A MAN had a chunk bitten out of his right ear during a fight with another man over whose motorbike was the fastest.

Giving evidence against Phillip Joseph Butt, 26, who is on trial in the Cairns District Court for grievous bodily harm, victim Martin Atkinson, 27, yesterday described how he and his friend, Ben Tapscott, went looking for the alleged biter after the fight to see if he still had the piece of his ear in his mouth.

"I wanted to find my piece of ear before it died on the ground so it could be re-attached," Mr Atkinson said.

"I said to Ben 'have you seen my ear?' and he said 'no' … then I said 'go and get my ear'."

The court heard Mr Butt and Mr Atkinson did not know each other before the incident.

Crown prosecutor Gelma Meoli said the men first met outside McDonald's on the Esplanade, where they had gone separately for breakfast at the end of a long night of drinking at several city clubs on July 20 last year.

Ms Meoli said after being introduced through a mutual friend, the men started talking about their motorbikes, with Mr Butt boasting his 600cc Yamaha could beat Mr Atkinson's more powerful 1000cc Yamaha in a race up the Kuranda Range.

"That's what this is all about, two men fighting about who had the fastest motorbike," she said.

Ms Meoli said Mr Butt became aggressive as he tried to convince Mr Atkinson that his bike would beat the victim's in a race, even though it had 40 per cent less power.

When he took the stand, Mr Atkinson said he "had a bit of a laugh" about Mr Butt's claim, but as the situation was getting heated and the other man kept goading him with the line that he was "going to kick my arse" he decided to leave him outside and get his food order.

"It was funny to me, just silly," he said.

But he said when he went back out to the footpath and was halfway through eating his meal, Mr Butt started arguing again before taking his shirt off and shaping up.

"He started bouncing around and saying he was a boxer and I was going to cop it, basically I was in for a bit of hiding," Mr Atkinson said.

Rather than walk away and risk a punch to the back of his head, he said he "stood his ground" and the two traded several blows before both ended up on the ground.

Mr Atkinson said he told Mr Butt he’d "had enough" after copping a hard punch that broke his nose, and was trying to hold down the other man’s arms to contain him when he leaned over and latched on to his ear with his teeth.

"Then he took a big chunk out of my ear," he said.

"I felt pain and somebody said, 'He's bitten your ear off' and I felt it and it's a fair chunk, you can put your finger in."

During cross-examination, defence barrister Josh Trevino suggested it was Mr Atkinson who started the fight by punching Mr Butt hard in the face.

The trial continues today.

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