-JdK- hard to believe but recently three flat tank Norton frames became available and the one in these photos is still for sale. According to the numbers it's from 1925. Contact this website when you're interested and I will get you the contact details of the owner. The frame is in pretty good shape and located in The Netherlands.
-JdK- Kevin contacted us with a request; it's a long shot but let's see. "The story of this Norton starts back in the 50s in New Zealand when my father and his brother bought a tired Norton and in there great wisdom cut the engine out of the frame and mounted it into a home made go cart and raced it around the farm. Roll on 60 years and it time to piece this bike back together, but all I have is the complete motor, gearbox and the lower half of the frame. Maybe somewhere in the world someone will be sitting on a frame." Please contact us when you can help Kevin with a frame.
-JdK- Paul from the Czech Republic wants to keep his 16H - 1927 as in the photo above in patina condition. He needs tool boxes in similar condition. Paul has found them! Please let us know if you can help. Shiny versions of the toolboxes he's looking for are in the picture below.
-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!!"
-JdK- Adam sent us these pics and words: "I've just done over 100 miles on the bike in Belgium at the 'Where is Anna?' event and then onto the 'Oude Klepper Parade'... it didn't miss a beat all weekend.
I can honestly say a single speed, belt drive Norton is the most fun I've ever experienced on a motorcycle. These bikes are fast and handle beautifully. The lack of clutch, gearbox and working brakes really add to the feeling of 'being connected to the bike' and being completely 'In the presant' whilst riding.
Aesthetically (in my opinion) there are no finer machines, the simplicity of a model 9TT is truly a motorcycle at the pinnacle of automotive design."
-JdK- From John: "Gday Simon and John. Have recently finished this 16H, a largely mechanical only restoration. This bike was featured by Rod back in August 2013. I acquired it from him a few years ago."
-SG- I have known Juris Ramba in Latvia for about thirty years and I would say we are good friends. Over the years he has provided plenty of useful information as well as lending me his Model 25 to participate in the Latvian rally a few years back. Here is a recent message and photos from him which we feel are worth posting.
"In the beginning of September my two sons and I went to the Polish fiva world motorcycle rally. Robert took our 1926 Model 25 and Reinis was on our 1930 Model 18. The Model 25 engine had been fully rebuilt with a newly cast cylinder which I bought in Britain and we machined it at our workshop.
The piston had been cast in Slovakia, the crankpin was bought NOS from a standard Norton and oil ways were erosion cut in it at a local factory. As the old crankshaft had been extensively hammered and out of alignment by 0.30 mm, we decided to make a new crankshaft from scratch. The webs were machined from heat treated steel billets fully adhering to the original measurements, even down to balance drillings. After assembly and testing the run-out which was 0.02 mm the balance factor came out to 67% which is quite good. The engine does not vibrate almost.
The shafts were made from case hardened and tempered 3 % nickel chromium steel, these were ground to 0.04 mm oversize. I bought a liquid nitrogen container from China, filled it up and used to shrink the shafts in cryogenically. To avoid any possibility for the shafts to turn in the webs, holes were erosion cut partly in the shafts and partly in the webs and pins were pressed in to safely secure these. The original drive side shaft had turned in the web in the past, so we chose to be safe rather than sorry.
One new intake valve was cut and machined from a Chevrolet valve which is nickel steel, with chromium plated stem. That was bought from the US. Then we had a look at the plunger oil pump. Its body was hard chrome plated and ground on the od. The inner plunger was made new, tempered and ground to size in our circular grinding machine to obtain minimum clearance in the bore. The old plunger had worn and had a running clearance of 0.04 mm which would not work with hot oil. We got the running clearance down to 0.005 mm or so. The pump now works as it should and I am happy we paid attention to it, otherwise all the efforts and new parts would be in vain if the pump did not deliver enough oil to the engine components…
Finally upon assembly i found that the roller bearing central sleeve was too tight in the bearing. So i put it in the lathe and ground down 0.02 mm with fine abrasive paper. Thus i avoided seized bearing…
I measured the crank end play with a piece of plasticine and a shim.
