I was lucky enough to meet John Britten on the Isle of Man in the early 90's. He was charm personified! I bought a Tee shirt and a badge off him, both of which are still with me, and highly prized. Top bloke. RIP
The rarest motorbike in the world. John Britten figured out aero dynamics of motorcycles 37 years before motogp. To call John Britten a genius doesn't do him justice.
There is 1 in 100 million people that come along and do something very special though in John's case he was the first and last of a kind 👍👌 what a real life super hero
proud kiwi right here, A whole Nation comes with that bike and is a Taonga(Treasure) of our Country, I can see old girl is in good hands Far from Home, look after Johns Creation and show people that dreams can come true ….🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿
I dont mean to be off topic but does someone know a method to get back into an Instagram account..? I somehow lost the account password. I would love any tips you can offer me!
"His brain was always going at 100 miles an hour and the ideas flowed out of him. He also had the ability to turn his ideas into breathing, living things,'' quote from my grandfather Kevin Mccleary on his friend John at the time of his passing. Kevin also helped with at least a part that I know of
Thank you for posting, I live in Canterbury NZ and went to a Motorcycle speed trial on south Eyer Road where John had the predecessor to this bike there and was testing the top speed and have fond memories of seeing John and the V1000 a few years later at Ruapuna with Arron Stroud racing demo laps for the crowd. Real shame with Johns passing make you wonder what could have been...
Im from cust I knew a bloke who was very close to this bike , he reckoned they had success largely because all the other companies had to have a race bike similar to their st bikes to sell bikes, and that carbon fibre forks thing was because he made them to take force from moving forward ,he did allow for the force from putting the wheel down from the wheelie .
Brilliant man. The Britten was in the Guggenheim Museum's Art of the Motorcycle. I saw it race several time in Auckland and attended John's Memorial Service at Pukekohe. His wife spoke from the back of a flat bed...right next to a V1000. John is a New Zealand icon.
Also from Christchurch, it's amazing this near brings tears watching. Loved watching them race on home ground in the 90's. Was there in 2015 right next to them in the tent with the bikes giving a speech on the 20th anniversary of John's passing. This weekend I've drawn two pen Brittens and have heard back today from the Britten motor co to use them on their page and hopefully I'll get them signed by John's wife, Andrew Stroud and his crew.
Def still one left here, my grandfather was offered a ride around 10 years ago but he was in no state to ride anymore by that time. Still have Strouds gsx1000 at mother's since my father passed away
Some engineer Mr Britten, to be able to pull the machine apart, weld/braise the piston liner like he did, good enough so it was fit to race. Obviously the guy was a one off.
He didn't really have any other choice. It was either weld it back up and see what happens, or go home knowing the bike could have done better. He was 9000 miles away from his home town, probably on a shoe-string budget, and with very few interchangeable spare parts. Bad idea or not, had he lost an entire engine, he'd just go home and make himself another. But yes, definitely a one off. The very opposite of New Zealand's "Number 8 fencing wire" mentality for building or repairing things.
Today 4/3/21 I went to a bike show and on display was a Britten. It was an absolutely stunning machine that left me wondering at how much a genius John Britten was. Photographing any Nike at that show was encouraged but physical touching any of the bikes was a taboo. As I was pretending to be photographing a close up of a section of the bike I reached out and touched the bike and it made my bloody day just having even just touched an actual genuine Britten motorcycle. Just that simple little naughty act of touching it was a real highlight for me. I’ve been involved with bikes just bout all my dust life but simple little act meant so much for some silly reason. I still wonder what John Britten would have done with motorcycles if he was still with us today. What a shear genius. RIP John Britten.
I'm in the engineering field and in this field this man is an absolute legend, if not, the founding father of what it means to engineer from cradle to finish.
That bike racing at Daytona was a home made engine from a garage in Christchurch New Zealand. Every part from the flywheel to the valves (NOT DUCATI). The whole bike was hand made in NZ even the wheels. I think the only thing brought were the rectifier and tires.
Ok. 6 yr after your comment. I'm watching and had 2 go to comments to check. 100% no Ducati connection other than passing one on the back straight at Daytona on the back wheel. Up the kiwis and up the wahs.
@@richardbrown8785 Bruce Anstey, Burt Munro, Avalon Biddle, Jim Richards, Steven Richards, Possum Bourne, Graham Crosby, Arron Slight, John Hempleman, Andrew Stroud, Greg Murphy...
Before people start complaining the earlier bikes John’s team raced before the Britten 1000 used Ducati engines. I’m sure that was stated in a book authorised by John’s wife.
Around 2008 I got to shoot (photograph) the Britten's last Kiwi outing with Stroudy on it at Pukekohe Race Course near Auckland NZ. From the pits to the hair pin at the bottom of the 300kph back straight. It was a memorable day out. oh yeah Kevin Swantz was ridding in the classic that day and got a great shot of him push starting a Norton in practice as icing on the cake.
