James May Toy Stories - The Motorcycle Diary

James puts an iconic toy to the most ambitious test ever attempted. The challenge: to build a motorbike and side car entirely out of Meccano to take on  the Isle of Man’s  legendary TT circuit

 

But designing a machine capable of carrying James and his passenger, wine expert Oz Clarke around the daunting 37 mile course is not a task for the fainthearted.

 

A mind-bending   15,000 pieces of Meccano must be assembled to create a full size, road legal motorcycle that James hopes will be more than a match for the treacherous twists and turns, steep climbs and dizzying descents of the world’s toughest race circuit.  

 

And if that isn’t hard enough, as in the real TT, the bike must race against the clock.

 

It’s the ultimate test of man and machine. The challenge pushes this 100 year old toy and its riders to the absolute limits. Breakdowns, crashes and unforgiving terrain vie with design genius, good humour and sheer grit to produce a nail biting film which brings Meccano roaring back into the 21^st century to inspire the inner child within us all.