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John Britten, the rebirth of independent motorcycling
John Britten, the rebirth of independent motorcycling

Video: John Britten, the rebirth of independent motorcycling

Video: John Britten, the rebirth of independent motorcycling
Video: Greatest Ever Motorcycles: # 6 - Britten V1000 2024, March
Anonim

A couple of decades ago, when superbike headlights were square and mixing purple with pink was considered fashionable, there was a man who turned the two-wheeler world upside down. It was called John Kenton Britten and its appearance on the international scene distorted the foundations of motorcycling history.

The origin of the myth

John britten
John britten

He was born on August 1, 1950 in Christchurch. During the first years of school, those that can divert a lifetime, he ran into certain learning difficulties; suffered from dyslexia. Depending on the country in which you had to live, suffering from dyslexia could cost you the label of "fool" for the remainder of your existence. He might as well have thrown in the towel and given in to disappointment, but with willpower and a group of teachers who drew imagination and vocation - with the help of tape recorders and oral exams - he went ahead to overcome this and any challenge. Here is the first taste of what innovation is the way to excel. Coping with difficulties at school, John began to build its first karts from an early age. At the age of twelve, he dedicated his weekly pay to get a small combustion engine that a few hours after being acquired was already roaring through the streets of the Fendalton neighborhood.

A year later John was spending the summer holidays on a farm in the south of the island. A modern log house put there by some Briton not too long ago. In the background, the silhouette of the valleys softened by erosion and a horizon line interrupted by the clean blue of the Pacific. Accompanied by one of his best friends at the time, they walked indifferently around the farm.

The sun was already biting on the neck and the ocean wind was getting into the ears as if to tell that something good was nearby. The noise of some brambles - no, they weren't on fire or he spoke a strange language - caused by the current caught John's attention and, looking a little closer, he could make out a reddish piece of metal. Almost invisible. Removing weeds They found a whole 1927 Indian Scout.

Kiwi
Kiwi

Lucky her. With no homework to do and no school to attend, these two's free time abounded on their calendar - blessed that feeling of having no responsibility. Thus, once transported by train to their home, they dedicated the break between school years to restore that marvel of a motorcycle.

It was a sample of the power that his hands had and the ingenuity that he kept inside. The same talents that got him to finish school at St. Andrew to jump into an inspiring career, mechanical Engineering. For four long years our protagonist attended night classes at the Christchurch Polytechnic because, by day, he was already working making glass kilns and concrete mixers. Of course, the free time was dedicated to the restoration of vehicles.

Before diving into the construction business, he spent several years working, turning a pickup truck into a caravan, studying the movement of birds to create a machine that will mimic their movements to fly and he was in the United Kingdom for a season to take charge of the links between the M1 and M4 motorways. Then came financial success building luxury apartments near Hagley Park in his hometown.

By now John was enjoying the circuits on his Ducati, but he did it with the certainty that he could improve its performance. Despite the modifications, the chassis and the engine were still not up to the standards. So… went headlong into creating a motorcycle from scratch.

The birth of an almost unknown myth that began with the flamboyant Aero

Britten V1000
Britten V1000

The will and determination of the greatest minds in history have produced some of the wonders we enjoy today. Despite this, on occasions their ideas have swam against the tide and run counter to the foundations established by a wealthy majority. The fruit of that perseverance have been bizarre and revolutionary inventions that did not always work correctly, think for example of those adventurers who wanted to fly and the number of times they hit the ground. John britten, like other inventors and geniuses in history, he planned a fairing and cycle part whose characteristics were beyond the industry's capabilities. It would be the germ of his masterpiece.

In the past John had enjoyed the circuits and the road on the back of motorcycles such as the Triumph Tiger 100 or the Ducati Darmah 900. Both had in common a discreet aerodynamic penetration, where the fairing was conspicuous by its absence and the rider played a fundamental role. in the schematic. For someone like Britten this must have been a continual frustration. The biggest brands in the sector seemed not to want to advance in the right line.

Britten Aero
Britten Aero

And here begins the story that every biker should know. John had built long ago, starting from the structure of an old stable, the house in which his wife and children resided. The home, for a change, was a fantastic exercise in design and savings by using almost exclusively recycled materials. There Britten's adventure on two wheels was born.

At 103 Worcester street, Bob Brookland, Mike Brosnan, Nick Edwards and John himself met for several weeks to shape what would be the new body and cycle part of a motorcycle capable of moving through the air with the same resistance as offers the arrow thrown by a bow.

