The motorcycle in my profile picture is the Britten V1000, at least one version of it. Created by New Zealand's John Britten, the V1000 was considered revolutionary in the 90's. It had no frame, everything was bolted to the engine; the seat, the swingarm and rear wheel, even the front end. Britten's use of carbon fiber not only meant his bike was light and strong, it also looked cool. Just look at those cam covers!
How good was the Britten? while it never really raced in World Superbike or Grand Prix levels, in small races like Battle of the Twins, it had its share of glory, beating the factory bikes. John Britten especially delighted in beating Ducati. You could say he was as fond of Ducati as the founder of Lamborghini was fond of Ferrari. In one magazine review, it was said the Britten V1000, at about 160HP, was as powerful as a GP bike, a two-stroke, 500 cc. GP bike, that is, before Grand Prix shifted to 990 cc. four-strokes. This is still impressive power, even today.
During its short production run, the Britten's look constantly changed. But it always was a beautiful bike. Sadly, John Britten died of cancer shortly after his bike's debut. With his passing, design on the bike has stopped, which is just as well. The V1000 should always look like this.
Even if you prefer some other color than pink.
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