I think i`ll just build a bike with my own hands in my own garage and Take on the whole world HAHAHAHAHA People like John makes me feel so proud to be a Kiwi ... Arohamai John Britton R.I.P
John took concepts of low air pressure & flow from Steve Roberts who built the first true monocoque Suzuki powered f1/formula1000 all carbon fiber bikes in 1982-3 for nz Hiscock brothers...Johns engine was based on christchurches Denco Engineering's air cooled V1000 speedway sidecar engine with Suzuki gearbox attached. Still...a truely amazing machine
John's first special used a Denco engine. It wasn't fast enough, so he got Jerry Branch to tune it. Based on Branch's recommendations, Briitten then designed his own complete engine. It was not connected to the Denco design at all. But yes, Suzuki gear cluster and clutch used
Yep,lots of errors in the commentary.John's first design used a Ducati engine but that was a long long time before he went overseas.There were the Denco motors before that.Never mind that,it's got my race number on it !!!.I wish I could have taken it for a ride before my body started malfunctioning!!Push started it once with John while Andrew was on board.LOL Chris Haldane was told "No Wheelies!!" but Chris just couldn't help himself.Good job he found the issue while pulling a little low speed wheelie really.Ah,the good old days.Some nice footage here though but really??the "driver" I freakin dont think so!!!That commentator is just not right a lot!!
Also I think you would find he is using a kiln for heat treating not casting. Not sure if he would have done the casting in house , but I seem to remember he made the patterns for the castings to be made from.
Yep they are talking sh*t. The Britten official video says it was a faulty rectifier that bought an end to their Daytona hopes that year, not a faulty battery cable from a NZ hardware store. Don't know where they got that one from. I think they like to spin a yarn.
+WD-40 keep in mind this was probably recorded in late 2011 or early 2012, not aired for another 6 months with editing, than aired at a even later date.
+Thunda1986 The guy doing the voice over said " only road worthy Britten left", but the mechanics said "this is the only one left running, isn't it ?...yeah" and neither is correct or true.
+Thunda1986 There is no such thing as a "road-worthy" V1000. They were all track only motorcycles, like the Kawasaki H2R for instance, or the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento. All 10 of them run, its just the owners of them aren't prepared to risk binning a million dollar motorcycle. There were 7 of them at the Ruapuna Sound of Thunder festival last year, which was a John Britten tribute, plus both of the Aero-D concepts he built, which were the Ducati/Denco powered bikes mentioned
What a great guy, looks like he was an Adrian Newey or Gordon Murray kind of genius AND did with such a small team. And what a dream bike !! That and a Moto Guzzi 500 bicilindria and my dream garage would be complete.
Pretty sure the bike won the ccs heavy weight superbike the week before it was a pleasure to see and hear it run, how far has American motorcycle racing gone from those days.
From such a small Nation and Country, John Britten from New Zealand was from another Planet, His eye to detail and his look to the Future was put into his bikes, The long days and hours, The good times and the bad, Findly Paid off, Everyone in the Biking industry was scared of him, An in the short time of his Life, He differently showed the World your Dreams and your Vision can come true, R.I.P John Britten you make us Kiwis so proud, But also, I have to say us Kiwis also have a Car called McLaren, That was made by Bruce McLaren that was also Kiwi from New Zealand also, His Dreams and Vision's were on another Level and both these Amazing men, Ideas are still around today, They Designed, They Engineered a Weapon of there time, An they still hold records to this day, They differently have Talent and to Dream big from down under, R.I.P to Bruce McLaren to, You guys put our small Nation and Country on the Map, An we Thank you, Yous two will never be Forgotten 😊😎🙏
i want to have one of these. but im afraid that my talent level would be an insult to John Britten and the engineering ingenuity that has been done to make it. i hope that the people who owns these would share them to the rest of the world and doesnt let this engineering marvel be forgotten.
I saw a Britten riden by Andrew Stroud about 13 years ago at Puckekoe raceway near Auckland. What a machine and what a rider Andrew Stroyd is.Kevin Swantz was also a guest there riding a 500 Norton Manx.
A great day, im a photographer, and had pit pass and infield access. I will always remember Stroudy popping at the bottom of the back straight for the hair pin
Keryn York i like to think the thumbs down represent the poor documentary lacking in facts. Not the man or the bike himself. A sad loss of a great man.
John had a awesome team behind him to say he done it on his own is utter rubbish. But it would not have happened without him a great man that achieved so much and not just in motorcycles in his short life. RIP
Bert Munro was a brilliant engineer / tuner, but John Britten was on another level. He designed and built a complete bike which was far and away the most radical re-design of the motorcycle in decades (a quarter of a century on, no-one has done anything to beat it conceptually). Almost entirely on his own. Well, with a tool maker and lots of help from his friends......
