Bronze Doll's Head gearbox

-JdK- Luis in Luxembourg sent these pictures of his Norton's doll's head gearbox that looks completely correct and original but surprisingly seems to be cast in bronze. It's quite heavy which rules out light metals such as magnesium or electron as used on post war racers.

Of interest, we have a rather special 596cc International Norton on this website that has crankcases cast in bronze.

Another Norton-Ariel special

-SG- We recently had a posting on the site about the 'Question-Mark' - a successful Ariel-Norton racing special assembled in the mid thirties and still in use today. Strange to relate, New Zealand's South Island boasts another which was also put together in the thirties. Which one was first is unknown at this stage - was it a case of great minds think alike, perhaps? Anyway, current owner John has sent in a bit of history to go with the photos:

"This machine was built up somewhere in the mid '30s for racing purposes by my father and one of his three brothers (all good Norton men). Obviously this was a time when not too much money was around which is why many oddball parts have gone into its building. Hence it has been affectionately known as the 'Bitza' during its life.

The motor is obviously late '20s OHV Norton, the petrol tank and frame almost certainly Ariel. Webb forks are fitted up front (again, late '20s). The gearbox is from a Harley Davidson and as for the rest of it, I have no idea. Magneto?? Suggestions welcomed on anything. Given the primary chain guard with I think a Morris Minor hubcap over the clutch, I wonder whether it may have seen some road use for a short time.

It had been lying about family garages for decades until I managed to purchase it about 9 years back, the deal being I would not wreck it for parts. No worries there.

The motor was totally worn out and duly overhauled back to standard spec.. Wheel bearings, brakes etc. all got a check over and I fitted new tyres. The rest of it seemed quite functional. I have left it looking exactly as I brought it home (concentric carb excepted, but on a Bitza, does it matter?). When it gets an occasional outing, it certainly seems to draw an audience wherever it goes. Obviously it’s not a machine for the purist, but then it is a part of history and most seem to appreciate it as such. How does it go? Even in its now standard motor trim, it goes and runs very well and actually handles better than my standard 1928 Model 18. I don't think that tweak in the front downtube looks standard!"

Piston rings

-SG- The British Piston Ring Company Ltd flourished before and after the War and supplied many dealers and wholesalers with their BRICO Piston Rings. I happened upon my copy of their 1930 Catalogue when making a feeble attempt to tidy my disordered files and these scans shows what they had to offer as far as Nortons were concerned.

The Catalogue itself brought back a few non-Norton memories: it came from a small business in Chertsey, Surrey run by a chap called Benny Beach. Benny was a batchelor and lived in a state of considerable disorder in an early Victorian Bungalow down a back lane in the town.  His bungalow was literally filled with bicycles - in almost every room, they were stacked one upon the other. Other occupants of his home were several cats who had made an area under the bed in what had been the spare bedroom their own particular and somewhat odorous patch. Benny's business, when I knew him, was cycle repair but he had also carried out repairs to motor cycles during the thirties and forties hence, having the Brico catalogue.

On his death in the late seventies, the house was emptied and several skips were needed to take away the mound of bicycles. New spares were sold off and I obtained a few good motor cycle inner tubes, control cables and minor odds and ends. It would be nice to relate that a flat tank Norton was found buried under the bicycles but no such luck. What did emerge was a 1927 277cc SV Triumph, 100% complete and last taxed in 1932. Tyres and other rubber items on it were perished but otherwise it was immaculate. The solicitors responsible for winding up the estate sold the Triumph for £75 and it subsequently made £700 at auction!

1936 Model 50 Norton

-SG- I was about to throw out the 2012 VMCC calendar when I remembered this photograph of a - to my biassed view - somewhat glossy restored 1936 Model 50. I have no problem with re-plating if a full re-build is considered necessary but am not too enthralled with polished crankcases and gearbox end covers. Such niceties in the days when this bike was produced, were seemingly restricted to bikes actually shown on the stand at Olympia. However, it has been in the same family since 1948 and after giving good service for over ten years, was dismantled and stored until 2007. It is nice to see nothing appears to be missing and if it goes as well as it looks, it should provide an interesting ride. Hope it get's used!

1936 Model 30 Nortons

-JdK- Two splendid photos of 1936 Model 30 Nortons (contributed by Keith).

-Richard- These Nortons date from 1936. They are to full racing specification and were only available to capable riders through an authorised Norton dealer. The defining components for 1936 are the curved cradle of the frame, the full magnesium engine castings (the first year these were available to non works riders) but both bikes still have the single sided 7" front brakes, which were replaced in 1937 by the 8" conical cast sg iron brake.

1925 Druid spring forks brochure

-SG- Hereby a Druid brochure from c1925; it has no date anywhere. It shows the 'old type' fork as well as the newer RT type. Nortons used the HRT type and as far as the parts lists go, the HRT type is shown in the 1926 parts list but the 1925 list does not show them. I thus think it reasonable to assume the HRT came into use for the 1926 season and they went on fitting them to the regular sidevalvers up to and including 1928 - without the dampers on the lower front fork spindle (see page 12 of the brochure). The 1929 and 1930 sidevalvers continued with a very similar Druid, but the front tubes are straight instead of slightly angled at the lower spindle lug. Incidentally, note that the Mark II Druid - as used on Big Fours etc with the four springs - continues to be shown in the 1926 parts list.

