In 1984, motorcycle racer Dave Roper rode a 1959 Matchless G50 to victory in the Historic 500cc class at the Isle of Man TT, becoming the first American rider to win on the Island.

The Isle of Man TT is recognized as the world’s most dangerous motorcycle race, claiming 151 lives around the 37.73-mile course, from 1907 to 2019. Possibly because of the danger, but more likely lured by the challenge of a real street circuit on public roads, motorcycle racers flock to the little Island every year hoping to claim victory.

And so it was in 1984 when American racer, Dave Roper, donned his leathers on the Island for the first time.

Bump-starting the legendry 1959 Matchless G50 down, pit lane Roper was all too aware of the stiff competition he would have to overcome if he was to claim victory in the Historic 500cc class. His biggest challenge, however, was not in the form of any one of a number of worthy contenders, but the difficult to learn circuit.

The track with its fast Sulby straight, where modern Superbikes clock over 200 Mph, and fearsome garden walls that leave no room for error, is unforgiving. Unlike modern purpose-built racetracks, there is no run-off, no soft gravel trap to cushion your fall. If you want to be fast on the Island you have to be precise and controlled.

And once you can sort of remember the sequence of turns, you meet your fellow racers, many of whom consider this their home.

RELATED: Triumph Reveals Street Triple 765 RS As 2021 British Supersport Challenger

The Race That Made The Motorcycle Man America's Legendary Motorcycle Racer

The Motorcycle man Dave Roper
Via: Hemmings

For the 1984 Historic 500cc race Dave Roper and his 1959 Matchless G50 faced some very tough competition from salted racers such as Triumph-mounted Ray Knight, with 80 Isle of Man starts under his belt. Along the way he managed to chalk up a win in the 1968 Production TT and claim 17 Replicas in classes from Lightweight to Senior.

In stark contrast, Roper, who rode his first race on Memorial Day in 1972, had no racing laps under his belt on the Isle of Man and could barely find his way around the tortuous track without a map. But give a motorcycle racer a corner and he’ll soon find the quickest line through it – string a few of these together and you’ve got a lap. And that’s exactly what Dave Roper did on the Isle of Man back in 1984.

Unphased by the task that lay ahead Roper went out and did what he did best: Ride a racing motorcycle, clean and fast. While no lap over the “Mountain” will ever be the perfect lap, the Matchless never missed a beat and Roper never put a wheel wrong.

This stellar performance from the Isle of Man TT-rookie not only took him to victory with a 96.11 Mph average speed over the race but also etched his name into the history books with a Historic 500cc lap record of 97.21 Mph. In achieving this remarkable feat, Roper beat Ian Lougher, on a similar Matchless G50, into second place and posted an average lap speed almost 8 Mph faster than Ray Knight in fourth place.

What makes Roper’s achievement even more remarkable is that out of the 25 starters only 13 finished the race.

While victory in the 1984 Isle of Man Historic 500cc race was sweet and maybe even instrumental in raising awareness of vintage motorcycle racing in America, for Roper this was all part and parcel of his passion for motorcycle racing.

RELATED: Here’s How Norton Motorcycles’ V4SS Compares To The Competition

The Motorcycle Man Documents America's Legendary Motorcycle Racer

The Motorcycle man and the naked Matchless
Via: Class Garage

With Roper approaching the age of 70, Daniel Lovering and Bagamor Media, decided to document the larger-than-life character and his passion for racing motorcycles that spans more than four decades. The short documentary, Motorcycle Man, takes a look at Roper's singular, lifelong love affair with motorcycle racing.

Unlike the archetypical image of a motorcycle racer normally portrayed on film, MOTORCYCLE MAN depicts Roper as a man who has pursued a single passion in life: motorcycle racing. With over forty years of racing, and winning, on racetracks around the world he has earned a reputation as a folk hero of the sport.

In the documentary, Lovering follows Roper from Team Obsolete’s Brooklyn, New York workshop - where a stable of vintage Grand Prix and exotic racing motorcycles are maintained - to a racetrack in Canada.

Along the way the filmmaker shares Roper’s celebration of the speed, sweat, and thrill of motorcycle racing while showing his philosophical rationale for what it takes to pursue your dreams.

Like Dave Roper, America's legendary motorcycle racer, Lovering’s MOTORCYCLE MAN, has been a winner. Notching up wins as the Best Short Film at the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival 2019; the Best Short Documentary at the Rome Motorcycle Film Festival, MotoTematica, in 2019 and the best feature at the Santa Cruz Moto Film Festival in 2020.

Dave Roper and Motorcycle Man pay homage to America's legendary motorcycle racing spirit.

NEXT: This Is What Made James Hunt A Legend Both On And Off The Track