Mate,bloody legend,, the world got the fastest indian,now wait for the story of John Britten, his story would be inspirational to all bike riders of the world on one mans vision,Chuck Berry made rock n roll, John Britten created a super bike. R.i.p John,i reckon he would be tinkering in a garage somewhere with Burt Munroe ,exchanging ideas and pissing on lemon trees, Ridimg with the angels. Mick Murray goldcoast fan,
For those of you saying it didn't use a Ducati engine well you are sort of right. The Britten V1000 used an engine built by John Britten. That said his first bike he took to Daytona, the " Winged Wonder " was his home built frame and it used a Ducati engine.
More than 'sort of right'. The very first Britten, the Aero-D-Zero used a Ducati engine. NO subsequent bike used a Ducati engine - the Aero-D-One used a Denco. Later bikes used Britten's own engine design, made by him.. I think he used piston blanks originally made for Ducatis, but not sure.
@@psk1w1 You are right about the piston prototypes John used. It was one of the renowned piston manufacturers like Mahle or other who had suggested this piston design to Ducati. At that time Ducati rejected the new design and John embraced the idea for his project.
If you want to see Burt Munro's bikes, go to Invercargill at the very south of the South Island. The Indian, and also his 1936 Velocette, are at E Hayes department store. If anyone tells you the real bike is in the US, don't believe them. The Indian at E Hayes has the engine which did ALL the testing and Bonneville runs. The US bike has a later chassis, and an engine made by Burt after he had to stop racing due to his heart condition. It is a genuine Burt Munro bike, but not THE bike....
Correct. His first special started out as a bevel drive Ducati. Then he built a completely new bike with a Denco V twin engine (a doubled-up speedway engine), made in John Britten's home city Christchurch, New Zealand. It wasn't fast enough, so he sent it to Jerry Branch in the US for tuning. Branch told him what was wrong with the design, and based on these comments, John Britten designed his own engine - and made the casting patterns, and cast it at home. The first iteration had telecopic forks, then he built a new bike with the wishbone front forks and the super-clever aerodynamics. Sadly, it was probably his pioneering work on the bodywork which caused the cancer which killed him.
If you can pay attention to the Video he raced a bike with a Ducati Engine then he went home to build his own bike the next year.. he cast his own heads ect but even the Britten Engine had a Suzuki Transmission .. what did the video say .. the Britten had 6,000 home made parts.. V-Twin Class there was a time when Harley was the Brand to beat ..
NZ our tiny country has produced some absolutely awesome people,Kate Sheppard, Edd Hillary,Lord Rutherford, Hamilton, Maclaren, Munroe,must be something in our DNA,or because we're so far away,we think outside the ⬛
obviously the commentator has never been to NZ - at the last Britten 20th memorial there were 4 Brittens on the track - all Kiwi bikes ... In the 80's when we were riding bikes and John and his team were building the bike we'd see them at Ruapuna testing all the time. The 'Ducati' engine was a Denco V twin speedway bike made by a chap in Chch. Available to any speedway rider in NZ. Denco was handmade and home built too.
Close, but get the sequence right. John Britten had a Ducati, made his own chassis for it, then sold the bike. Then he got Denco Engineering to make him a V twin based on their speedway engines. Then he made his own engine with no Denco connections at all
After hearing the whole story I got so nervous when they rode it. Easy guys, its all handmade in those hands are gone. It's cool that it can be ridden, but maybe don't.
Now I'm left with a question... Why isn't anyone in MotoGP scavenging this genius? or are the rules too restrictive and a bike has to have the tradition shape/ form?
Master Chief 00117 yup but MotoGP is bs becuase Honda uses a v4 but you don't see them making new rfv for sale only the Cbr is their flagship sport which uses a inline they only make the rc213 for this reason which given if john had more time easily could of done but Isle of Man tt is the true test of a bike the Isle is true stress test of a bike very few circuit tracks where you see bikes going so fast over hills and rises that they take off into the sky
Groovy Panda I agree. As the RC213V five cylinder was never Mass Produced.. It also was limited to Factory Team riders and not all of them got one either... This was always the issue with Honda. They hired the best riders and if you started losing they gave your bike to someone that was winning..Just the nature of the sport when they toss millions into it. The Isle of Man TT is a totally different beast.
Master Chief 00117 yeah im curious as to why they don't use a v4 they know from past models they are extremely reliable and competitive at the long high rpms and speed for the tt but they are using fire blades now
That's what i wonder. He appeared to be very youthful and healthy. So yeah, i do wonder if he came into contact with too many chemicals. It's an absolute damn shame.
