For over a century , the Isle of Man TT has been Europe ’ s premier motorcycle racing event . Reputations have been made and shattered on the island ’ s famously challenging Mountain Course . In 2010 , a new type of bike arrived on the grid — without a fuel tank and with a lot to prove . The zero emissions bikes in the TT Zero race have evolved rapidly since , and our editor travelled to the Isle of Man to see just how far electric motorcycles have come — and how far they ’ ll have to go to rival their fossil-fuelled counterparts .