(Crash List below not in order)
Kawi 600 Into Rail http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd9cgaLK9Rw
Wht CBR1000 Lowside http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9jUWRqr-4
Scooter Crash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgKoXzbw13E
Highside Kawi 636 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwlZiArfnYg
Highside R6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTIOSryx9NU
Orange ZX10 into rail http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IoJ9hQj37M
Ducati Over Rail http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBgrVI0Dyto
Flying R6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dciyhfaScAo
Highside CBR1000 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qi2sq94aKA
Highside GSXR http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlMbFlPzS24
Harley Crash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYxU_lYBHpY
Burning R6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1UYkrxFls4

Ducati Hypermotard with 2-into-1 Termi system ... /geek

Sounds just like mine

>> ^DarkenRahl:

Make sure you mute it unless you really like crappy numetal.



♬ NUH NUH NAH AAH NU NUN NU NU NAH! ♬

06' Blast-It's my boss' who is way too big for it-He's gotta Ducati Monster in the garage that's sitting there collecting dust-His fuckn' cousin collects bikes, has 6, includind that rippin' fast fuckn' Hayabusa GSX1300R
...he just stores them and polishes em-

In reply to this comment by therealblankman:
That completely sucks. Lots of reasons to hate Harley. The way they handled the whold Buell fiasco was ridiculous- they shuttered the company out of pure spite. They had to swallow $125 million in shutdown costs, while turning down 2 separate offers to purchase Buell, including from Bombardier who make made the engine for the Buell 1125s. Pisses me off no end- Buell made some really interesting bikes. I might have even bought one someday, but will never buy a Harley.

Anyhow, I hope you get your bike fixed soon, and I hope it's not too painful a bill. You come up my way any time and we'll hit the road- got some of the best cycling roads in the world up here.

BTW, I've probably asked before, but what model Buell you riding?

In reply to this comment by choggie:
man, I just douched the carb on the Buell and got it back on the road, registered it..and yesterday, the fucking upper frame mounting bracket snapped loose from the block, shearing all four bolts clean the fuck off.....i was belly-dragging' and had to have the bitch towed.....I am fucking hating Harley about now....my motorbike days are beginnig to look FUCKED for the springtime here...which roght now is about to be perfect for riding in Texas....sonofamotherfuckingbitch I'd say...wish i had that fucking Suzuki!

Impressive invention, seems to go quite fast for the energy expended. Obvious shortcomings, but I'd say good job. Now just put a 50HP motor on it! like

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/4426/Motorcycle-Photo-Gallery-Photo/2004-Design-Your-Dream-Ducati-Winners.aspx

Hmm. Though we have seen many of these, it was still interesting, mostly because of the replica ducati. but what i didn't like is the fact that they both were on the track at the same time, it influences their driving (securitywise for example). And as always IMHO it very much depends on the track that you're on. The more acceleration parts you have, the better for the bike.

Just stupid. Is a simple matter of physics - a car has more grip, end of story. The only thing keeping you from going faster around a turn is lack of grip. It's 4 wide tires vs 2 slim tires that only have an edge touching, never mind wings and under-carriage aero. If this guy can't get a Ferrari to corner faster than a bike, he needs more skill is all. This video should be called, "Ferrari driving skill vs Ducati skill"

>> ^cybrbeast:
Why did the technology die with him? Surely more could be built?


One person with extraordinary vision, coupled with technological know-how, engineering brilliance and the ability to get his hands dirty and plain-and-simple build what he imagines is a rare thing.

In the case of the Britten bike, this is a partial list of what made his bike special:

1) Partial girder-link front suspension with adjustable anti-dive properties.
-fork-type suspensions compress under braking and extend during acceleration, changing the geometry and handling characteristics of the machine quite drastically during the different driving modes. Britten's suspension design allowed him to control pretty much all variables of suspension geometry under changing load, making the bike behave however the rider wished.
- The rear suspension, while perhaps not as revolutionary, was a beautiful piece. It was essentially a carbon-fibre banana swing-arm with a linkage to the adjustable shock/spring assembly. If you look at the bike you'll see that there's no spring/shock assembly near the rear suspension, rather note the spring/shock assembly directly behind the front wheel- this is for the rear suspension! The front shock assembly is hidden in the front suspension linkage and cowling.

