Buff logbook for a CS1

-JdK- James in the UK recently found a buff log book related to a 1930 Model CS1 with registration VE3539. It is registered on the UK database and he would like to pair it with the bikes owner. Contact us for more info!

Replica DT Norton

-SG- The dirt-track museum 'Cinder to Shale' in Scotland, has been brought down to Ledbury in Herefordshire where I understand it was auctioned last week. It is thought to have been the biggest collection in the world. 

One of the lots was a replica DT Norton built some twenty five years ago by Jim Gregory.  Not having an original DT Norton engine, Jim used an early 1930 Model 20 unit, which looks very similar. He told me that he never actually ran the bike before he sold it to Ian Paterson, the 'Cinder to Shale' owner.  And indeed Ian may not have run it either. Of course, the Model  20 engine will almost certainly have been used during its life but how much is open to query! It will be interesting to see if the new owner gets it going!

PS: ... sold for a hammer price of £15000 and the buyer, would you believe, a well known gentleman named Sammy Miller! Perhaps the auctioneers did not  know it was just a replica ...

Another bargain !

-SG- I am too idle to check but I think I may have mentioned my 1930 Model 18 before - bought for the massive sum of 25 shillings (£1.25) in 1956. Seems like they did not fetch a lot back then - thanks to Walter for the 1994 photo of his example - also bought for 25 shillings but a little later on - 1967. And yes, he still has  it!

Grass track bonus or what!

-SG- It was 1960 and I had already owned my 1930 Model 18 for all of four years. I took part in various Vintage Club competitions and decided to try my hand at grass track - the VMCC having organised such an event at Cassiobury Park, Watford.  Preparation consisted of fitting a used 'knobbly' rear tyre and riding over carefully as I had no fourwheeled transport at the time.

As far as I recall the track was a dusty bumpy oval - bumpy to such an extent that the forks clashed onto the front mudguard several times per lap during practise and the handlebar clamps moved and clouted the tank top.  Having tightened everything up as much as possible, the machine was a bit more controllable during the heat and final, in which I think we finished fourth and fifth!  If nothing else this dabble with grass tracking convinced me that road racing was more in my line!

However the Watford event resulted in two unexpected 'boni' - certainly outweighing the event itself.

Bonus number one came in the form of an introduction by J W Anstice Brown - very much into Vintage racing Douglases - to a young acquaintance who dealt in scrap metal. And right then he was in the process of dismantling a Norton engine and gearbox like mine. His method of dis-assembly involved use of a large sledge hammer and he told me proudly he had already shattered the gearbox. However, given a small financial incentive of £2, he agreed to desist from further assaults on the Norton remnants until I had had a chance of collecting them from his garden at nearby St Albans!

Bonus number two was better still! It came from a small Welshman, to whom I was chatting while re-adjusting the handlebars. " I've got a Norton much like that," he said. "it's pretty well complete and you can have it if you want - for nothing.  Only problem is - it's down in Wales."

Anyway, it transpired that he worked as guard for Britsh Rail Western region, and he kindly arranged to move the Norton as his personal luggage to the 'left-luggage' office at Swindon station. A week or so later, he gave me a ring to say it was there and awaiting my collection. So I borrowed my mother's Morris 1000 van and drove down to Swindon.  With the front passenger seat already removed the 'new' Norton was squeezed in without too much of a problem.

Apparently, when my new Welsh friend finished his shift at the London end of the run, he used to stay in digs at Ashford, Middx.  I dropped him a line to tell him I had collected the bike and to repeat my thanks. I was surprised to get my letter back in a few days marked 'GONE AWAY.'  Unfortunately I did not have his address in Wales and thus lost contact with him almost as soon as I had met him.

And the Norton?  What a find! It was a 1929 Model 19 frame, forks, wheels etc. to which had been fitted a nice mid twenties LS Sturmey Archer gearbox, and better still, a dry-sump engine - never did check if it was Model 21 or Model 25 - dating from 1927.  In those distant days I did not have access to the Norton despatch books which were probably still held by the Police ...