Died of skin cancer, which is common here in New Zealand due to the high UV exposure we've suffered thanks to the Ozone hole all you other fuckwits are responsible for. :)
@stoeger 2 Yes, I know about that. I was thinking that as JB had avoided a tan, he had avoided the exposure that causes skin cancer - but some people are VERY sensitive to exposure. I remember the days when lots of Kiwis had nut-brown tans. Those days are long gone, the owners dead of skin cancer, and a mild tan is best. In the last few days, there has been publicity of the fact that factories in China, and perhaps elsewhere, are making lots of CFCs and using them to blow insulation into walls of buildings. It's slowing the repair of that ozone hole.
+Hmlspider All of them run, but very few are actually fired and run. #001 and #002 (Stephen Briggs and Andrew Stroud's bikes respectively) are fired and run at least once a year. I actually saw #002 yesterday at the Paeroa Street Races, still absolutely perfect
Britten didn't make the whole thing the engine was a denco speed way engine he added water cooling these engines were already very popular in speed way if you could get one
I was lucky enough to meet John Britten on the Isle of Man in the early 90's. He was charm personified! I bought a Tee shirt and a badge off him, both of which are still with me, and highly prized. Top bloke. RIP
The rarest motorbike in the world. John Britten figured out aero dynamics of motorcycles 37 years before motogp. To call John Britten a genius doesn't do him justice.
There is 1 in 100 million people that come along and do something very special though in John's case he was the first and last of a kind 👍👌 what a real life super hero
A tiny country that has produced some amazing people
@Des M. 😂😂😂
this not the only one left running! i know of two still giving displays in NZ!
proud kiwi right here, A whole Nation comes with that bike and is a Taonga(Treasure) of our Country, I can see old girl is in good hands Far from Home, look after Johns Creation and show people that dreams can come true ….🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿
he had quite a few very talented mates who helped a bloody lot
Hats off to John Britten for his dedication. Love from India 🇮🇳❤️
John Britten never gave up. What a man. Good old Kiwi attitude RIP
pity his family sold the kiwi icons to yanks
@@syroncoda there are 10 of them
I dont mean to be off topic but does someone know a method to get back into an Instagram account..?
I somehow lost the account password. I would love any tips you can offer me!
@Musa Marcellus Instablaster =)
John britten was a engineer ahead of his time absolute genius rest easy john💯🤟🏽♥️
Britten, a man and a machine like no other.
"His brain was always going at 100 miles an hour and the ideas flowed out of him. He also had the ability to turn his ideas into breathing, living things,'' quote from my grandfather Kevin Mccleary on his friend John at the time of his passing. Kevin also helped with at least a part that I know of
What an engineer, what a talent. Thanks Mr Britten, wherever you are, for having given birth to this incredible and beautiful machine. Bless you.
I remember seeing this bike ride in Assen as a kid, amazing!
Wow, what a bloke.
Just like Burt back in the day awesum
A fine homage to a brilliant man and his incredible achievements ... an inspiration. Thank you for the video.
Thank you for posting, I live in Canterbury NZ and went to a Motorcycle speed trial on south Eyer Road where John had the predecessor to this bike there and was testing the top speed and have fond memories of seeing John and the V1000 a few years later at Ruapuna with Arron Stroud racing demo laps for the crowd. Real shame with Johns passing make you wonder what could have been...
Im from cust I knew a bloke who was very close to this bike , he reckoned they had success largely because all the other companies had to have a race bike similar to their st bikes to sell bikes, and that carbon fibre forks thing was because he made them to take force from moving forward ,he did allow for the force from putting the wheel down from the wheelie .
Brilliant man. The Britten was in the Guggenheim Museum's Art of the Motorcycle. I saw it race several time in Auckland and attended John's Memorial Service at Pukekohe. His wife spoke from the back of a flat bed...right next to a V1000. John is a New Zealand icon.
Also from Christchurch, it's amazing this near brings tears watching. Loved watching them race on home ground in the 90's. Was there in 2015 right next to them in the tent with the bikes giving a speech on the 20th anniversary of John's passing. This weekend I've drawn two pen Brittens and have heard back today from the Britten motor co to use them on their page and hopefully I'll get them signed by John's wife, Andrew Stroud and his crew.
why are good and talented men always short lived??
This dude's a superhero!!!
R I P....you gave us pride,you gave us a goal...all new zealands thank you....R I P..
Brilliant bike ... brilliant man!
Every kiwi knows that beast of a machine.R.I.P John Britten
Def still one left here, my grandfather was offered a ride around 10 years ago but he was in no state to ride anymore by that time. Still have Strouds gsx1000 at mother's since my father passed away
Rest In Peace John Britten.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Its so great to see the britten getting its props now. One of the best handbuilt bikes ever! And werth a cool million now.
