Britten V1000 ridden

[sil3nt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjZz5lc1cJY

Haven't watched yet and MCN aren't exactly known for their good videos but they somehow managed to ride one!

[GSF]

Interesting to get to see the Britten without tank, fairings etc. Haven't seen that before!

[sil3nt]

Bah video is private now. Didn't miss much anyway. Just another crappy MCN video :yawn:

[GSF]

Bah video is private now. Didn't miss much anyway. Just another crappy MCN video :yawn:

Ride a Britten, make a video and then don't let us watch it? Well, MCN can go fuck themselves.

[EJK]

It's back up.

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[Grizzo]

Lucky fucka:angry:

[caseye]

Still the BEST! ever.

[ckai]

God that thing was insane. Sounded mean too, home-made mean :)

[nodrog]

Kevin Grant is a generous chap :niceone:

[Larksea]

I still think this bike is one of the greatest things this country has ever created. Britten is one of New Zealands most talented individuals of any era.

[Road kill]

I still think this bike is one of the greatest things this country has ever created. Britten is one of New Zealands most talented individuals of any era.

Get real,all the guy did was redesign an existing engine,use a previously existing chassis design,build a shit front end poorly copied from "yet another" existing design,,,, an then die.

Rather over rated if you ask me.

[Haggis2]

Britten is one of New Zealands most talented individuals of any era.

Unfortunately it's 'was'

[Laava]

Get real,all the guy did was redesign an existing engine,use a previously existing chassis design,build a shit front end poorly copied from "yet another" existing design,,,, an then die.

Rather over rated if you ask me.

Aah, yip. Dude, you must really know your stuff.

Ps how do I find the sarcasm smiley?

[frogfeaturesFZR]

Get real,all the guy did was redesign an existing engine,use a previously existing chassis design,build a shit front end poorly copied from "yet another" existing design,,,, an then die.

Rather over rated if you ask me.

Curious, where can I find out more ?

[Road kill]

Curious, where can I find out more ?

Buy the book.

[BigAl]

Get real,all the guy did was redesign an existing engine,use a previously existing chassis design,build a shit front end poorly copied from "yet another" existing design,,,, an then die.

Rather over rated if you ask me.

All those reviewers that said it was the best thing since sb and riders who won/bet the biggest bike manufacturers in the world were wrong then?

Not to mention the owners that pay squillians for one?

Nice troll.

[Kickaha]

and riders who won/bet the biggest bike manufacturers in the world were wrong then?

When did the Britten ever beat a works team from "the biggest bike manufacturers" in the world?

[Road kill]

All those reviewers that said it was the best thing since sb and riders who won/bet the biggest bike manufacturers in the world were wrong then?

Not to mention the owners that pay squillians for one?

Nice troll.

Well sorry to burst your bubble but everything I've said is true.

The engine was based on an old Jap,the front end was a total failure an the chassis was not a new idea,,,fuck me both HD and Norton used the engine/gearbox as a stressed part of the frame before Britten did.

Sure the bike was very good in it's day,,,but it was always going to be very short lived because it was never really anything special and by the time it did do any good,,,it's day was already just about over.

Like what has it done since,,,,with all these sqillions ?

And biggist bike manufacturers in the world:laugh:,,,,,,it beat a few other twins in an under developed class,,,,,,,big deal.:yawn:

[Larksea]

the guy built a bike in his garage with a few mates and a shoestring budget and the world stood up and took notice, if it's so easy and overrated how come someone isn't doing it every year? Every Decade? or even every generation? Wait has anyone else ever done anything like this in the modern era?

[leeroy996]

Anything associated with John Britten in USA is prized. They have a real appreciation for what he did and how he did it. Almost every race meeting I go to someone has a John Britten Story or memorabilia. As soon as they hear where I'm from they tell their stories. Regardless of your opinion, he had a big influence on a lot of people.

[jellywrestler]

the guy built a bike in his garage with a few mates and a shoestring budget and the world stood up and took notice, if it's so easy and overrated how come someone isn't doing it every year? Every Decade? or even every generation? Wait has anyone else ever done anything like this in the modern era?

that sums the whole thing up real well for the naysayers

[trustme]

Well sorry to burst your bubble but everything I've said is true.

The engine was based on an old Jap,the front end was a total failure an the chassis was not a new idea,,,fuck me both HD and Norton used the engine/gearbox as a stressed part of the frame before Britten did.

Sure the bike was very good in it's day,,,but it was always going to be very short lived because it was never really anything special and by the time it did do any good,,,it's day was already just about over.

Like what has it done since,,,,with all these sqillions ?

