You guys stirred my nostalgic senses!
I was a young lad riding in Formula 3 on a Yamaha FZR400EXUP in New Zealand 1992/3 when the Britten V1,000 first entered the world. The first time I saw it, and heard its beautiful thumping V-twin, was at Manfield in a BEARS practice session. BEARS back then was basically a class for exotic bikes that couldn't compete with the Jappers. This thing however was FAST! It soon showed its true colours (not just pink and blue to look at) in the open F1/Superbike class with Andrew Stroud on board. I have always been a fan of Andrew. He's a super talented rider and approachable guy who could have gone further in his career if his off track antics didn't put off the big sponsors. The V1,000 meant business and he had the skills to use it.
My best memory was watching Andrew Stoud around Pukekohe in a National Champ round after they returned from Daytona, having beaten Factory Ducatis. He was purposely spinning up the rear through the double left after the hairpin. I was right there, trackside, with a rear view of this beautiful bike drifting and leaving a new black line round that corner on every lap. Pure magic!
Thanks for inviting the memory! The similarity to the Britten's no frame concept is one of the many things I like about the 899