Such an INCREDIBLE story!! Such a sad story!
Rest in Peace, Brother! ❤
I love Broz! This bike is, was and will always be something very special :)
He beat the biggest motorcycle factories his FIRST TIME! Oh and use original designs on every system and component WTF !
The "world's fastest Britten" Awesome bike Awesome man!
The Indian was second fastest and Cowboy the slowest
Some engineer Mr Britten, to be able to pull the machine apart, weld/braise the piston liner like he did, good enough so it was fit to race. Obviously the guy was a one off.
Braze. It's not a piece of cheap meat.
He didn't really have any other choice. It was either weld it back up and see what happens, or go home knowing the bike could have done better. He was 9000 miles away from his home town, probably on a shoe-string budget, and with very few interchangeable spare parts. Bad idea or not, had he lost an entire engine, he'd just go home and make himself another.
But yes, definitely a one off. The very opposite of New Zealand's "Number 8 fencing wire" mentality for building or repairing things.
Have you watched : "The Worlds Fastest Indian?"
As sequels go I reckon it is far better than the World's Slowest Cowboy
great video ,,, what a bike , what a man.
Today 4/3/21 I went to a bike show and on display was a Britten. It was an absolutely stunning machine that left me wondering at how much a genius John Britten was. Photographing any Nike at that show was encouraged but physical touching any of the bikes was a taboo. As I was pretending to be photographing a close up of a section of the bike I reached out and touched the bike and it made my bloody day just having even just touched an actual genuine Britten motorcycle. Just that simple little naughty act of touching it was a real highlight for me. I’ve been involved with bikes just bout all my dust life but simple little act meant so much for some silly reason. I still wonder what John Britten would have done with motorcycles if he was still with us today. What a shear genius. RIP John Britten.
How did he pass away?
I'm in the engineering field and in this field this man is an absolute legend, if not, the founding father of what it means to engineer from cradle to finish.
Genius.
As a kiwi it's so cool to see a Britten still being ridden 🤘🤘👍
That bike racing at Daytona was a home made engine from a garage in Christchurch New Zealand. Every part from the flywheel to the valves (NOT DUCATI). The whole bike was hand made in NZ even the wheels. I think the only thing brought were the rectifier and tires.
That's more or less it, the box internals were GSXR as I recall.
@flip inheck Aero-D-Zero
You hit it on the head,the worlds fastest Britten,wicked.
Go Johnny Go.
Gone to soon my kiwi brother.
Hey chris what are u on about,
Negative Chris,whats your bike genius.
Ok. 6 yr after your comment. I'm watching and had 2 go to comments to check. 100% no Ducati connection other than passing one on the back straight at Daytona on the back wheel. Up the kiwis and up the wahs.
Epic bike and epic rider, such a loss.
Bruce McLaren and John Britten
New Zealand sure makes some motorsport greats.
And don't forget Shane van Gisbergen when he entered his first NASCAR race, and won it!
Hugh Anderson, Denny Hulme, Chris Amon, Scott Dixon, SVG, Ivan Mauger, Ben Townley, Liam Lawson....
@@richardbrown8785 Bruce Anstey, Burt Munro, Avalon Biddle, Jim Richards, Steven Richards, Possum Bourne, Graham Crosby, Arron Slight, John Hempleman, Andrew Stroud, Greg Murphy...
@@mirandahotspring4019 Hi, yes the list goes on, nice.
Before people start complaining the earlier bikes John’s team raced before the Britten 1000 used Ducati engines. I’m sure that was stated in a book authorised by John’s wife.
Around 2008 I got to shoot (photograph) the Britten's last Kiwi outing with Stroudy on it at Pukekohe Race Course near Auckland NZ. From the pits to the hair pin at the bottom of the 300kph back straight. It was a memorable day out. oh yeah Kevin Swantz was ridding in the classic that day and got a great shot of him push starting a Norton in practice as icing on the cake.
Ahead of his time and gone too soon.
thats not the only britten that still runs. Most of them are still run.
A true engineer, rip.
I think i`ll just build a bike with my own hands in my own garage and Take on the whole world HAHAHAHAHA People like John makes me feel so proud to be a Kiwi ... Arohamai John Britton R.I.P
And WIN !!
John took concepts of low air pressure & flow from Steve Roberts who built the first true monocoque Suzuki powered f1/formula1000 all carbon fiber bikes in 1982-3 for nz Hiscock brothers...Johns engine was based on christchurches Denco Engineering's air cooled V1000 speedway sidecar engine with Suzuki gearbox attached.
Still...a truely amazing machine
Thank you for this information. These people need to get credit too. They're part of Motorcycle history.