With the plans in front they got to work on polystyrene and would soon have the perfect aerodynamic shape right under their noses. What they wanted was almost completely hide the pilot behind some lines that functioned as a spoiler. The engine was a prototype created by Denco Engineering, a company from the city with experience in Speedway - and for which it has been impossible to find references beyond 1988 -, based on the Ducati but with 999cc, four valves per cylinder, oil bath clutch, gearbox an XJ 650 etc …

Image
Image

From the Aero two motorcycles were built: the D-Zero (owned by Mike Bosnan) and the D-One (from Britten himself). Two of the features that attract powerfully attention are the swingarm anchored directly to the engine and the monocoque chassis, a system similar to the one now used by the Ducati Panigale 1199 or the one we saw in the Desmosedici. The engine becomes one more piece of the chassis working with certain stress while the fairing houses inside the chassis itself made of carbon fiber and kevlar and alone 12Kg weight.

The Aero achieved a maximum weight of 136kg for 120cv and competed in some of the local races, winning the speed tests in which it reached 247, 80km / h with methanol in its tank. Already entering the 90's they traveled to the United States to put it to the test in The Battle of Twins in Daytona. Newcomers got a second and a third place.

Britten V1000, the masterpiece

That the weak point of the Aero was the engine was not lost on anyone. The Ducati block was good and the preparation even better, but still far from what Britten had in mind.

So in 1992 John founded the Britten Motorcycle Company, based in his home and with his main work center in the garage. The New Zealander stood in front of a blank page and began to draw absolutely all the pieces that would make up the most legendary motorcycle of all time.

Two engines of 1000 and 1100cc and four and five valves per cylinder were manufactured. It was a real beast. The heart of the kiwi spawn was no longer a weak point to give way to a power of between 155 and 170cv for 138Kg. The curves of his fairing were shaped by wire and a glue gun to later go to paste creating the molds of his body. An almost non-existent carbon fiber chassis, like the wheels or forks. An on-board computer that made it possible to configure the revolutionary front suspension - similar to a telever - … In short, technology, ideas and performance decades ahead of its time.

As with the Aero the objective was The Battle of Twins of Daytona of the same year. Despite having broken the carbon fiber front axle during the first test, they were able to shape a new, stronger one with which to travel to the United States. There, with a young Andrew Stroud as the driver, Team Britten managed to take the lead and dominate the event from the start. So much superiority that Andrew he could indulge himself in overtaking the Ducati on one wheel.

John Britten V1000
John Britten V1000

However, a failure in the battery - the only component not manufactured by John - caused the V1000 to gradually lose power with three laps to go, leaving the victory on a tray and finally retreating through the pit lane.

Never a defeat tasted so good. The team received congratulations from all the fans, mechanics, drivers, engineers and journalists. She fell in love with the world and featured on the covers of the most influential magazines on the market. It had been shown that the enthusiasm of one man was capable of bringing down the largest of companies.

After Daytona the team traveled to Laguna Seca for second place, ushering in victory at Assen six months later. Monza was his next target where one of the lovers of the Britten V1000, Roberto Crepaldi of CR&S, struck up a great friendship with John and became the first owner of a Britten - and representative of the brand in Europe -. From this relationship was also born the participation in the 1994 Tourist Trophy with two motorcycles.

John Britten V1000
John Britten V1000

They had Nick jefferies on the blue motorcycle and with Mark Farmer in the CR&S. Unfortunately the Isle of Man welcomed the team with its most bitter face. During training Mark suffered an accident that would end his life. He was the 67th victim of the TT in the last two decades.

The project had just taken off. It had been a few weeks since they had sold their first motorcycle, had a bus serving the team in Europe and broke speed records (302.705km / h in the quarter mile). It was time to revolutionize motorcycling.

But as if it were a bad script, John Britten died just at the gates of history, when the fans were cherishing a new way of understanding the world of motorcycles. On September 5, 1995, skin cancer took the last great messiah away from us.. It did not have all the time or all the luck that you or I have been able to have and, nevertheless, it knew how to become, through effort, the greatest revolution in modern history.

'94 TT Britten V1000
'94 TT Britten V1000
  • The Britten V1000 raced twice more in the TT, managing to finish the race in 96.
  • Only 10 units were produced.
  • It fell in love with everyone who tried it, including Joey Dunlop.
  • He used technology and materials unthinkable in motorcycling until then.
  • He advanced ideas such as the suspension configuration on the bike or the "frameless" configuration of the chassis. Today they are supposed to be great advances.
  • He never wanted to move from New Zealand despite having better infrastructure and communications in Europe.
  • He was compared to the founders of Harley-Davidson.
  • John was what motorcycling should be and was at one time. Preserving, remembering and promoting your legacy is our obligation.

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