1935 Model CS1 Norton - For sale

-JdK- This c1935 Model CS1 Norton was for sale at the Monthlery Vintage Revival last weekend. Certainly a Norton in good mechanical shape and in a well cared-for condition. Very nice old paint and chrome though it may not be completely original. The rear suspension looks like a conversion; the bike originates from Italy where these modifications were very common and as far as we can tell Norton did not supply plunger rear suspension in 1935. Nice bike but expensive at €26.750

1932 Model 30 Norton

-SG- There are plenty of 1932 Model 30s already on this site but these are almost all restorations. This is what they probably looked like when manufactured and this photo of OV6794 is almost certainly one of the works-owned production bikes. I have been told the photo was used for period publicity and perhaps someone can confirm this.

Denly again

Note single oil pipe on the engine which feeds
into the timing chest above the exhaust cam

-SG- Bert has appeared several times on the site and here are a couple more photos of him sent to me while abroad recently. The first of them (above) shows him with the usual cigarette on the go, and was taken in April 1925. The bike - I see it appears in Roger's "Vintage Years at Brooklands" book - had apparently been used to obtain some records at Monza in July 1924, when it sported a drum front brake. Back home - assuming, perhaps rashly, it is the same machine and not just the same registration number - it has earlier rim front brakes which are all coupled up and ready for use. The young man alongside may be  - thanks Roger - D R O'Donovan's eldest son Kevin. Not sure what reception he would have got from his mother on returning home - his jacket looks a bit oil besmirched! Incidentally, Martin tells me PC4991 - a Surrey registration number - probably dates from early 1923.

The photo above, dating from May 1928, shows Bert hammering round the Brooklands banking on one of the Nigel Spring Nortons - a good view of the bike showing the Brooklands 'can' and the unpainted fuel tank.

1929 Model 18 Norton

-Contributed by Juris- Hereby a photo taken in October 1929. It shows a Norton motorcycle and workers at a saw mill at Salacgriva, a port town in Latvia. The reverse of the postcard says it was taken at day shift. The Norton is a 1929 Model 18, identified by a saddle tank and the lack of pushrod tubes that were introduced in 1930.

Australian snippets

-SG- I recently borrowed a book from our local library entitled "The A to Z of Australian-made Motorcycles 1893 to 1942". This was published in 1996 and the author Rob Saward has identified nearly four hundred different Australian makes in the period. Quite a few of them involved very small production numbers but none the less, they appeared as a "make" in the vehicle registration records. What has this to do with Nortons, you may ask? The answer is: not a lot! But in the early twenties a company called Southern Cross in Sydney, produced three or four bikes with an OHV engine of their own manufacture. This can be seen to be very much Norton based (above). There is no illustration of the complete machine but a Sturmey Archer gearbox was used.

This brings me to another point - despite the weeks it took for letters and publicity material to reach Australia from the UK in those far off days, there were a few instances of local manufacturers fitting the early CS three speed gearboxes as early as 1915, and post WW1, the LS type is recorded as being fitted in 1922.

And finally, I had heard some time in the last fifty years that Webb forks originated in Australia, although I had never investigated this. Now, no need! The original design was developed before WW1 by Norm Maplestone, of Coburg, Victoria and after the war, he took his design to England in an effort to interest someone in manufacturing it. He succeeded, and early in the decade, Precision Gauges Ltd of Birmingham started selling it as the Maplestone Cantilever fork. In 1922 the design was bought by none other than H C Webb Ltd and the rest, as the saying goes, is history.

-Howard- The Southern Cross motor is mine, it is numbered 1002 and thought to be the second one made out of four!

1923 Model Big Four Norton at Brooklands

Photo copyright of Jarrotts.com

-Contributed by Keith; words by Roger- This Norton looks like a 1923 Big Four in road going trim. The race number indicates that it is likely to have been in a race even though the picture was taken in the public enclosure rather than the paddock. On 30 June 1923 there was an ACU combined meeting at Brooklands and the Private Owners handicap was won by L Jacobs on a 633 Norton sidecar outfit with number 18. This is the best match with the race programmes and the outfit does look as though it was only a few months old - it would have been registered in January 1923.

The 1927 Model 18 Norton hits the road again

-JdK- I've owned this Model 18 for three years now; briefly summarized it's a 1927 Norton that came from the factory as a Model 19 in racing trim with extra large tanks and narrow mudguards though no details on the state of tune of the engine were provided. It was rebuilt from a pile of parts by Ken Boulter in the 1990s, then acquired by Paul d'Orleans who wore it out in the US and it then ended up in my shed.

I rebuilt most of the bike in 2010/2011 only to find it needed more work in 2012; the engine was noisy  and it just didn't feel "right".