1930 DT Norton in Denmark

 

-SG- Allan Sorensen sent me this photo a while back. It dates from the early thirties and shows what seems to be the only DT Norton shipped direct to Denmark - the dealer being a company called Petersen. 

The rider is Svend Aage Engstrom and the man standing behind the bike is Kaj Sorensen - eldest brother of the well known S A Sorensen and himself a Norton agent in Copenhagen.  Thanks to Allan for the photo! 

A 1930 racing spec CS1 Norton

-SG-  Back in 2010 we had a couple of postings about 1930  racing spec. CS1s in Yorkshire. One of them, registration number WX5232, seems to have disappeared without trace. The other, a matching numbers machine with reg. no. WX5132, has apparently been stashed away in a  dis-mantled state, for the last sixty years or so - and has recently re-appeared, after a full re-build; see above. Phil, the new owner, tells us it should be appearing at this year's Banbury Run. This is a machine of some importance and rarity - supplied in August 1930 to wealthy Skipton butcher Jack Carr. Jack finished 11th on it in the MGP of 1930 and 3rd in 1931.

Few and far between - Vintage Four Speeders ...

 

-SG- Vintage period machines fitted with Norton's own cross-over gear box were never big sellers and this is reflected  in the very few postings we have had over the years for the relevant models - 14, 24, 34 and 44.  Ron recently sent me photos of his nicely restored 1930 Model 24 - attached and thanks, Ron! This particular machine started life as a rather special example, as it was powered by a dry sump 588 engine, and had what is described  in the records as a TT footchange with neutral. This would have been a modified version of the Sturmey positive stop footchange fitted to some of the 1929 racing specification CS1s - and not one of their best efforts. 

Ron asked if I knew how many of the four speed bikes were produced and the short answer was 'no!'  But it set me on a little time waster to have a look at the despatch records. As Ron's bike is a saddle tanker I decided to check from early 1929 to Autumn 1930 (by which time 1931 models appear in the records in profusion) This is what I found:

1929     Model 14 :   21

             Model 24 :   19

             Model 34 :   4

             Model 44 :  NIL

1930     Model 24 :   6

             All the rest: NIL

 Based on these figures, no wonder survivors are few and far between!

1930 - a good year for OHV Nortons in NZ ...

 

-SG- Thanks to John in New Zealand for this period photo of - I think - a Model 18 and a Model 19. Batteries look pretty massive and the magdyno covers don't look quite right but so what?  Up and running and tidy!

1930 DT Norton engine - For sale

-SG- Back in October 2018 we posted details of Alain's 1930 DT engine on the site. Like most of the known surviving DT engines it has seen various modifications over the years which are detailed in our posting. The engine (49112) started life as part of a complete DT machine imported into New Zealand in August 1930 by Whites of Wellington. Alain had hoped to find an original frame and parts to build a running machine but he says that is unfortunately not going to happen and he has decided to sell the engine. Offers directly to him please at ' recycledreading@xtra.co.nz ' . Incidentally he says he would have no problem in exporting the engine back to the UK (or anywhere else) at the buyer's expense and has access to reliable packers and shipping agents.

1930 Model DT Norton in the USA

 

-SG- Back in Nov 2013 Barry sent us an excerpt from the American magazine 'The Motorcyclist' of  Sept.1933 showing a seemingly standard 1930 DT Model.  According to the records only one DT Norton was sent to USA so it is reasonable to assume this was it!  Fast forward to last month and I am told a DT Head, Barrel, Rocker box were on EBay in USA  - incorrectly described as being parts from a Model 20.  The head has seen considerable damage to one of the exhaust ports and the fins are in need of repair ... Is this all that's left of the one and only DT machine to go to the States?

Another Vintage Norton appears ...

 

-SG- I heard from Artie earlier in the month with a report on his Pukekohe race outing.  He took the Model 22 recently featured (23rd April) and it achieved a lap speed of just over 85 mph - which means it must achieve a speed at least 20mph faster than when new!  He also reported the first appearance of a 1930 Model 20 - apparently restored in 1974 or thereabouts,  and virtually unused since.  Although the gearbox has been changed to an LS type (original was CS), it looks a pretty tidy example. Thanks for the photos, Artie.

