000. That didn’t handle very well either - although I agree the Gixer was a potential death trap - and I pulled in after the first lap of practice to check it over as it was weaving all over the place in the quick bits. Thought it might be an issue with the suspension but having already had a delayed start to practice I decided I ought to get at least one more lap in that evening. I only got two thirds the way round before it chucked a rod. Not been much of a fan of SFC1000s ever since.
Dave Madsen-Mygdal wasn’t any more impressed either, he was following me on a RG500 and nearly highsided off the side of the mountain on my oil.
Oh, and my lap speed for the one lap I completed was only 90mph so respect to Gus for his.
 
Never read PB during the time it was being published , picked a few issues of the mag more recently and wish I had subscribed at the time - heard about Ronnie Smith but didn`t know about Gus Scott , difficult not to feel angry regarding the actions of that marshal.
Try watching Performance Bikes Lost in France tribute Vid -great stuff.
 
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