Robert had done 300 kilometres of running in before the rally, going out with the M25 on early mornings before the summer heat came in. One day the inlet valve spring on model 25 broke. We did not want to take off the cylinder head to replace it, so the old spring was cut with an angle grinder in pieces and removed and another old spring was fitted. I immediately ordered a batch of new springs from Alberta springs in the UK.
The distance at the rally was 420 kilometres. All 3 machines finished the whole distance."
-SG- Thanks to Adam for the attached early twenties shot of a 16H in distinctly sporting trim. It appears to have one of the rare racing CS gearboxes as well as a Binks rat-trap carb. It was apparently taken in the IOM but who is the rider in his smart cricket jersey? Anyone got any ideas?
-SG- Thanks to John who has recently sent me the print of a 1926 Model 18 attached ... he tells me: "this was owned by a friend of mine's great uncle, a chap call Dan Maloney and this was his first Motorbike! Very nice too! Dan went on to race at the Gatwick Speed Trials, Brooklands and Crystal Palace (but on a 350 Velocette)." We wonder if the Norton (YN3804) has survived!
-SG- David has just sent me this recent photo - and his message hereafter! "Thought you might like to see this very original unspoiled pair which recently appeared at the Marston Sunbeam Club’s event at Metal Bridge near Gretna. Trevor’s ’24 16H and Derek’s ’25 Model 18. They don’t come much better than this."
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-SG- What you may ask, has a 1928 photo of a chap on a Francis Barnett got to do with Nortons? The answer is simple - not really him but his dad!
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I knew John Newman back in the seventies, when he was running the local garage in Chobham, Surrey. He still had an early two-stroke (I think a Velocette) and was interested in my 1930 Norton - by then fitted with a 1929 engine, with of course exposed valve gear ... this led to his recollections of his father's early OHV Norton in the twenties which was fitted with the first inverted cup rockers - see scan. These of course did not retain any lubricant as originally supplied and John's dad used bits of rubber tube to try and remedy the situation!
Move on to November 1928 and Norton's had seemingly woken up to the needs of pushrod end lubrication and mentioned it in their publicity material! Again - see scan. None the less, they do not appear to have mentioned any seals in the 1929 Parts List. Meanwhile the Desmo Company had started selling 'Flexi -Lubricovers.' While Desmo did not mention any specific brand they considered to be in need of the Lubricovers, the engine outlined in their ad. is without doubt......a Model 18!! Thanks to John for the 1928 stuff!
-SG- Thanks to Alan for his message below and photos ! "Congratulations to Terry for his ‘Runner Up’ award in the face of some stiff competition in the ‘Best Vintage Machine’ class at the recent Bristol Classic Show. Terry acquired the bike as a stalled rebuild project only some six months ago and in rapid time has turned a frame with an engine, gearbox and forks installed into a very presentable and complete machine, as per the pictures attached. The bike originally rolled out of the factory in 1924 as one of the early OHV Model 18’s. Little is known of its pre 2000 history although it’s specification has been upgraded with the incorporation of some subsequent 1920’s improvements, including the later valve gear, 8 inch Enfield brakes, fully enclosed primary chain cover, magneto shield and later oil tank. The machine was originally supplied to Messrs D R O’Donovan and Hubert H Beach of Great Portland Street, W1 and Terry comments ‘It would be nice to think that perhaps one of these illustrious worthies might have sat astride - or maybe even ridden - the machine ... '
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-SG- David has scanned a few letters from 'The Motor Cycle' in November 1923 for which thanks! Apart from those riders greatly in favour of single speeders, it's worth stressing the letter from W J Hassall, on behalf of the company, to the effect that they would still supply a single speeder if desired.
Did any one actually take him up on his offer? I spent half an hour looking at the relevant section of the Despatch Books this morning and finally found one entry for a Model 9 (engine number 8289) in April 1924. The purchaser is shown as F R Moore. I think this may be the very last Model 9 in the records but if anyone has found a later one, please let us know.
No sooner said than done! David has located a slightly later model 9 with engine number 10565, despatched in June '24 to a dealer called Wise.
