-JdK- Martin in the UK read Adam's post on his belt drive Norton and in return provided us with the words below:
"As regular readers of this blog may recall, I have been a fan of these fine machines [belt drive Nortons] for years but have suffered declining health in recent years which frustrated my own project to restore and ride a derelict one acquired whilst working in Australia in the 1990s.
My unfinished project was passed on a few years ago to an enthusiast half my age to complete, but as yet it remains a project. Meantime I stumbled across a letter (below) from the late 1920s written by a CS1 owner who had bought an old belt driver and rediscovered the pleasure of riding such a simple bike fast. I sent this article to Adam to ignite his interest knowing he was already a CS1 owner.
He was lucky to find and buy a good early model in a recent auction and I have helped him get it into shape for road use after some years gathering dust in a private collection. Lacking a good exhaust valve to replace the burned original, I machined him a new one (pictured) from a 1909 car valve which has restored the “pep” of the original without risking damage to the relatively fragile valve seat of its antique barrel. Modern valves can easily damage softer cast iron valve seats.
A pair of Continental 22” x 2” wired-on tyres (replacing the tired beaded edge tyres fitted when bought) have given a measure of confidence for modern road use, and Adam is now really enjoying the delights of fast road riding in the manner of Henry Williamson who also loved his own several belt drive Nortons. (See my article on Williamson and his Nortons elsewhere on this blog.)
The belt drive Norton is unquestionably a young rider’s machine which can still deliver performance most modern onlookers can’t believe, as witness his recent experience in Belgium. Well done that man! Just don’t overdo it!!"
