No not really, except for that one Saturday night back in January.

In reply to this comment by therealblankman:
Thanks, schmawy. Pretty cool video. You got into riding this year?

In reply to this comment by schmawy:
*quality

Thanks, schmawy. Pretty cool video. You got into riding this year?

In reply to this comment by schmawy:
*quality

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!

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!

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!

Severn Cullis-Suzuki (born 30 November 1979 (age 30) in Vancouver, Canada) is an environmental activist, speaker, television host and author. Born to writer Tara Elizabeth Cullis and geneticist and environmental activist David Suzuki, she has spoken around the world about environmental issues, urging listeners to define their values, act with the future in mind, and take individual responsibility.


, Now its good that her parents were brain washing her with something that is most likely true and constructive , but you have to wonder with that speech how much of it was her?

I know at 12 - 13 most kids probably have a good idea of things but if you actually evaluate her speech it didn't really contain anything usfull , " we r destroying the world stop it" im pretty sure all the people at that event knew that already. maby it would make them feal a tiny bit more responsible for an hour or 2.

>> ^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.

Due to their reputation, a pitbull is more likely to be owned by a douchebag. "It's not the gun that's dangerous, it's the guy behind the trigger". Problem is, with Pit Bulls, that gun doesn't have a safety and it's always loaded and cocked.

Terriers of all types are known for their aggression and tenacity, THEY WERE ALL BRED FOR IT. Pit Bulls were bred for traits useful in dog fighting rings. Traits that do not "play well with others."

Just because your dog doesn't have those traits active, doesn't mean they're not there. Although, I bet more than a few people who had their Pit Bull "freak out for no reason" also thought it was really cool the dog routinely tore apart that tire swing in their back yard.

E.V.E.R.Y.O.N.E. who buys a Pit Bull is buying into that mystique. Don't fucking say otherwise, you KNOW it's true. You want to walk down the street and have people and their dogs move away from you. You want to be known as "that guy with the Pit Bull". There is no other reason to own THAT PARTICULAR BREED. There are other breeds with traits and looks that are equal to if not better than a Pit Bull.

"I own a Suzuki Hayabusa for the fuel mileage and to reduce my carbon footprint."
Bullshit.

"I own an Escalade for the improved road view."
Bullshit.

"I own a Pit Bull cuz they're so cuddly-wuddly."
Bullshit.

>> ^westy:
The Forza franchise is an incredibley pore simulator im sure if you played some of the leading pc sims you would have allot more enjoyment.
The best simulatoins at the moment are I racing, Richard burns rally , R factor , Gtr Evo , LFS , netcar pro
non of the Forza games have come close to these.

I'm not 100% certain on this but this guys driving style seems a bit jerky and forced unsettling the car before corners Faster more talented drivers tend to be allot smoother.


it's Toshio Suzuki. he's 54 and one of the official Nissan R35 test drivers. you're right, he wouldn't be world class in terms of talent, his speed would come mostly from his knowledge of the car.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'jump, suzuki sidekick, budwieser, redneck, drunk' to 'jump, suzuki, sidekick, jeep, ramp, budwieser, redneck, drunk, stunt, stupid, dangerous' - edited by yoghurt

Love this clip -- great atmosphere, a nice peek into Suzuki's environment.

Update on the race results, as posted in the other clip which includes on-board footage:

The winning bike (Team Agni) did an average speed of 87.434 mph over the 37.7 mile course, while Thomas Schoenfelder on the XXL Racing Team entry clocked the highest speed through the Sulby speed trap of 106.5mph, the only rider to exceed 100mph, which is pretty bloody amazing given that this race (and these bikes) didn't even exist a year ago!

According to MCN:
Team Agni’s bike is a 2007 Suzuki GSXR 600 fitted with two Agni 95 Reinforced motors and Kokam lithium-polymer battery of 63 cells of 70AH each, totalling about 16 kilowatt-hours of energy. The team says the setup gives 40 to 50 horsepower averaged over the length of the race, which should be good for about 200 km/h (120 mph) top speed.

The winning bike (Team Agni) did an average speed of 87.434 mph over the 37.7 mile course, while Thomas Schoenfelder on the XXL Racing Team entry clocked the highest speed through the Sulby speed trap of 106.5mph, the only rider to exceed 100mph, which is pretty bloody amazing given that this race (and these bikes) didn't even exist a year ago!

According to MCN:
Team Agni’s bike is a 2007 Suzuki GSXR 600 fitted with two Agni 95 Reinforced motors and Kokam lithium-polymer battery of 63 cells of 70AH each, totalling about 16 kilowatt-hours of energy. The team says the setup gives 40 to 50 horsepower averaged over the length of the race, which should be good for about 200 km/h (120 mph) top speed.

im really glad in our country the media (normally...see below*) care more about privacy. i think its really fucked up how they name ,blame and shame this officer on tv (and internet).

even though his behaviour was crazy and fucked up, he should only be suspended / fired / put in jail or whatever according to the rules/laws, not by public humiliation by the media for him and his family by giving everyone in the world his full name.

edit: wow, didn't even read the 'want to write obscene letters' and the 'There's a couple Robert McFarlands in the Lincoln Park area that I couldn't narrow down' comments. this is exactly what i'm talking about. and i'm sure others aren't bothered about posting the wrong guy's adress, i'm sure he's already getting some 'obscene letters', which is terrible.

* a couple days ago a major dutch paper posted a picture on their frontpage which they thought was the man responsible for the killing of 7 people on queensday. they got the picture on a dutch networking site (hyves), and guess what... it was NOT the killer. And guess what, the guy got threatened, even though the killer himself had died a couple days earlier (this was also in the news). Terrible. Even people riding the same car as the killer (a black suzuki swift) have been harassed...

Luckily, normally our (offline/old) media are a bit more careful and don't post full names of suspects or even convicted criminals. However, some people still seems to want to personally take revenge and don't care about the consequences for democracy, or even worse, if they get the wrong man, for an innocent citizen and his family..

Blah.