2) The engine itself was a stressed-member.
-While certainly not unheard of, Britten took the concept to an extreme, essentially eliminating the frame from the motorcycle. The front and rear suspensions essentially bolted directly to the engine, thus saving many kilos over contemporary designs. Take a look at any current MotoGP or Superbike- most use the engine as a partial stressed-member, but they all have frame members linking the engine, steering heads and seat-assemblies. Britten really only had a vestigial sub-frame for the rider's seat.

3) Well-controlled aerodynamics and fully-ducted cooling system
-Britten paid close attention to airflow over, around and through his bike. Look how cleanly the rider's body tucks into the bodywork. He paid close attention to details, notice how clean the entire assembly is- no exposed wiring, nothing dangling into the airflow, that incredibly sleek rear swing-arm and rear tire hugger. This keeps the airflow smooth and un-disturbed. Motorcycles aren't terribly aerodynamic machines in the first place, but a wise man once said God is in the details.
-The engine itself is a water cooled design, but where's the radiator? It's in a fully-sealed duct directly beneath the rider's seat. High-pressure air is inlet from the front of the bike, through the radiator and is exhausted into the low pressure area beneath the rider and above/ahead of the rear wheel. Greater cooling equals higher power potential.

4) The motor
- 999cc 60 degree V-Twin, belt-driven DOHC design, twin injectors per cylinder, sophisticated electronic ignition, hand-made carbon fibre velocity stacks, wet sump. The motor was designed to breathe hard, pumping out torque and horsepower (166 hp @ 11800 rpm- not sure about the torque figures), and run cool and reliably under racing conditions. Nothing here that any other manufacturer couldn't have figured out on their own, but Britten had the insight and the will to make the best motor in the world at the time. The 60 degree configuration was, I assume chosen for packaging reasons. Normally this configuration would have bad primary balance characteristics, but Britten engineered his to such tight tolerances that the engine ran smoothly right up to redline (12500 rpm) without using a balance shaft.
I'll also point out here that Britten wasn't above using someone else's part if it was better than he could make himself- the gearbox was from a Suzuki superbike, and the cylinder liners and voltage regulator (both of which failed at the Daytona race in '92- the latter costing Britten the win) were from Ducati.

5) Carbon Fibre
- While Carbon Fibre had been around for 2 decades or so at this point, nobody had used it so extensively. Britten used the material for bodywork, wheels, engine parts, suspension girders and the rear swing-arm. There is still no other bike, not even the current Ducati Desmosedici MotoGP bike, that uses so much of this exotic material. The stuff then, as it is now, was hugely expensive and challenging to engineer for different applications. Britten made everything himself, in his garage, figuring it out as he went. This kept the total weight of the bike to a hugely impressive 138 kg.

Keep in mind that he did all of the above in 1991 and 1992, with the help of several neighbors and one part-time machinist, in his backyard shed! He made the bodywork by hand, using a wire frame and hot melt glue, crafting the wind-cheating shape and cooling ducting purely by eye. He cast the aluminum engine parts himself, heat-treating them in his wife's pottery kiln, and cooling the heat-treated parts with water from his swimming pool!

Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki... any one of these manufactures could today reproduce and expand on what Britten accomplished almost single-handedly. None of them will- there's too much at stake for them. It's far safer to stick with the tried-and-true, making small evolutionary changes over the years. A true visionary achiever (to coin a term) like Britten comes along only every once in a great while.

I suppose that this is what was really lost when John Britten died... vision, engineering acuity, hands-on knowledge, and pure will. Touched with a little craziness.

In reply to this comment by cybrbeast:
Why did the technology die with him? Surely more could be built?

>> ^cybrbeast:
Why did the technology die with him? Surely more could be built?


One person with extraordinary vision, coupled with technological know-how, engineering brilliance and the ability to get his hands dirty and plain-and-simple build what he imagines is a rare thing.

