THE FLYING PAN
IT ALL CAME ABOUT DURING A RETURN FLIGHT FROM PHILLIP ISLAND IN 2007
Mating a fast motor with a good-handling chassis to make the ultimate weapon has appealed to many riders, enthusiasts and designers through the decades. But Bob Thomson’s BTR Special mates an old Harley-Davidson engine with an equally old Manx Norton chassis design and he’s created a race motorcycle like no other.
Some would go as far to say the BTR is a work of art, and with industry giants like Steve Roberts and Ken McIntosh involved, few could argue. With vision, help and expertise Bob and his team somehow managed to shoehorn a Harley-Davidson Panhead powerplant into a McIntosh Manx Norton frame to make a 1962-era masterpiece. And according to Andrew Stroud, it goes as good as it looks.
It all came about during a return flight from Phillip Island in 2007, when Bob first mentioned to his