Model DT blueprint

 

-SG- Many thanks to Ian for these images relating to the 1930 Dirt Track Model. Strange that the date is shown as  June 1929 when the model did not actually reach the public until 1930. I have no explanation to offer!

Pau, France - September 1930

 

-SG- Stanley Woods looking pleased after winning the 500cc event!

1930 Model 18 Norton

 

-SG- The recent posting of the smart chap in the beret with his Model 18 (France?) reminds me I have also recently received a period photo (believed from 1932) of a similar model. Mine is not as clear but it shows the front forks, handlebar layout and magdyno cover reasonably well.  Note the  straight pull Amal twist grip - not one of Amal's best products, in my view! 

1930 Model 18 Norton - SOLD

 

-SG- Alastair is selling SOLD his Norton. In his own words: "Norton Model 18, 1930, wonderfully patinated condition, quite a lot of original paint/finish. Huge amount spent, re-spindled/bushed forks, fully rebuilt gearbox, rear wheel seal bearing conversion with new axel, cylinder/head restored with new valves & guides, new tyres, chains, cables, rubbers, all bearings, Raysons straight through exhaust etc etc. Runs/rides but will need final minor fettling. A fast & loud machine ! £14,000. Tel xxxxxxxx"

c1930 Model 18 Norton

 

-Jdk- Found on the web; a c1930 Model 18

The Norton Motorcycle Club gathers outside Kerleys in 1930

-SG- Norton motorcyclists line up outside Kerleys Auction Rooms Geelong. Thanks to Ken McIntosh for the link to this photo.

-Ian- The photo first appeared in a book "Touring and Sporting Motorcycles in Australia" by Mick Kingwell.  The book was recorded under ISBN 0 9592863 0 3 and published in the late 1980's I think. The photo is on p24 and the book contains some great early Norton photos. The copy supplied by Ken was published in the Geelong Advertiser newspaper on Oct 13, 2017. Geelong is the second largest city in Victoria.

If you look closely at the photo the bikes are actually lined up in front of Tom Maloney's motorcycle shop at 183 Moorabool Street, Geelong. (He was the Norton agent as well as some other marques). The club is the Geelong Norton Motorcycle Club and the photo was taken in April 1930. Tom Maloney was one of the major motorcycle dealers of the time and he and brother Reg well known on the racing scene.

Dirt Track Nortons in The Netherlands

-JdK- Dirt Track ("grasbaanracen") was somewhat popular in the late 1920s - early 1930s in The Netherlands with some of the riders competing on Norton machines. Above we see Arie van der Pluym on a 1930 Model DT on which he was very successful.

Below two photos of D. Sleeuwenhoek on what could be an AJS engine in a model DT frame/tanks/wheels (note the AJS caption and different exhaust pipe) and most probably on a  modified 1930 Model 18. Many thanks to Olav and the VMC for sharing!

Jimmie Simpson and 1930 Works CS1 Norton

-SG- The works Nortons of 1930 may not have won the TT but none the less, the new Carroll engine performed well and showed great promise. Various photos exist of the works 500s at the TT and from these and the existing records, it is clear that the three stay frame was used, the engine had a horizontal inlet port, and the gearbox was the Sturmey Archer three speed N type with positive stop foot change. HW Webb forks, a Square ML magneto, Enfield rear hub and seemingly 7 inch Horton front hub with cast alloy back plate completed the general specification. I attach a couple of photos from my records - both provided by the late Peter Roydhouse incidentally -  showing a cheerful looking Jimmie Simpson in the paddock before the TT - and after it, looking distinctly bedraggled, following the appalling weather (above).  He finished  third behind the speedy Rudges of Wal Handley and Graham Walker.  His average speed was just 2 1/2 mph slower than Handley so all in all, a pretty good performance.