In the case of the Britten bike, this is a partial list of what made his bike special:

1) Partial girder-link front suspension with adjustable anti-dive properties.
-fork-type suspensions compress under braking and extend during acceleration, changing the geometry and handling characteristics of the machine quite drastically during the different driving modes. Britten's suspension design allowed him to control pretty much all variables of suspension geometry under changing load, making the bike behave however the rider wished.
- The rear suspension, while perhaps not as revolutionary, was a beautiful piece. It was essentially a carbon-fibre banana swing-arm with a linkage to the adjustable shock/spring assembly. If you look at the bike you'll see that there's no spring/shock assembly near the rear suspension, rather note the spring/shock assembly directly behind the front wheel- this is for the rear suspension! The front shock assembly is hidden in the front suspension linkage and cowling.

2) The engine itself was a stressed-member.
-While certainly not unheard of, Britten took the concept to an extreme, essentially eliminating the frame from the motorcycle. The front and rear suspensions essentially bolted directly to the engine, thus saving many kilos over contemporary designs. Take a look at any current MotoGP or Superbike- most use the engine as a partial stressed-member, but they all have frame members linking the engine, steering heads and seat-assemblies. Britten really only had a vestigial sub-frame for the rider's seat.

3) Well-controlled aerodynamics and fully-ducted cooling system
-Britten paid close attention to airflow over, around and through his bike. Look how cleanly the rider's body tucks into the bodywork. He paid close attention to details, notice how clean the entire assembly is- no exposed wiring, nothing dangling into the airflow, that incredibly sleek rear swing-arm and rear tire hugger. This keeps the airflow smooth and un-disturbed. Motorcycles aren't terribly aerodynamic machines in the first place, but a wise man once said God is in the details.
-The engine itself is a water cooled design, but where's the radiator? It's in a fully-sealed duct directly beneath the rider's seat. High-pressure air is inlet from the front of the bike, through the radiator and is exhausted into the low pressure area beneath the rider and above/ahead of the rear wheel. Greater cooling equals higher power potential.

4) The motor
- 999cc 60 degree V-Twin, belt-driven DOHC design, twin injectors per cylinder, sophisticated electronic ignition, hand-made carbon fibre velocity stacks, wet sump. The motor was designed to breathe hard, pumping out torque and horsepower (166 hp @ 11800 rpm- not sure about the torque figures), and run cool and reliably under racing conditions. Nothing here that any other manufacturer couldn't have figured out on their own, but Britten had the insight and the will to make the best motor in the world at the time. The 60 degree configuration was, I assume chosen for packaging reasons. Normally this configuration would have bad primary balance characteristics, but Britten engineered his to such tight tolerances that the engine ran smoothly right up to redline (12500 rpm) without using a balance shaft.
I'll also point out here that Britten wasn't above using someone else's part if it was better than he could make himself- the gearbox was from a Suzuki superbike, and the cylinder liners and voltage regulator (both of which failed at the Daytona race in '92- the latter costing Britten the win) were from Ducati.

5) Carbon Fibre
- While Carbon Fibre had been around for 2 decades or so at this point, nobody had used it so extensively. Britten used the material for bodywork, wheels, engine parts, suspension girders and the rear swing-arm. There is still no other bike, not even the current Ducati Desmosedici MotoGP bike, that uses so much of this exotic material. The stuff then, as it is now, was hugely expensive and challenging to engineer for different applications. Britten made everything himself, in his garage, figuring it out as he went. This kept the total weight of the bike to a hugely impressive 138 kg.

Keep in mind that he did all of the above in 1991 and 1992, with the help of several neighbors and one part-time machinist, in his backyard shed! He made the bodywork by hand, using a wire frame and hot melt glue, crafting the wind-cheating shape and cooling ducting purely by eye. He cast the aluminum engine parts himself, heat-treating them in his wife's pottery kiln, and cooling the heat-treated parts with water from his swimming pool!

Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki... any one of these manufactures could today reproduce and expand on what Britten accomplished almost single-handedly. None of them will- there's too much at stake for them. It's far safer to stick with the tried-and-true, making small evolutionary changes over the years. A true visionary achiever (to coin a term) like Britten comes along only every once in a great while.

I suppose that this is what was really lost when John Britten died... vision, engineering acuity, hands-on knowledge, and pure will. Touched with a little craziness.

