the NOT A KATANA bike thread,

[sparki]

like this one...

[Pedda]

One bike which always thrilled me is the Britten V1000.
Stunning piece of machinery and evidence of the genius of John Britten, who passed away too early.

[johnr]

the britten was a real tool, i loved the sound it made, the brutal look of it and the stunning innovation of many of its parts. but most of all, i loved the fact that the genius of one man working in his own workshop could design build and develop a machine that was so good,it left the opposition standing. imagine what he could have done with even a fraction of hondas development millions. ive a vhs of the britten lapping the isle of man, an awesome sight and sound!

[Richiemouse]

I remember reading about this bike in a mag many years ago. The insane Aussie lopped two cylinders off a Merlin V12 aero engine to make a 5l V Twin. You can only imagine the sound it must have made

[johnr]

ah, 'lucky' kieser or kaiser, or something like that. a bonkers man of the highest order. iirc he was buying merlin aero engines from mosquito planes that were only worth scrap value. from memory, i think he said it took 1000+ hours to balance the crank alone!!!

[Richiemouse]

And I think he used a starter from a Dakota to turn it over.

[Cat]

Queue Steve and his mental idea to use a spitfire engine to power a kat!!

[Cold Snail]

One bike which always thrilled me is the Britten V1000.
Stunning piece of machinery and evidence of the genius of John Britten, who passed away too early.

Sorry, but you've just lost one and a half hours.

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjQ4NjE0OTg0.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Pedda]

Excellent report that is, innit? I think that's the vid Johnr was talking about?

[nokatanayet]

thats got to be a knife edge moment, brilliant or madness, its bad enough cutting two pots off a merlin,but then fit a nos kit
oh and by the way, a merlin on full chat doing engine runs and your only about ten feet away is not the best noise in the world (it frigging hurts)