-JdK- Malte recently sold his 1939 Model CS1; an interesting machine as it has seen little modification since it left the factory. In Malthe's own words: "This bike has not been restored. Most details are as when it left the factory. All numbers match. The only new parts are new (old stock) Dunlop rims fitted in the 1970's. It has had three owners from new and all are related (two friends and 1 son-in-law). I partly dismantled the machine years ago to give it a thorough cleaning. 99.9% of the nuts and bolts are still the original dull plated and undamaged items. When you then add the original cloth cables and electric wiring which is very, very brittle, very brittle rubbers for the tank fitment, original levers, original ammeter, clips holding the wire to the rear mudguard, dull chrome petrol and oil pipes (which were almost black from oil and petrol, before I cleaned them up) etc. etc it suggests to me that this bike has not seen much, if any modifications.
-Richard- This one indeed looks very original. It does have a left hand (nearside) front brake plate; also notice that the speedo drive gearbox is in the wrong place. The brake will still work O.K. but it will put undue stress on the fork leg as the correct plate puts the pressure vertically up the fork tubes. This plate will put a horizontal force on the fork tubes. Perhaps it was replaced when the original one got lost and a right hand brake plate could not be found?
Malte does point out that the 1939 Norton parts catalog actually lists this brake plate (part number 3650) as fitted as correct for the CS1; see the copies from the catalogue below! We suggest the catalogue is outdated and that any wheel with a right hand brake should have a 3651 right hand brake plate or similar; like the Models 30 and 40.
Another small feature is the chromium dome on the front of the primary chain-case. This chaincase is chromium plated all over and then painted black only to leave the dome and edge plated. We understand from the records that the machine was delivered with a chromium plated chaincase so this should be the original item. It's a very minor and confusing detail but black chaincases with a chrome plated dome (thus no chrome underneath the black paint) were a feature for one season (1945/6 ) only.