In reply to this comment by schmawy:
Ah, Ducatisti! Haha. I actually worked at a Ducati dealership in the mid nineties. They actually sent me to service school in Fairfield, NJ to learn to work on the 916. They're a little to fast and agile for me, not to mention a little uncompromizing for the touring I like to do. Fabulous bikes though. I work with a guy who has a basement full of them, and is building a 70's one frame up right now from an old 750ss that somebody brutalized into a chopper. He's making a nasty cafe out of it.

Do you race motard? I'll behave myself because apparently you're quite mad! I've never raced, but I'm mot putting it out of my head that I might get out there some day. I'd like to do one of the schools, like penguin I think it's called, and I king Keith Code has a school and there's that California one you always see in the back of the bike mags. That and a couple of track days.


I've had the 748S since 2000 and it was joined by the 600SS in 2005 purely to race. The club that I belong to (Ducati Sporting Club UK) started its own race series so I had to have a go as trackdays were getting too competitive. If you're interested, I blogged a load of stuff on my website at the time: http://www.horrible.demon.co.uk/bikes/racing2005.htm

I stopped racing in 2007 after getting torpedoed from behind at about 90mph and that broke me and the bike; one collarbone and a few ribs for me and the bike was trashed. I rebuilt it once the collarbone had healed but it was a year later that I went back and raced - I came 7th (out of 38) so didn't do too bad for a year out!

The Hypermotard is strictly for wheelies^H^H road riding. It's an animal! Best bike I've ever owned and always makes me smile.

I've been to the Ducati factory in Bologna five times now and ended up organising the factory trips for the club which were quite popular! It's an amazing place, really interesting to see such a small factory at work on such a well-known name. Well worth doing if you can, even if you're not that much of a Ducati fan!

Some bike pictures:
Racing Pics
Bike pics

Ah, Ducatisti! Haha. I actually worked at a Ducati dealership in the mid nineties. They actually sent me to service school in Fairfield, NJ to learn to work on the 916. They're a little to fast and agile for me, not to mention a little uncompromizing for the touring I like to do. Fabulous bikes though. I work with a guy who has a basement full of them, and is building a 70's one frame up right now from an old 750ss that somebody brutalized into a chopper. He's making a nasty cafe out of it.

Do you race motard? I'll behave myself because apparently you're quite mad! I've never raced, but I'm mot putting it out of my head that I might get out there some day. I'd like to do one of the schools, like penguin I think it's called, and I king Keith Code has a school and there's that California one you always see in the back of the bike mags. That and a couple of track days.

Hey check out this odd dupe situation, the dramatic difference between the dates and votes...


http://www.videosift.com/video/Oh-hes-off-the-trackwaitwhat-is-he-doing

http://www.videosift.com/video/Valentino_Rossi_Toilet_Break





In reply to this comment by antonye:
In reply to this comment by schmawy:
Hey Antonye, thanks for all your great contributions to the *wheels channel. What are you riding these days. Street or just track?

Hi,
Thanks for the comment! I love adding some of the great racing I watch onto the Sift as it deserves a much wider audience
As for me, I'm riding both street and track still, but have not raced this year. I have 3 bikes: Ducati Hypermotard 1100S (wheelies), Ducati 748S (fast road), Ducati 600SS with 620ie engine (race). Can you spot the theme?
Antony

In reply to this comment by schmawy:
Hey Antonye, thanks for all your great contributions to the *wheels channel. What are you riding these days. Street or just track?

Hi,
Thanks for the comment! I love adding some of the great racing I watch onto the Sift as it deserves a much wider audience
As for me, I'm riding both street and track still, but have not raced this year. I have 3 bikes: Ducati Hypermotard 1100S (wheelies), Ducati 748S (fast road), Ducati 600SS with 620ie engine (race). Can you spot the theme?
Antony

Just noticed that this is at Castle Combe track - broke my collarbone racing Ducatis there last year!

>> ^choggie:
Was that a Ducati???


Nope, Suzuki SV650, the Poor Man's Ducati. Great bike, amazing value with a fabulous engine. Ducati's are for rich guys with a mechanical engineering degree- about as reliable as Italian trains pre-Mussolini. I'm actually considering buying one to replace my Nighthawk, but am also looking at the DL650 V-Strom- has the same engine, but is a little better set up for touring.

Was that a Ducati??? Get some fresh bandages for his can o' whoop-ass injuries.....