Being up close to the Britten, clothed and unclothed, this weekend, a few things struck me. Just to clarify, it was the bike that was sometimes naked, not me.
The airbox is shockingly tiny. It's very cool seeing how air is routed to the airbox and underseat radiator, through the nose/tank/tail fairings.
Carbon fiber everything. Yet for a bike that's 70% CF, it's ironic that the bikes racing numbers (#1) are fake carbon stickersÂ…on painted but real carbon fairings.
Cool details are everywhere, like the front end's damping adjuster poking through the dash, or the front brake reservoir recessed into the top triple, or the clip-ons sandwich mounted to the triple.
The bike is insanely beautiful, yet up close it was clearly developed for the singular purpose of winning races. The carbon fiber wheels (made years before BST or Dymag) and other parts have hundreds of pinholes, irregularities, and runs in the finish and were not built to please the mass-market consumer. All the more brilliant character.
The owner (Bob Robbins) was exceptionally gracious and generous with his time and bike. Actually, bikes. He had several on site, including an 888 that Dale Quarterly rode. Mr. Quarterly trashed the Next Gen Superbike field and I believe finished 2nd in the other race...against a field of Panigales!