Last winter the engine was taken to bits again to fit new bearings throughout, shim the crank and camshafts, replace the bearings in the rockers and fit new tappets and pushrods. The ES2 valve springs were replaced by softer Model 18 springs. A high-compression Hepolite 5288 piston had already been fitted in 2011. The IT cams were timed more accurately. The mineral engine oil was changed for Castrol "R" (the very best oil for these engines but completely dismantle the engine and wash out everything in petrol; R40 and mineral oil don't mix and you will wreck the bearings and bigend otherwise). The CAV magneto was replaced by a Lucas KL1. More comfortable flat handlebars were fitted together with a twistgrip for throttle control. The wide and heavy WD16H main stand was replaced by a narrow vintage stand. New bolts were made for the Enfield rear hub. A correct brake pedal was fabricated. Finally, many of the awful nickel plated bolts and nuts were replaced by old or unplated items.

This Model 18 is not 'original'; the numbers don't match, the guards are replica, the oilpump is a Pilgrim, the carb is an Amal type 6. The crankcases contain a steel crankshaft that may come from a Moore ES2 model. All of which doesn't bother me at all! It's a great bike to ride. There is no kickstart and starting the engine requires a hefty push after which the Norton usually wakes up with a very loud bark from the open exhaust. The IT cams and 5288 Hepolite make for a revvy engine and while I would be hesitant to rev an original Model 18 I feel less constrained with this one; if it breaks I will just have to fit another crankcase.

I'm not sure if it is fast but it feels very fast! Watch out for this Norton at Monthlery on the 20/21st of April.

1929 Model CJ Norton

Grandpa D. Williams and his 1929 Model CJ Norton

-SG- Ian from Swindon in the UK has sent in this nice photo of his Grandfather and his 1929 CJ along with a copy of the original invoice from well known dealers, Laytons of Oxford. Family legend surrounding the bike is that it was an ex works machine and certainly quick, having got the better of T E Lawrence and his Brough Superior in an unofficial 'burn-up' down in Dorset. However the engine number given in Layton's invoice, when checked against the works records, shows it simply as a production CJ, delivered to Laytons in April 1929 and sold by them in July 1930 to Mr Williams. Ian would be very interested to hear from anyone who can add anything about the bike - like later owners of JO1044. (Thanks to Annice of the VMCC for double-checking this CJ against the Works Records)

When is a Norton not a Norton?

The bike in its 1946 form

-SG- When it’s an Ariel........... Back in the thirties, grass and sand racing and grass hill-climbs were popular motor cycle sports in New Zealand. A young man who came to prominence in the middle of the decade in the South Island was Nigel Newton – mounted on a 500cc Ariel he was extremely successful.... then calamity, a major engine blow-up meant he had to think again! And with help from the leading Christchurch Norton man of the day, Russ Lovegrove, a 1928/9 ES2 engine was shoe-horned into the Ariel, with a 1930 AJS oil pump on the timing chest. With typical Kiwi humour, it was christened the ‘Question-mark’. His successes continued until the outbreak of WW2 put a stop to such activities and sadly Nigel lost his life in the ensuing hostilities.

However, the bike went to a good home, being acquired by ‘Buster’ Brown who continued using it competitively after the war and it now belongs to Buster’s son Graeme. It is regularly campaigned in Classic racing events in New Zealand although it has been further developed and now sports 1930 crankcases/rocker gear and a home-cast bronze cylinder head. Lubrication is still attended to by the 1930 AJS oil pump. Running on methanol, it shows a very considerable turn of speed.

The color photos show the bike earlier this year, at the Hampton Downs Classic Race meeting.

 Bronze head cast and machined by Graeme Brown

1936 Model CJ Norton

Cor's got another Norton. It's a 1936 Model CJ Norton that spent it's youth in southern France.

Exhaust pipes for 350cc cammy engines
were hard to find in France

Someone used a hacksaw on the rear mudguard

The CJ was despatched on 21 July 1936 to the agent Psalty in Paris. It's a matching-numbers machine and some of the paint may be original. The Works Records list the following Extra Fittings: a large 3½ gallon petrol tank, full-width oil tank, no lights. Further, a Dunlop Drilastic saddle and a 20" front wheel were fitted

19" rear wheel fitted at front

Note full-width oil tank

It originally came without lights

The CJ needs some TLC but is seems not to be worn out; the warm climate in southern France may have helped a lot. The CJ was delivered without lights; at one stage someone fitted a typical French generator driven by an extension on the left-hand crankpin. Later this was replaced by a Magdyno. Unfortunately the Records don't mention what type of magneto was fitted at the Works.

Black damper knob

Agent Lucien Psalty

For some reason the 19" rear wheel with WM3 rim is now fitted at front while the rear hub now contains the WM2 - 20" front wheel. The CJ will be recommissioned but what's left of the old paint and chrome will be kept as is.

The 20" front wheel fitted rear.
Tyre is an Avon Supreme

Dunlop Drilastic saddle seen from below

A very large petrol tank

No rust in the petrol tank

The previous owner could do
without a valve lifter