John's first special used a Denco engine. It wasn't fast enough, so he got Jerry Branch to tune it. Based on Branch's recommendations, Briitten then designed his own complete engine. It was not connected to the Denco design at all. But yes, Suzuki gear cluster and clutch used
Gone way to young
And we are left with the likes of Kanye and the Kardashian’s
It’s a dam crime against humanity
It ain't how long you live, friend. It's what you leave behind you.
Hahaha... OMG IKR.
Yep,lots of errors in the commentary.John's first design used a Ducati engine but that was a long long time before he went overseas.There were the Denco motors before that.Never mind that,it's got my race number on it !!!.I wish I could have taken it for a ride before my body started malfunctioning!!Push started it once with John while Andrew was on board.LOL Chris Haldane was told "No Wheelies!!" but Chris just couldn't help himself.Good job he found the issue while pulling a little low speed wheelie really.Ah,the good old days.Some nice footage here though but really??the "driver" I freakin dont think so!!!That commentator is just not right a lot!!
Also I think you would find he is using a kiln for heat treating not casting. Not sure if he would have done the casting in house , but I seem to remember he made the patterns for the castings to be made from.
What about kevin grants britten in nz? Thats still running!
Yep they are talking sh*t.
The Britten official video says it was a faulty rectifier that bought an end to their Daytona hopes that year, not a faulty battery cable from a NZ hardware store.
Don't know where they got that one from. I think they like to spin a yarn.
Three were running in new zealand just a few years ago at the john britten memorial. Wheelstanding, wheelspinning and going well.
It's not the only one running, there is one in New Zealand in full race tirm and going very nicely.
Brian Mckenzie yeah that's what I thought, there is a few running, they just don't run them that often as there is very limited to no parts available
+WD-40 keep in mind this was probably recorded in late 2011 or early 2012, not aired for another 6 months with editing, than aired at a even later date.
he said road worthy
+Thunda1986 The guy doing the voice over said " only road worthy Britten left", but the mechanics said "this is the only one left running, isn't it ?...yeah" and neither is correct or true.
+Thunda1986 There is no such thing as a "road-worthy" V1000. They were all track only motorcycles, like the Kawasaki H2R for instance, or the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento. All 10 of them run, its just the owners of them aren't prepared to risk binning a million dollar motorcycle. There were 7 of them at the Ruapuna Sound of Thunder festival last year, which was a John Britten tribute, plus both of the Aero-D concepts he built, which were the Ducati/Denco powered bikes mentioned
What a great guy, looks like he was an Adrian Newey or Gordon Murray kind of genius AND did with such a small team.
And what a dream bike !! That and a Moto Guzzi 500 bicilindria and my dream garage would be complete.
Pretty sure the bike won the ccs heavy weight superbike the week before it was a pleasure to see and hear it run, how far has American motorcycle racing gone from those days.
guy martin rides britten at manfield.New Zealand
From such a small Nation and Country, John Britten from New Zealand was from another Planet, His eye to detail and his look to the Future was put into his bikes, The long days and hours, The good times and the bad, Findly Paid off, Everyone in the Biking industry was scared of him, An in the short time of his Life, He differently showed the World your Dreams and your Vision can come true, R.I.P John Britten you make us Kiwis so proud, But also, I have to say us Kiwis also have a Car called McLaren, That was made by Bruce McLaren that was also Kiwi from New Zealand also, His Dreams and Vision's were on another Level and both these Amazing men, Ideas are still around today, They Designed, They Engineered a Weapon of there time, An they still hold records to this day, They differently have Talent and to Dream big from down under, R.I.P to Bruce McLaren to, You guys put our small Nation and Country on the Map, An we Thank you, Yous two will never be Forgotten 😊😎🙏
i want to have one of these. but im afraid that my talent level would be an insult to John Britten and the engineering ingenuity that has been done to make it. i hope that the people who owns these would share them to the rest of the world and doesnt let this engineering marvel be forgotten.
Assuming anyone was willing to sell, you would need a lot of money to own a Britten V1000
I saw a Britten riden by Andrew Stroud about 13 years ago at Puckekoe raceway near Auckland. What a machine and what a rider Andrew Stroyd is.Kevin Swantz was also a guest there riding a 500 Norton Manx.
A great day, im a photographer, and had pit pass and infield access. I will always remember Stroudy popping at the bottom of the back straight for the hair pin
omg.. he did great.. and never gone home ..
Thing he's working on catches fire.
John: Interesting concept.
There were 3 of these on track at Pukekohe raceway this year for the Classic Festival
I hope his son has at least one of his dads bikes
fabuleuse aventure ,,,
thumbs down to the thumbs down
Keryn York i like to think the thumbs down represent the poor documentary lacking in facts. Not the man or the bike himself. A sad loss of a great man.
