Motorsport of the Month:Superchargers of the TT

The Isle of Man is a magical place. This tiny slice of heaven sandwiched between England and Ireland has hosted perhaps the greatest spectacle of motorcycle racing since 1907. For most of the early years of the race 500cc singles were the main event, but in the 1930's Motorcycle manufacturers turned their attention and decided to use a secret weapon, the supercharger.

An early "works" bike, the NSU 500SS for 1931.













1930's Norton International 500

Despite the increasing competition, Norton dominated the 500cc TT through most of the 1930's.







1930's AJS Racer













1939, the last year before the before the TT went on hiatus due to the war, was an exciting year for exotic racing machines.


1935-39 AJS V4 Supercharged

The V4 Supercharged was a interesting bike, unfortunately it usually had technical problems and it never won a TT. The last year (1939) was water cooled.







1939 BMW Type 255 Kompressor

After a few years of trying BMW won its first TT in 1939.











The TT returned in 1947, but superchargers did not. Later the TT would align with Gran Prix racing. Superchargers would never return to motorcycle racing.

1954 Norton Manx














1953 AJS Porcupine E95 500














1954 BMW Rennsport












1953 NSU Rennmax