The Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard may be dominated by machines of the four-wheeled variety, but the real fun can be found tucked away in the paddocks where there’s half the wheels but double the fever. Here’s our top 5 of the must-see machines to ogle over.
5 bikes you have to see at FOS 2018
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MV Agusta 500
Arguably the best sounding motorcycle of all-time, ridden by arguably one of the world’s greatest ever motorcycle racers. Need we say anymore? With 122 Grand Prix wins and 15 World Championship titles ‘Ago’ Agostini is a giant of the sport. We advise locating the MV Agusta early, and getting close by in time for start-up. Ago and this bike will be swamped with fans, but it’s worth the bustle just to hear the 500 roar in to life. You won’t regret it.
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Tait Triple 750
We’re delighted whenever Sammy Miller MBE arrives at FOS with his wonderful collection of motorcycles, and this year is no different. One particularly special bike Sammy will be bringing along is the Tait Triple 750, a sensational prototype three-cylinder two-stroke racer designed and built by the late Bob Tait. It’s a one-off piece of kit, and one hell of a looker.
Britten V1000
There are only 10 Britten V1000 motorcycles in existence, and each one lovingly hand built by John Britton and a group of friends in Christchurch New Zealand during the 1990s. Despite its humble beginnings, the Britten V1000s were lauded as the most innovative and sophisticated bikes of the era, boasting carbon fibre, double-wishbone front suspension, a frameless chassis and a radiator slotted beneath the seat. A cool bit of kit and a seriously rare sight.
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BMW S1000RR
If you want to see what modern sport bike engineering is all about, you won’t find a much better example than Peter Hickman’s BMW S1000RR. Hicky posted a record-breaking 2018 Isle of Man TT lap hanging on to one of these to announce himself as the world’s fastest road racer, taking his first ever senior TT win in the process with a new absolute course record of 135.452mph, proving how good he, and the BMW S1000RR really are.
KTM 450 Rally Replica
Sam Sunderland became the first Brit to ever win the Dakar Rally in 2017 as he muscled his monster KTM 450 Rally to the top spot. This year, he’s returning to FOS after a mighty crash during the 2018 defence of his crown. Built from the ground up for Dakar, the KTM is an off-road engineering marvel, and well worth a look. Sam’s great with fans too, so go and say hello.
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