John had a awesome team behind him to say he done it on his own is utter rubbish. But it would not have happened without him a great man that achieved so much and not just in motorcycles in his short life. RIP
i think john had taken inspiration from that other famous kiwi BERT MUNRO
Bert Munro was a brilliant engineer / tuner, but John Britten was on another level. He designed and built a complete bike which was far and away the most radical re-design of the motorcycle in decades (a quarter of a century on, no-one has done anything to beat it conceptually). Almost entirely on his own. Well, with a tool maker and lots of help from his friends......
Ahem, BURT Munro
it was not a $5 cable bought in NZ , it was a imported part , coil i think
It was a rectifier
Capacitor? In the Doco.
Awsome
Mate,bloody legend,, the world got the fastest indian,now wait for the
story of John Britten, his story would be inspirational to all bike riders of the world on one mans vision,Chuck Berry made rock n roll, John Britten created a super bike. R.i.p John,i reckon he would be tinkering in a garage somewhere with Burt Munroe ,exchanging ideas and pissing on lemon trees,
Ridimg with the angels.
Mick Murray goldcoast fan,
Americans... you don't have the last one running.
Brem they had the only track ready model but I believe that there are some collectors that have let some out for riding
Brett Coates No, they didnt, there is and always has been at least one, race ready in NZ.
Brem let them assume they have the last one while.
Brem - exactly right Go Kiwi - owned by Kevin Grant based in Auckland
2 running on the track at Pukekohe NZ last weekend, one this color and one black yellow :D
For those of you saying it didn't use a Ducati engine well you are sort of right. The Britten V1000 used an engine built by John Britten. That said his first bike he took to Daytona, the " Winged Wonder " was his home built frame and it used a Ducati engine.
More than 'sort of right'. The very first Britten, the Aero-D-Zero used a Ducati engine. NO subsequent bike used a Ducati engine - the Aero-D-One used a Denco. Later bikes used Britten's own engine design, made by him.. I think he used piston blanks originally made for Ducatis, but not sure.
@@psk1w1 You are right about the piston prototypes John used. It was one of the renowned piston manufacturers like Mahle or other who had suggested this piston design to Ducati. At that time Ducati rejected the new design and John embraced the idea for his project.
Do your homework, the one originally raced by Andrew Stroud is regularly ridden at events here around New Zealand.
Pretty sure this is not the only one running unless you’ve given it to Andrew Stroud in NZ.
New Zealand is were that "WORLDS FASTEST INDIAN "movie came from. I'd like to go their so day.
If you want to see Burt Munro's bikes, go to Invercargill at the very south of the South Island. The Indian, and also his 1936 Velocette, are at E Hayes department store. If anyone tells you the real bike is in the US, don't believe them. The Indian at E Hayes has the engine which did ALL the testing and Bonneville runs. The US bike has a later chassis, and an engine made by Burt after he had to stop racing due to his heart condition. It is a genuine Burt Munro bike, but not THE bike....
@@psk1w1 I would love to do that. I need to win the lottery to get to do that. Thanks.
Watched the movie last week for the first time "Brilliant" Typical understated ability. all the best from across the "Ditch"
Literbike power with the weight of a Ninja 250? Ok. Sounds like fun.
Ducati engine my arse. All hand built and designed by John himself.
The Aero d zero had a Ducati engine but the V1000 didnt.
The " Winged Wonder " used a Ducati engine.
Watch the video beginning again it will explain it to you.
Correct. His first special started out as a bevel drive Ducati. Then he built a completely new bike with a Denco V twin engine (a doubled-up speedway engine), made in John Britten's home city Christchurch, New Zealand. It wasn't fast enough, so he sent it to Jerry Branch in the US for tuning. Branch told him what was wrong with the design, and based on these comments, John Britten designed his own engine - and made the casting patterns, and cast it at home. The first iteration had telecopic forks, then he built a new bike with the wishbone front forks and the super-clever aerodynamics. Sadly, it was probably his pioneering work on the bodywork which caused the cancer which killed him.
@@psk1w1 thanks for the rest of the story.
Unbelievable man..Rest in peace
Britten built his own engine. He did NOT use a Ducati engine dammit! So frickin' annoying.
He did use a Ducati engine, just not in the V1000, the earlier Aero D Zero had a Ducati power plant.
syroncoda yes they are. There's 2 still here
@@syroncoda There's some in NZ.
If you can pay attention to the Video he raced a bike with a Ducati Engine then he went home to build his own bike the next year.. he cast his own heads ect but even the Britten Engine had a Suzuki Transmission .. what did the video say .. the Britten had 6,000 home made parts..
V-Twin Class there was a time when Harley was the Brand to beat ..
