Rikard's 1931 CS1 Norton

Rikard bought his CS1 norton new in 1931 at the age of 20 and kept it untill he passed away at the age of 69. The pictures above were taken in 1931, 1946, 1953 and 1969 respectively. Read the whole story on Paul's blog!

The 1929 M18 Norton

I really like this bike; more on Paul's blog.

Parts for Sale

BTH MD1: rebuilt

For sale: BTH MD1 magneto. Anticlockwise, was fitted to a Model 30 Norton. Has been recently rebuilt, rewound and new capacitor fitted. Ready to fit!

Amal 10TTRN carburetter. 27.7 mm bore. In very good condition.

Gear levers; very nice replicas of the levers fitted to Sturmey-Archer gearboxes.

The CS1 Works records

The VMCC archive holds the original Norton works records. These records can be searched for data regarding your Norton's engine and frame numbers. This results in extracts as depicted; the one below is for my CS1's frame (frame No. 446xx), the one above for the engine as currently fitted (engine No. 53742).

Clearly, the engine left the factory in another frame, but, the frame is a genuine 1931 CS1. The engine may be from a CS1 or a M30 International but that's hardly relevant as a later cylinder head has been fitted. The record for the frame indicates that the bike left the factory as a special, sporting a specially tuned engine, foot change and a right hand exhaust. I really like the remark about "tuned for monoplane fuel" which indicates it must have been fitted with a seriously high compression piston. This confirms again that the Norton factory was very easy on what they sold to the public; whatever you wanted and paid for you could have, which makes it hard to define what's 'original' or not.

This must have been one of the fastest Norton's you could buy in 1931 when the M30 International still had to be launched. Unfortunately, someone blew up the engine and it had to be replaced. At least it was used as the maker intended!

Bronze cylinder head

Took it apart, which took some time because I do not have a suitable tool to remove the hairpin type valve springs. To be honest, the valves and guides will last for another season but I should start looking for replacements.

Look at that polished inlet port!

CS1 rockerbox

One of the last parts for inspection; the rockerbox. This is the part that contains the rockers, cams, camshaft and the bevel wheels that drive the cams via the vertical camshaft. Simply remove the rocker spindles and a few screws and the cover comes off. The rockers can now be withdrawn and the oil seals removed.

The cams and camshaft are left in situ; everything looks fine and well oiled. The tunnel that contains the cams is in perfect shape; this is the part that is sometimes smashed in worn engines, resulting in excessive oil leaks (I'm quoting George Cohen here). The 'ear' at the inlet side has been welded; it looks like a repair well done, no cracks visible. No signs of excessive wear except for the rocker spindles that show some marks where they rubbed against the rocker-rollers. I'll see if I can get replacements for the spindles, new seals, clean it all up and fit it back together again.

Taking the CS1 engine apart

Dismantling a Norton OHC engine is not difficult; it takes no more than 8 bolts to remove cambox, head and barrel.

Literature, Manuals, Brochures

Unapproachable...The Story of the Norton by Titch Allen
The Story of the Norton Part 1
The Story of the Norton Part 2
The Story of the Norton Reader's comments

Norton, general
Sorting out the International Norton by Phil Heath

Norton Maintenance Instructions
Maintenance Instructions c1929
Maintenance Instructions 1930

Norton Tuning Instructions
1925 Tuning Instructions

Norton Spare Parts Lists
Norton Motorcycle Parts for 1926 and 1927 Models
Norton Motorcycle Spares subsequent to 1928
Norton Motorcycle Parts for CS1 and ES2 c1929
Norton Motorcycle Spares CS1, ES2, 22 subsequent to 1930
Norton Motorcycle Parts subsequent to 1931
Norton Spare Parts List All Models subsequent to 1933
Norton Spare Parts List All Models subsequent to 1936

Norton Instruction Manuals
Instruction Manual c1933
Instruction Manual c1934
Instruction Manual c1936
Instruction Manual 1939

Gearboxes
Sturmey Archer 4-Speed Book of Instructions and Spare parts list
Sturmey Archer 3-Speed Book of Instructions and Spare parts list
Sturmey Archer CS type 3-speed gearbox instructions 1926
Sturmey-Archer CS type gearbox instructions 1929
Sturmey Archer footchange 1931

Carburetters
Brown and Barlow folder
Amal TT carburetters

Electrics
Lucas Magdyno 1929
M-L Maglita 1925
M-L Maglita 1930
Lucas E3 E25 Dynamo
Lucas Electric Lighting and Ignition Equipment 

Other parts
Best and Lloyd oilpumps 1927
The Bowden steering damper
Druid forks 1925
Pistons, rings, pins

For Sale and Wanted

Contact us by email (rapid.hare@hotmail.co.uk) when you are interested in a deal!

A 1950s Amal Remote Needle TT carb (1 1/16") and an early Binks (1"), both in very good condition to swap (preferably!) or for sale (see below); the RN now has a remote float chamber similar to the one in the pic.

Unapproachable...The Story of the Norton

Click the links below for a PDF of Titch Allen's 'The Story of the Norton'. The files are large so allow some time  for downloads.

Part 1
Part 2
Reader's comments