Remembering John Britten, His Beautiful And Technically Advanced V1000 Race Bike.

1BrittenV1000-2JohnBrittenOn September 5th 20 years ago, John Britten died from cancer at the young age of 45. The handsome and charismatic engineer is remembered for his V1000 race bike still considered today as one of the world’s most beautiful and technically advanced motorcycles. A machine that he designed and built in his private garage in Christchurch, New Zealand’s south island, then went to beat on the track those of rich racing teams from Harley-Davidson and Ducati.

John Britten studied technical engineering in the US, then returned to his native New Zealand to take care of the family construction business. His passion for motorcycles and racing led him to competition, with a first race in 1986 on a Ducati Darmah. Not satisfied with his performance, he first redesigned the Ducati’s fairing, then went to modify several times the engine leading him to create his first motor from scratch with the help of the Denco company, eventually giving birth to the V1000.

The bike made intense use of carbon fiber including the double wishbone girder front suspension struts and wheels for a total weight of only 319 lbs (145 kg) The 999 cc liquid-cooled 60 deg. V-Twin motor produced a maximum power of 135 hp at 9500 rpm with fuel injection fine-tuned via a laptop. The V1000 will accumulate about 50 racing victories against the best teams on the most prestigious tracks like Daytona, Assen, Brands Hatch and Phillip Island and world records on the mile (188.10 mph or 302.705 km/h) and 1/4 mile (10”.76) After Brittem’s death in 1995, some V1000 raced until 1999. Only 10 V1000 were ever produced.

• The number 1 belongs to Cardinal Network and Britten Motorcycle Company. The only one to be equipped with the de 1108 cc motor.
• The number 2 belongs to the Te Papa Museum in New Zealand. .
• The number 3 belongs to Roberto Crepaldi, an Italian owner of Café Racers & Superbikes (CR&S).
• The number 4 belongs to Jim Hunter, an American who lent it for The Art of the Motorcycle exhibit
• The number 5 belongs to Mark Stewart, an American
• The number 6 belongs to Kevin Grant, a New Zealander, owner of irrigation materials company Water Dynamics.
• The number 7 belongs to George Barber and is exhibited at the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham, Alabama
• The number 8 to Michael Canepa, an American in California
• The number 9 belongs to Gary Turner, a South African with the bike kept in the Netherland
• The number 10 belongs to an American named Michael Iannuccilli.

11 Responses to “Remembering John Britten, His Beautiful And Technically Advanced V1000 Race Bike.”


  1. 1 Steal Your Face Sep 9th, 2015 at 9:36 am

    That man was a genius maniac.

  2. 2 TJ Sep 9th, 2015 at 9:39 am

    The overwhelming majority of the innovations Britten used on his bikes have still yet to of found their way into the market place …

    So for those unaware of John Britten’s accomplishments its time to read up on the subject . Suffice it to say the man was a genius with only JT Nesbit [ and Bimota/Vyrus ] having the stones to follow in his footsteps .

    For all those in the know when it comes to John and wanting a more in depth biography bot technical and personal head over to OddBike and offer your support for Jason’s project

    As for all those in the industry still resting on their out dated technological laurels ignoring the lessons to be learned from Britten’s bikes … not to mention TJ Nesbit .. Bimota Tesi / Vyrus etc … shame on you all !

  3. 3 nicker Sep 9th, 2015 at 12:42 pm

    RE:
    “… A machine that he designed and built in his private garage …”

    Hmmmmmm…. makes ya wonder.
    Did he go to school in a era of political correctness….???
    Did he like to cop a buzz on Saturday afternoon…..???
    Could he have accomplished this while indulging in TV spectator sports…???

    But then, life is full of choices…. Buy a book -vs- buy a beer…. etc. etc…

    Just a thought.
    -nicker-

  4. 4 James just another Crazy Kiwi Sep 9th, 2015 at 1:48 pm

    I think you will find he raced a pre unit triumph very early on and that quite a number of his mates had allot to do with helping build the bikes.They were ripped off by the Family Trust after Johns death.
    Read Tim Hannah’s book, it is correct word for word.
    It was big for us to go and watch all those developments, in the day the Japanese bikes were fastest and beat everyone. He was like the last great hope. Funny in hindsight
    Truly a great and innovative Man

  5. 5 Dave Blevins Sep 9th, 2015 at 6:37 pm

    John’s story is certainly worth knowing, for anyone interested in motorcycles or not.

  6. 6 John Malcolm Sep 10th, 2015 at 5:55 am

    I have spent many hours in front of the Britten on display at the National Museum in Wellington, New Zealand.

    It is truly a breath-taking design achievement from the ground up. Bewilderingly original – on top of which, JB built the engine from scratch in his backyard. He and Burt Munro are my motorcycle heroes!

  7. 7 Mark Sep 10th, 2015 at 7:07 am

    Barber Vintage Festival, Oct 9-11 in Birmingham, AL will host half a dozen Britten motorcycles, their owners and I believe Britten’s wife to review the bikes, the man, his contributions to design and engineeering. Rare opportunity. I’ll be there.

    MM

  8. 8 Jay Horton's Private Shop Sep 10th, 2015 at 8:17 am

    What nicker said X 2!!! Best, Later Jay

  9. 9 nicker Sep 10th, 2015 at 5:41 pm

    Jay,
    One can only hope we’re still populating the world with people like Britten and not the clowns that seem to dominate popular culture and the news……. 🙁

    -nicker-

  10. 10 Mdkuder Sep 14th, 2015 at 1:19 pm

    Sad day when we lose a genius of motorcycle engineering!

  11. 11 motojefro Sep 15th, 2015 at 5:19 pm

    John Britten was “The Man” he was in the process of building a single he told me the were year before his passing. He was a Great Guy. He is missed.

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Cyril Huze