Three still owned and run in nz private collection plus the original Aero. they all run in various nz meets.
it always doing willy in any gear? imagine how powerful the torque of this bike is, truly a legendary bike
When u have a dream
Greatest bike ever made! Every bike enthusiast would like to touch this white crow ❤️
guy Martin is on number 1
NZ our tiny country has produced some absolutely awesome people,Kate Sheppard, Edd Hillary,Lord Rutherford, Hamilton, Maclaren, Munroe,must be something in our DNA,or because we're so far away,we think outside the ⬛
obviously the commentator has never been to NZ - at the last Britten 20th memorial there were 4 Brittens on the track - all Kiwi bikes ... In the 80's when we were riding bikes and John and his team were building the bike we'd see them at Ruapuna testing all the time. The 'Ducati' engine was a Denco V twin speedway bike made by a chap in Chch. Available to any speedway rider in NZ. Denco was handmade and home built too.
Close, but get the sequence right. John Britten had a Ducati, made his own chassis for it, then sold the bike. Then he got Denco Engineering to make him a V twin based on their speedway engines. Then he made his own engine with no Denco connections at all
His wife's kiln... darn I need a wife like that
You cant beat the 1100 on open pipes. The muffler on this strangles the noise!
John Britten made his own engines. Not a Ducati engine
The first bike he built he didnt build the engine....
After hearing the whole story I got so nervous when they rode it. Easy guys, its all handmade in those hands are gone.
It's cool that it can be ridden, but maybe don't.
I can see we're Eric buel got inspire from
Te Papa The Museum of NZ had one. Definitely not a private collection.
It was loaned to them
@@xx-bg2dj They still have cause they own it.
@@timpate78 is that the one in Cardinal livery that is suspended from the ceiling by wires?
Now I'm left with a question... Why isn't anyone in MotoGP scavenging this genius? or are the rules too restrictive and a bike has to have the tradition shape/ form?
He's dead, plus I don't think the any bike maker stood by idlely without following his innovation.
Because they band it from Moto GP just after it come out and started winning. The Factories said it had to be Mass produced.....
Master Chief 00117 yup but MotoGP is bs becuase Honda uses a v4 but you don't see them making new rfv for sale only the Cbr is their flagship sport which uses a inline they only make the rc213 for this reason which given if john had more time easily could of done but Isle of Man tt is the true test of a bike the Isle is true stress test of a bike very few circuit tracks where you see bikes going so fast over hills and rises that they take off into the sky
Groovy Panda
I agree. As the RC213V five cylinder was never Mass Produced.. It also was limited to Factory Team riders and not all of them got one either...
This was always the issue with Honda. They hired the best riders and if you started losing they gave your bike to someone that was winning..Just the nature of the sport when they toss millions into it.
The Isle of Man TT is a totally different beast.
Master Chief 00117 yeah im curious as to why they don't use a v4 they know from past models they are extremely reliable and competitive at the long high rpms and speed for the tt but they are using fire blades now
hat a man 45 ys not enough
He maybe poisoned himself with all those dangerous products!...But what a genius he was!
That's what i wonder. He appeared to be very youthful and healthy. So yeah, i do wonder if he came into contact with too many chemicals. It's an absolute damn shame.
Died of skin cancer, which is common here in New Zealand due to the high UV exposure we've suffered thanks to the Ozone hole all you other fuckwits are responsible for. :)
@@Metal-Possum you don't make friends like that buddy
@@Metal-Possum John Britten was pasty white. Not much sun exposure there. He probably died of chemical exposure
@stoeger 2 Yes, I know about that. I was thinking that as JB had avoided a tan, he had avoided the exposure that causes skin cancer - but some people are VERY sensitive to exposure. I remember the days when lots of Kiwis had nut-brown tans. Those days are long gone, the owners dead of skin cancer, and a mild tan is best.
In the last few days, there has been publicity of the fact that factories in China, and perhaps elsewhere, are making lots of CFCs and using them to blow insulation into walls of buildings. It's slowing the repair of that ozone hole.
10:35 what's that on that Guys Shirt , the Guy in the Pink Hat ?
The only one still running.....? The two I see doing demo laps in New Zealand must be a figure of my imagination.....
im pretty sure that there are 3 still left running
+Hmlspider All of them run, but very few are actually fired and run. #001 and #002 (Stephen Briggs and Andrew Stroud's bikes respectively) are fired and run at least once a year. I actually saw #002 yesterday at the Paeroa Street Races, still absolutely perfect
Um get facts right this is not the only running Brittan
Britten didn't make the whole thing the engine was a denco speed way engine he added water cooling these engines were already very popular in speed way if you could get one
If only physics simulator like Ansys were already made then, the downtube wouldn't have broken.
Does anyone know the song at 11:15?
What about the riders testing, front end falls off n he goes its a setback, rekon was for the rider 2' wicked tho,
WAT?