Isle of Man 2017

One of a gaggle of Canadians are planning a return trip to the TT races in 2017. In 2007 the 100 year anniversary of the TT we rented bikes in London travelled up the east side eventually reaching Northallerton before heading west to the the Heysham ferry to the island. On our return trip we travelled the west side back to London.
In 2017 I thought we would fly into Manchester rent bikes and travel the north in addition to the TT.
I have booked a vacation for July 2016 mainly to visit relatives in Manchester, York and Darlington and to scout out some locations for our TT trip.
Any suggestions from our North England friends as to bike rentals, rides to enjoy would be much appreciated. I might even get a chance to ride for a few days next July, wife permitting!

I'm curious about what kind of a budget you are planning for your TT trip? Trip, say from eastern Canada, less bike rental. How many days?

Tim

Well we want to be at the races for 5 days, our stay in total is 15 days just because we want to extend our trip to include some other riding and visiting relatives etc. Flight from Vancouver is usually around $800 Can round trip to London or Manchester. I have a brother in law who lives in Cincinatti and his flight cost is maybe $100 less.
In 2007 it was roughly $100 per night per person at the TT bed, breakfast and evening meal included, easy walk to the main grandstand. (you need to book this TT accommodation at least a year in advance) Bike rental about $80.00 per day all-in (older bikes though and a few breakdowns to boot would not recommend). On our travels we stayed at the the Premier Inn chain booking one night ahead for our next days destination, perhaps $100 or a little less including breakfast. Some times we stayed at pubs for bed & breakfast, a little cheaper and our best value for money and food. Only tickets to the races we purchased was for one day in the Grandstand, expensive if I recall.
The rest of the days we travelled to different parts of the island to watch the races at historic landmarks, mostly at no or nominal charges. Ferry to and from the island is an experience like no other,
two options, fast cat (1 1/2 hrs) traditional ferry(4 hrs) if my memory serves me. Not sure what the cost was but again book early and stay away from peak days.

I neglected to mention that there are other ways to keep the cost down if you are into camping, it's just not something we enjoy. You can rent a campsite complete with a tent setup so you don't have to cart camping equipment around. I find transatlantic travel with m/c gear challenging enough.