The Britten V1000 is a handbuilt race

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

designed and built by

John Britten John Kenton Britten (1 August 1950 – 5 September 1995) was a New Zealand mechanical engineer who designed a world-record-setting motorcycle with innovative features and materials. Biography John Britten was born to Bruce and Ruvae Britten in C ...

and a group of friends in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand during the early 1990s. The bike went on to win the Battle of the Twins in

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...

Daytona Bike Week Daytona Beach Bike Week, also called Daytona Bike Week, is a motorcycle event and rally held annually in Daytona Beach, Florida. Since 2021, events have been added in DeLeon Springs. Approximately 500,000 people make their way to the rally area f ...

festivities in the United States and set several world speed records. The bike was designed from first principles and hosts a number of innovations including extensive use of

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

, the

radiator Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

located under the seat,

double wishbone A double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design for automobiles using two (occasionally parallel) wishbone-shaped arms to locate the wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckle ...

front suspension, frameless chassis, and engine data logging. A total of 10 Britten V1000s were produced by the

Britten Motorcycle Company Britten Motorcycle Company is a Christchurch, New Zealand motorcycle manufacturer created by John Britten in 1992. The Britten V1000 motorcycles were unusual for their heavy use of carbon fibre for the fairing, wheels and swingarm A swingarm, ...

and now exist in collections and museums around the world. Motorcycle journalist Alan Cathcart wrote in 2008: "It's an easy bike to ride, in the sense it's got a very wide power delivery, but to really get top performance, you have to ride it like a grand prix bike...And having ridden all the superbike contenders in the world today, I can say that the Britten is the closest to a grand prix bike...It's incredibly ironic that instead of Europe or Japan, the most sophisticated and technically advanced motorcycle in the world comes from New Zealand".

Specifications

*Wheelbase 1420 mm *Weight 138 kg *Fuel Tank Capacity 24 litres *166 HP @ 11,800 rpm *Maximum safe engine speed 12,500 rpm *Maximum speed 303 km/h

Engine

*Water-cooled 999 cc 60 deg V-Twin quad-cam 4-stroke *4 valves per cylinder, belt driven *Compression ratio 11.3 : 1 *Bore x stroke 98.9 mm x 65 mm *Piston, flat-top slipper *Titanium conrods with oil feed to little end *Titanium valves Inlet Ø40 mm Exhaust Ø33 mm *Wet cast-iron cylinder sleeves / opt silicon carbide–coated alloy sleeves *Composite head gaskets *Back torque dry clutch *Wet sump. Oil feeds to bigends, gudgeon pins, camshaft lobes & gearbox shafts *Programmable engine management computer with history facility *Fuel injection - sequential, 2 injectors per cylinder

Transmission

*Gearbox, 5-speed constant-mesh,

sequential manual transmission A sequential manual transmission, also known as a sequential gearbox, or a sequential transmission, is a type of non-synchronous manual transmission used mostly for motorcycles and racing cars. It produces faster shift times than traditional ...

, chain-drive / opt. 6-speed *Primary ratio 1.97 *Gear ratios 1st 2.5, 2nd 1.77, 3rd 1.38, 4th 1.125, 5th 0.961

Chassis

*Fully stressed engine with ducted under-seat radiator. Top chassis, girder & swing arm all constructed in carbon/kevlar composites *Front Suspension: double wishbones, Hossack suspension. *Rear Suspension: swing arm with adjustable three-bar linkage *Shock Absorbers: Öhlins *Rake: adjustable *Trail: adjustable *Front Wheel: 3.5" x 17" in-house carbon composite *Rear Wheel: 6.0" x 17" in-house carbon composite *Front Brakes: Twin 320 mm cast-iron rotors with opposed 4-piston Brembo callipers *Rear Brakes: 210 mm rotor with opposed-piston Brembo calliper

Racing Achievements

1991

*2nd and 3rd Battle of the Twins, Daytona, USA

1992

*1st Battle of the Twins,

Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...

, Netherlands *2nd Pro Twins,

Laguna Seca Raceway Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and M ...

, USA *DNF Battle of the Twins, Daytona, USA

1993

*Fastest Top Speed at the

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

*1st (BEARS) 2nd (Formula 1) Australian TT Bathurst *3rd Battle of the Twins, Assen, Netherlands *NZ Grand Prix title *World flying mile record (1000 cc and under) **188.092 mph (Rider Jon White) *World standing start -mile (400 m) record (1000 cc and under) **134.617 mph *World standing start mile record (1000 cc and under) **213.512 mph *World standing start kilometre record (1000 cc and under) **186.245 mph

1994

*1st Battle of the Twins, Daytona, USA *1st and 2nd New Zealand National Superbike Championship''One Man's Dream - The Britten Bike Story'' (video), 1995, Ruffell Films

1995

*1st World BEARs, rider, Andrew Stroud

References

{{reflist Motorcycles of New Zealand Motorcycles introduced in 1991 Sport bikes New Zealand design