Britten V1000 Being Rebuilt For John Britten Memorial Tribute + Video
It’s been 20 years since John Britten passed away from Melanoma, and to commemorate the life and achievements of one of New Zealand’s national heroes, the Christchurch BEARS Motorcycle Club announced that this year’s annual Sound of Thunder race meeting will be called the “John Britten Tribute Sound of Thunder.” Britten V1000 owners all over the world have been invited to participate and many have accepted the offer. The seven confirmed attendees (and counting) make this meeting the largest gathering of Brittens in one place since John’s passing.
In this video, we see Black Beauty, the second Britten V1000 built and the first customer Britten, being completely rebuilt from the ground up in preparation for the historic BEARS event next month. See and hear the history and innovation around the bike, and watch the painstaking attention to detail involved with stripping the V1000 down to its last bolt and putting it back together again.
Britten tributes exist all over the internet and for good reason: his rise to success is the stuff of legends, and his untimely demise was a cruel fate to the motorcycle world. The V1000 is still awe inspiring today, a testament to Britten and his vision. See the video below to learn why the bike was so special.
Black Beauty Lives from Eric Gulbransen on Vimeo.
Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.
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