The day I rode the Six

Long time Classic Racer friend and, as of now, retained tester of some note for this magazine, Steve Plater has always talked of how – if the chance ever presented itself – he’d give away body parts if that’s what it took to ride a real Honda 6.

And, if it could happen anywhere, then (should the planets align) swinging a leg over the iconic Honda at the Isle of Man would be the cherry on this almost impossible motorcycle cake.

Of course, you know by now that it happened. That Steve Plater took the Honda 6 out on the TT course during the parade lap of the Bennetts Classic TT, 2017.

To understand why the Honda being sent out for a proper lap of The Island was such a landmark thing to happen you only need to scan the pages of this supplement. On the upcoming pages you’ll see how we’ve pulled together neverbefore- seen images, scans from the height of the bike’s time in the spotlight, and comment on what the Six was at the time.

So we’ve covered the old story of the Six. We’ve included the greats who contested the tiny bikes, we’ve also taken a look at the rivals and reminded ourselves of Phil Read’s tips on how to topple the incredible race machine.

That’s the history of the machine told and the world in which it lived reflected upon.

But to bring the story right up to date (a rarity