And biggist bike manufacturers in the world:laugh:,,,,,,it beat a few other twins in an under developed class,,,,,,,big deal.:yawn:


Bit harsh mate, the bike was more evolutionary than revolutionary although aspects such as the CF wheels were a first & the build method was patented by John even though Murray Aicken developed it

It was a pretty clever piece of kit that looked like a work of art

On the other hand the shoestring budget garage build is a bit of a myth. John was pretty well off compared to your average biker & he had some very very clever people both here & from overseas helping him, without those people & their input he would have struggled

Overall it was a terrific effort , something Kiwis should be proud of , I hate the tall poppy syndrome

[Kickaha]

the front end was a total failure If it was a total failure how did it mange to hold the lap records like Ruapuna for so long?

the guy built a bike in his garage with a few mates and a shoestring budget That's the myth not the reality

[mikeey01]

Yet again…… Kick the kiwi who has done well down attitude, nice to see fellas.

Give the man a thread and watch him work with it, either design something or improve it beyond logic in the day. He was a doer, not a talker and certainly not a key board jockey.

I didn’t even begin to understand the man, few could but I sure as hell appreciated him for his talents and what he managed to achieve in his short life.

[merv]

Hands up who on here has built a better bike than the Britten in New Zealand?

Certainly not me so I'm not going to knock the bike or the man at all and those that can't stick their hand up and tell us all about their "better" bike but knock Britten, well the rest of us can think of all sorts of names for you that you deserve.

[nodrog]

I built a sidecar in my shed with an angle grinder and Brucies welder, does that count?

[merv]

I built a sidecar in my shed with an angle grinder and Brucies welder, does that count?

Did it get recognised by your peers and the media as a work of art? Then yeah maybe.

[nodrog]

Did it get recognised by your peers and the media as a work of art? Then yeah maybe.

Well im 50% there, Ill try and get it on TV soon.

[BigAl]

Well im 50% there, Ill try and get it on TV soon.

Police 10/7 or motorway patrol? :cool:

[nodrog]

Police 10/7 or motorway patrol? :cool:

Missing pieces.

[craigdek]

Lol say what you want but he got a lot of attention. I was a bit pissed at having to work boxing day during cemetery circuit here in Wangas, I would like to have seen the britten that was here. That and "the fastest Indian" did get kiwi attention.

[Rcktfsh]

Talking of Britten footage.....


http://youtu.be/McnjxoBQ6TQ

[Laava]

Well im 50% there, Ill try and get it on TV soon.

I am so coming to paeroa this year to watch you race. Will you be stopping to sculll a jug on each lap in the time honoured tradition?

[nodrog]

I am so coming to paeroa this year to watch you race. Will you be stopping to sculll a jug on each lap in the time honoured tradition?

I wont be racing it at Pie Roar, but I will still scull a jug a lap.

[Wingnut]

I think its time that guy realised he is going bald. The reverse comb over pony tail look aint fooling no one!!!!!

[Renegade]

the comments about the front suspension being crap clearly arent true, just look at that footage and see how settled that bike is around that track compared to the others racing.

[trustme]

That bit is true, they never cured the front end chatter nor from memory did they find the exact cause. They could make it go away with really careful assembly but it would return after a few laps. I think some of the riders asked asked for normal front forks but Britten would not do it. From memory Robert Holden thought a set of good forks would make the bike unbeatable.

Funny that Ducati had so many problems with the front end with their carbon fibre frame, I wonder if there is a connection .

[Voltaire]

I was in the UK in the early 90's went to the IOM in 1992 or 93 and saw this blue and pink bike do a wheelie out of the pits....I took a photo, had no idea at the time what it was...
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p235/rednzep/brittian.jpg

[The Lone Rider]

I was in the UK in the early 90's went to the IOM in 1992 or 93 and saw this blue and pink bike do a wheelie out of the pits....I took a photo, had no idea at the time what it was...


That photo is a very cool bit of history

[Maki]

I read the book. To me Britten's greatest genius was to get other people to work for him from dusk till dawn, day in and day out for nothing or next to nothing. In other words a slave driver. If you consider the amount of labor that went into developing and fabricating his bikes and the facilities Britten had at his disposal there is nothing garage or shoestring about it whatsoever. The garage and shoestring are a silly myth. 60 hours, just to make the exhaust...

[kiwifruit]

Talking of Britten footage.....



Great race. Andrew seems to have more time than the other riders.

[Laava]

I was in the UK in the early 90's went to the IOM in 1992 or 93 and saw this blue and pink bike do a wheelie out of the pits....I took a photo, had no idea at the time what it was...
http://i129.botofuckit.com/albums/p235/rednzep/brittian.jpg

It was 93. I was there also. Pretty sure it was Shaun Harris riding it and it never made more than one lap. We were talking to the crew and they said it was getting electrical interference at the top of the mountain and would just die. They tried wrapping the ecu in copper and lead but it did not do great even after that.

[speights_bud]

Question, Stroudy has been known to do the occasional lap on a Britten which is often on display at big meetings. who owns the bike he uses? I assume it's the only one that gets occasional service? Came about the other day after trying to count on me fingers where the few that were made have all ended up...

Edit: - Googled it, Number 6 apparently belonging to Kevin Grant :) Good bugger for letting us all share the dream :)