‘I need to tone it down’: William tests out bike
But he confessed his wife might be less than impressed.
Prince William, 35, indulged his passion for motorcycles on Wednesday when he jumped at the chance of sitting on the hand-built Norton SG7, which has a top speed of 208mph.
“I’m a father of three, I have to tone it down now,” he joked.
While speaking to Laurence Skelly, the Isle of Man’s minister for enterprise, William suggested Kate was a little sceptical of the intentions behind his visit.
When quizzed about Kate’s views, the royal replied: “When I said I was going to the Isle of Man for an official visit, she said ‘really?’.”
William – who has been a keen biker from a young age – also said he used to own a Ducati 1209 but had downsized to a less powerful motorcycle from the same manufacturer.
He would ride scramblers with his brother Prince Harry and they would “basically try and hit each other”.
The father-of-three watched the final stages of the TT Supersport Race 2 where the 600cc bikes sped past at high speeds through the finish line.
Revealing the visit had sparked a pang of nostalgia, he told the Norton race team: “I miss the big trips, for me biking was always about being with everybody else.”
When on the Norton motorcycle, William crouched down over the tiny windscreen and joked: “I always stick to the speed limit.”
“Love it, absolutely love it,” he added as he stepped off.
The Isle of Man TT is one of the world’s oldest continuous motorsport events and was first staged in 1907.
Its riders compete in a number of races, from a superbike category to sidecar events in time trials around an almost 38 mile-long circuit – which is renowned for its difficulty and danger.
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Stuart Garner, chief executive and owner of Norton Motorcycles, said of William: “He’s a bike guy, he understands motorbikes so it’s good to be able to chat bikes – he genuinely gets it.
“He was just saying being on a dirt bike as a kid, just having a real-world experience growing up, all of us here have done that and he’s done the same.”
