Kiwi Legends: John Britten

As quoted here John Britten was a "visionary, artist, engineer, motivator, innovator, and genius". The full article is well worth reading.

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Here was a kiwi inventor who epitomised the old 'No. 8 wire' philosophy of do-it-yourself. Literally. He used No. 8 wire and a hot glue gun to create the framework mock-up for his bike's body. And he only ever had a shoestring budget to work with.

screenshot, taken by me from the below documentary, of the glue gun in action

John Britten was born in Christchurch (NZ) in 1950, along with his twin sister. He would sadly pass away in 1995, and was mourned by thousands.

I'm not sure if anyone from outside New Zealand can view this documentary, but searching YouTube may yield success for you.
Documentary overview:

In the late 1980s, Kiwi inventor John Britten developed and built a revolutionary racing motorcycle. He pursued his dream all the way to Daytona International Speedway; in 1991, as an unlikely underdog, he came second against the biggest and richest manufacturers in the world...
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/britten-backyard-visionary-1993

the bike in action
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According to Wikipedia:

The Britten V1000 and Britten V1100 are rare machines with only 10 (plus 1 prototype) having been constructed.
Highlights include: [these were components he made himself]
Carbon fibre body work including rims, front suspension fork, and swingarm
Hand cast, 4 valves per cylinder alloy engine
Frame-less chassis with engine acting as a stressed member
Radiator located under the rider's seat
Carbon fibre fasteners (joining bodywork together)
Rear suspension shock located in front of engine
Engine data logging
Non-Britten Components:
Tyres
Brakes
Steel cylinder liners
Gearbox (sourced from a Suzuki)
Suspension shocks
Various electrical components

... and ...

His Britten motorcycles won races and set numerous speed records on the international circuits, and astounded the motorcycle world in 1991 when they came a remarkable second and third against the factory machines in the Battle of the Twins at Daytona, [USA].

If my memory is correct, the only thing that stopped his bike from winning was a non-Britten component that failed during the race. One can only imagine how different things might have been if the bike had won ...

exposed, a thing of beauty
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Aside from designing an amazing motorcycle, John Britten had designed and sculpted glass; and became part of his family's property development team for a time. He had also been designing and building his own home, a barn conversion.

There is a College of Engineering building on the University of Canterbury (Christchurch, NZ) campus named after him. That's pretty impressive.

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Also in Christchurch, there is a park reserve named after him.

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It looks flat on the map, but it isn't. This is a photo of the view from Mt. Pleasant, which sits just underneath the reserve:

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The motorcycles that John Britten invented, thanks to his amazing skills, resourcefulness and determination, are still being enjoyed and appreciated by people even today, as the bikes are displayed in various museums all over the world.

John Britten - kiwi legend.