HISTORY: The Britten

Motorcycling Lifestyles

HISTORY: The Britten

SPEEDTv.com's Neale Bayly takes a look down memory lane, with one of John Brittens' hand crafted specials.

Neale Bayly | Posted December 28, 2008 Charlotte, N.C.

As one of the brightest jewels in the Barber Museum’s dazzling crown, Britten number seven exudes a semi-mystical presence in the rarified air of this 80,000 square-foot, motorcycle shrine.

As one of the brightest jewels in the Barber Museum’s dazzling crown, Britten number seven exudes a semi-mystical presence in the rarified air of this 80,000 square-foot, motorcycle shrine. There amongst hundreds of significant motorcycles, and thousands of incredible stories, the Britten stands alone as probably the most evocative embodiment of one man’s dream. Following a path created in his mind to build a world-beating race bike, John Britten took his thoughts, and with every ounce of courage, determination and skill he possessed turned them into reality with his own hands. Shocking the motorcycle world with his futuristic creation, humbling factory race teams on the track with its performance, while giving race fans a modern day David to champion against the corporate Goliaths, the Britten could possibly be the last true privateer built race bike we will ever see.

Sadly, only ten of these incredible machines exist as John Britten lost his life to cancer in September of 1995, just months after winning one of the most epic victories on the high banks of the Daytona International Speedway during Bike Week. John Britten had achieved his dream of beating the world with his “hand made” motorcycle, and his heroic struggle for victory was permanently consigned to the record books. Thankfully, Mr. Barber realized the significant part John Britten played in the history of motorcycle racing and Britten number seven now shines brightly in his world of motorcycle brilliance.

Born in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1950 to Bruce and Margaret Britten, John was a twin to his sister Marguerite, and younger brother to his sister Dorenda. Starting his life of building and tuning early with go-karts, by the age of twelve he had figured out how to power them with small engines. A year later he found an old Indian motorcycle and he and a good friend, Bruce Garrick, proceeded to restore it. The writing was on the wall. A four-year degree in mechanical engineering, led him into a career as a cadet draftsman, where John would first be exposed to a variety of processes including mechanical engineering and mold design. This was followed by a stint in Europe before he settled back in New Zealand working as a design engineer. By 1982 he owned his own business designing and producing hand made glass lighting and was married to his lovely wife, Kersteen. Later, he went to work for her families Property Management and Development Company, which saw him enjoy much success with a prestigious apartment building project that came to fruition in 1990.

By this time, John Britten had already been hard at work on developing motorcycle designs, and built his first race bike. This was powered by a Ducati Darmah bevel drive engine and raced in 1985 by a friend, Mike Brosnan. John Britten also built a second bike that he raced himself, and this first style of race bike became known as Aero-D-Zero. Aero-D-One followed, and this was fitted with a Ducati engine that featured Denco four-valve cylinder heads, and it hit the track in 1987. For this project, John Britten built a composite monocoque chassis with an aluminum swing arm that mounted directly to the engine. Featuring an under-slung White Power shock, White Power forks, AP Lockheed brakes and Marvic Wheels, the bike had a heavy Moto GP influence thanks to fellow Christchurch resident, top GP tech Mike Sinclair.

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