A John Britten Thread

[socal]

Great photos. Thanks for sharing. Interesting to see a bike that would otherwise reside at a museum, sitting next to a record player in someones den/garage- He would be pleased...

[bruntr]

Originally Posted by Vandal996

If it blows up and burns down half of the country we know who to blame!


Chris

I don't care who you are thats some funny shit there .......

Man those are some great shots....it would be an honor just to see one in person let alone be let into the garage with that bad boy... I'm in awe!

He puts all these orange county chopper types to shame.... can't even begin to call those guys bike builders.... Hell even I can put together a LEGO set.... doesn't mean I can build a bike

[drthompson65]

This is the best thread of motorcycle porn I've ever viewed..

By chance if some dotcom billionaire had the money could these bikes ever be reproduced?

[Monstaman]

Originally Posted by MVRC51

Thanks for starting this thread, Andi! The pics, are they taken in the BMC basement?

Just in my mates garage at home where he is doing all the work, he is a cleva dude and very fussy, I thing Kirsteen Britten would be stoked for her function cos it looked a millin dollars.

[Monstaman]

Originally Posted by Vandal996

I can't believe you sat on it. Lucky bastard! I hope none of your bad luck rubbed off on it. If it blows up and burns down half of the country we know who to blame!

Did you pull the trigger on that Guzzi?

Chris

Heya Chris, no 1200's in as yet and prolly not till ~August~ at the earliest, will see then.

Interesting developments on the ST0s as well, being stripped down today at the dealer to establish the costs, will keep you informed on that one.

Yeap lucky to get up close and personal, pretty cool really and being a kiwi makes me pretty proud of him, he was simply a genius.

[Monstaman]

Heya Chris, can you please ping me a PM with your email, tried to send one but it bounces back.

Cheers man.

[PSk]

Originally Posted by Monstaman

... pretty cool really and being a kiwi makes me pretty proud of him, he was simply a genius.

Ditto .

Pete

[sburns2421]

Originally Posted by PSk

Again the TV footage that New Zealanders saw was recorded live. John was extremely upset and made the statement that if it was his bikes fault in any way that he would not make or campaign ever again.

While he was not happy it was confirmed to him (within minutes of the accident) that Mark had lost the bike and the wheel broke when the bike hit the curb AFTER Mark had unfortunately lost it.

It must have upset John considerably that all over the media, internet the rumours persisted that his bike broke and resulted in the death of a person, but they went back in 1996 I think.
Pete

Contemporary accounts at the time said video footage showed the wheel appeared to break and that caused the crash, but at this point years later I am willing to accept your scenario.

Either way the darkest day for Britten racers.

[PSk]

Originally Posted by sburns2421

Either way the darkest day for Britten racers.

Agree .

Pete

[RepeatOffender]

Originally Posted by Monstaman

Afternoon all

I was up in Christchurch over the weekend and caught up with a long time mate that works in the South Islands dealership for Ducati Casbolts Ducati/Honda casbolts.co.nz

He had the no1 Britten at home just tidying it up for a function that Kirsteen was holding so he just buffed it up and tinkered with a few things as it has been in storage.

I took a bunch of closeups for the lads to see as it is a very special machine, this is the first one built and was the build after the original Denco Aero bike.

Have a look here Britten Motorcycle Company for the full site and sit back and enjoy some pics.

First one of me on it , more pics afta!

Absolutely awesome, Monstaman!

...For those who don't know, all that carbon fiber (wheels,forks, etc) was HAND made..........in a one-man workshop.........+/-15 years ago......!!!

I love all the hand forged parts, too. You can see the slightest imperfections. This bike was like a time machine from the future.

Great pics.

[duckdawg]

Leonardo...

[simonkobe]

thank you for those treasured shots
im so proud to be from christchurch new zealand

Why cant there be some more examples made of the britten?theres alot more money around now in NZ,as well as the talent...

Peter Jackson can sell one of his crappy WW2 fighters planes and finance it!

[thorsten]

Thats it , black headers.
Black "hugger" then and semi mall black fairing .
Would probably look then like vaulted into 2007.

[simonkobe]

the main guys there had big improvements for the suspension,but money wasnt allowed for it after Johns death.
also im sure the aerodynamics would have been changed plus engine parts made of carbon graphite(he was working on that before his death...)

[Haywood]

Thanks for sharing the photos. I had the priveledge of seeing one of his motorcycles at the Art of the Motorcycle in the Venetian several years ago.

The man was decades ahead of his time.

[Monstaman]

Originally Posted by Haywood

The man was decades ahead of his time.

There is no doubt he has helped shape the future for motorcycling in a big way.

Simonkobe, excellent putting up the pics, nice detailing shots, great to see the enthusiasm keep rolling

[simonkobe]

my pleasure!but nothing beats those real close ups u posted.you can feel the engineering and dedication in those pics.
I just dont understand why we(people of christchurch or where ever)dont get these built again...
i reckon the time is right to make Brittens again.

[PSk]

Originally Posted by simonkobe

my pleasure!but nothing beats those real close ups u posted.you can feel the engineering and dedication in those pics.
I just dont understand why we(people of christchurch or where ever)dont get these built again...
i reckon the time is right to make Brittens again.

While I agree the time is right to make bikes again, to continue to remake the same design
over and over (like Harleys and Morgans [car]) is not what John Britten was about.

I think it's time for somebody in NZ to take over the batton and create new, wonderfully
advanced thinking m/c's, and if the Britten family want to get involved and even lend the
name (to help establish a/the brand if you like) great.

Even John would be making new designs now, not just spitting out the same old things.
That is why he would never have been a manufacturer, because he was always looking
forward, for the next idea.

Pete

[Monstaman]

That is true Pete, if I had the resources available I would luv to take up the engineering and design work, unfortunately we kiwis are dumb and must own our own homes and our own 1/4 acre, me, I am in the same mould thuis leaving less money to play with.

Where we live in Wanaka it is far cheaper to rent than to own if you have a huge mortgage, fortunately we don't and we have our own place with 110 m2 of garaging (1100sqft) .

Once Mr.Mortgage man is off our shoulders I am gonna start doing light engineering/design etc but until then the Quantity Surveying pays the bills and allows us a life which I can't complain about.

I don't quite have the engineering psycho mind of John, he was a one off from a different mould and I truely aspire to his way of thinking.

K, back to work for me to pay for everything

[PSk]

What is the included angle of the engines V, it definitely does not look like 90 degrees like a Ducati. How the heck did he hold it together?

158 hp @ 11800rpm!!!!
Pete