A John Britten Thread

[sburns2421]

Originally Posted by 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

60 degrees.

I have never read about a counterbalancer in the engine either. IIRC it was described merely as "careful balancing" during assembly.

[drthompson65]

Originally Posted by 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

We'll be looking for you stuff soon!

[Monstaman]

Originally Posted by drthompson65

We'll be looking for you stuff soon!

Excellent .. wonna CNC mill, new tig gear, new drill press, new lathe .....and a coffee machine

[GAMBLER]

this is an excellent thread... bump

NZ On Screen - Britten: Backyard Visionary

[simonkobe]

thanks for the link!

another genius kiwi

NZ On Screen - Good Taste Made Bad Taste

[GAMBLER]

Originally Posted by simonkobe

thanks for the link!
another genius kiwi

something in the water

[Monstaman]

I am very very proud to be a Kiwi, Burt Munro and John Britten are two of the more notable "characters" in our history and the 'make it yourself' has rubbed off on me.

Up till a couple of years ago we did not have access to the stuff you guys did in the US, the internet has made the world very small but even now the Kiwi way is to make it and save yaself a hundy

Our #8 wire and a block of wood philosophy has worked us into history books, proud of that .... but also happy with new technology as well.

Live your dreams gentlemen, life is not a dress rehearsal

[Ric]

My wife and i did the "Art of the Motorcycle" exhibit in Orlando a few years ago.One of the most notable bikes of the show was a Britten.The pics of it are near the tail end of this collection.I'm not positive that it is the real thing, or a replica. Picasa Web Albums - Ric - Art of the Mo...

[Monstaman]

Originally Posted by Ric

.I'm not positive that it is the real thing, or a replica

It is real.

[simonkobe]

bumpity thingy for a real good thread

[Whippersnapper]

Originally Posted by Monstaman

Early forks, early wheels etc, Chris Haldane biffed due to the forks snapping and I think a broken collar bone was the result

Trial and error was a lot to do with a man pushing the boundaries to the max and beyond.

Haldane crashed while testing the bike after the front end broke after coming down from a wheelie. In retrospect it was pretty silly to be wheel standing it on a shake down ride at Ruapuna. He did break his collarbone. From memory he still won the NZGP Superbike race the following week on his OW01.

The bike was awesome and it sure blew the wheels off my Rob Muzzy kitted ZXR750H2 down the front straight!!

Those were the days. Thanks for sharing the pics