-SG- David plus Model 9 attended the recent Sunbeam Club gathering at Brooklands. Thanks to him for recent photos of the bike and a few words about it!
"Unrestored 1920 Model 9 TT believed to have been exported to Western Australia early in its life, returning to UK in 1977. Fitted with a Phillipson pulley with a handlebar operated brake which gives more control than the automatic action of the clock type spring in the central drum.
Ratio is normally set at 4 1⁄2 to 1 (O' Donovan recommendation) with a lowest available of about 5 1⁄2. Machine is light and powerful so will climb most hills surprisingly well even with a relatively heavyweight rider. Just visible are Terry spring top links on the Druid forks which allow a slight fore and aft movement, greatly adding to comfort with no effect on handling. Pictured recently at Brooklands."
-JdK- An email from Gary: "Hello there Simon and John. My 1926 tank looks original to me. What do you think. Got a surprise when I took the knee pad mounting plates off. Norton logo is different to some in that it has a little hook at top left on the N. The scroll along the top is well above the lower case letters and the t has a little leg to the right. The pie crust has been silver which I think makes it really stand out and the red pin stripes stop either side of the Norton logo. Looks to be the same logo as you have recently pointed out Simon but without the regd trade mark under it"
-SG- I would say extremely original! I am not 100% sure when they first started putting the regd trade mark bit on - but probably after the 1926 legal changes following Pa Norton's death the previous year. My original 1929 tank - see web site - has the trade mark bit and probably was a transfer when first made.
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-SG- Back in May '22 we had a brief posting about Hector Dobbs and his 1925 win in the Amateur. Included were a few words about his 1926 Amateur TT Norton - which seems to have been quite special - and I have recently managed to obtain a copy of a photo of it in action, before Dobbs came to grief in the poor weather. This is attached - pity it was not taken from the other side - it would have been nice to know if it was a dry-sump machine!
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-SG- I was recently sent this photo of one of the more lowly finishers - J. Robinson. But all credit to him - he persevered and did actually finish! Thanks to David who has checked then current editions of Motor Cycle and Motor Cycling for me and his comments follow:
"J. Robinson of Preston and Dist MCC certainly had an eventful race. He finished 14th after 3hrs 55mins and 36 seconds averaging 48mph. Troubles began between the depot and the start, then he stopped for ”lengthy adjustments” at Quarter Bridge on the first lap. He fell at Quarter Bridge on lap 2 landing on his head with his feet over the parapet and needing medical treatment but managed to convince the marshal he was fit to continue. Finally he carried Parkinson (AJS) on his pillion from at least Ramsey to the finish on the final lap. He received the well deserved York Trophy for the most meritorious performance. The photo appears in Motor Cycling of 16th September ’25 captioned “A nasty skid at Governor's Bridge .J Robinson (Norton) just saves himself”
-SG- Adam has embarked on the challenging restoration of a late 1925 Model 24. The machine has been in bits for years and, amongst other things, some of the frame tubes need replacing. Of even greater importance, the cylinder head is missing and a usable replacement would be a great help. Anyone who has a suitable head to spare, please contact Adam direct - his email address is adam@nrhunt.co.uk
-SG- Peter Thomson (Thomson's Motorcycle Museum, New Zealand) has kindly sent this full page advert from 1928. This lays great stress on SILENCE - and of course, the new for '28 double-barelled silencer is clearly depicted. Peter has also scanned the image itself, which shows good detail - including the frequent advertising department error of the time - the valve rockers shown are those used up to and including 1925!
-SG- Many thanks to Peter Thomson (Thomson's Motor Museum, Palmerston North, NZ) for these photos from the twenties of the Harford brothers. Ted and Ron Harford ran a motorcycle business in Feilding (Manawatu district) at the time and were active competitors in grass racing on their early Model 18s. As was the trend at the time, these were equipped with drop handlebars and by regulation, no brakes.
Transport to race meetings was by a mid-twenties Harley outfit.
As a matter of little importance, the unusual spelling order of Feilding stems from the founder's name in the 1870s - Colonel W H A Feilding.