Fast forward to the end of August and Jimmie was competing in the Swedish GP - the only works rider there - which he won at a record speed.  It is pretty certain that his mount was his TT machine and it was left behind with the Nystrom company - Norton's Swedish agents - after the event. I assume Nystrom's bought it but Nortons had such a good relationship with them, that it might have been initially on loan. Apart from this conjecture, why would Nortons not return a successful works bike to the factory? Perhaps because the racing machines with three stay frames were being phased out and replaced with versions using the two stay cradle frame, as used by Woods in the 1930 Ulster GP.  Jimmie also competed in the Ulster - retiring at the end of lap 9 but none the less achieving fastest lap despite considerable rainfall - but I have no details  or photos of his machine so don't know if it was like Stanley's or if it was still a three stay CS1 as used in the TT and Sweden.

Incidentally, it appears that the Simpson Swedish GP machine was fitted with a down draught head and he was - according to Stanley Woods' recollections - instructed to phone the works from Sweden after the GP to advise how the machine had performed.  It is thus no surprise to see that Woods' Ulster machine was also fitted with a downdraught head ...

Algot Nystrom raced the Simpson bike in local events in the early thirties and around 1934 it was taken over by Rolf Gullick who continued using it in competition for a few years.  I do not have details of its post-war history until the late forties when it was owned and used as every day transport by the late Lars Olsson.  Lars sold the machine in the early fifties, only to buy it back thirty years later in a somewhat mutilated state.  He kept it for many years with the intention of restoring it, but although some work was done, the project was never completed.  About five years back, it was bought by Hans Bergentoft who has had it carefully restored by Bosse Brolin. A photo of it during the rebuild is attached, along with  up to date photos kindly provided by Hans. I have also been sent photos taken by Bosse of the N type gearbox, which appears only to have been fitted to the 1930 works Nortons and which I hope to include in a separate posting when time permits.

And a records anomaly ...

It would be nice to tie in this machine with an entry in the existing records but this has proved impossible, for the good and simple reason that the records are seemingly incorrect and incomplete! The existing frame and engine numbers are respectively 40256 and 48293 and show no signs of having been altered. But, as Peter Roydhouse discovered when he looked into this matter a few years back, engine numbers 48291 - 48296 relate to Model 18s but, written inside the ruled lines in the ledger, are additional entries for three 1930 TT CS1s - but not this one. Peter suggested that perhaps the Race Shop had asked for some numbers but those allocated went unrecorded at the time, the matter only coming to light when some of the racing machines were sold off. The first of these had frame 40252 and NS gearbox and registration number OF9502. It is shown as being loaned to Jimmie Simpson in May 1930, then loaned to Norton's Dutch agents Wyngaarden in June '31 and finally supplied to J M Sugg in August 1931. We have mentioned this before on the web site - see posting of 5/11/2013  - and the bike Woods used in the Ulster had this same registration number. The second machine, with frame 40258, had registration number OG2026.  This was loaned first to Drew McQueen in July 1930, then to Jimmy Shaw and finally sold to Norton's Belgian agents A Breslau in December 1930.  The final machine has very sparse details shown - no frame number and engine number the same as  OG2026!  It was apparently supplied to a London company called Martins in April 1930  (never heard of them so can't comment!) and then to a retail customer N V Booker of Rugby  in May '31.

1930 DT Norton

Three photos of the Triumph/Norton as found. There were a couple of wheels with it in a similar sorry state!

-SG-  Another DT Norton engine – regrettably somewhat altered from its original specification – has come to light in New Zealand. This unit originally started life in a complete machine shipped to NZ in the Autumn of 1930 and finished up fitted to a real ‘Bitza.’ One could almost stretch a point and say that it was a ‘Triton’ as it comprised a 1929 Triumph frame and forks, and 1929 Sturmey gearbox as fitted only to certain Ariels in 1929/30. It had apparently languished in a damp cellar for many years before being bought by Alain.

Five general photos of the engine before dismantling, after a soak in diesel for several weeks.

Alain kindly brought the engine for me to have a look at earlier this year and we succeeded in partially dismantling it. Final dismantling took place a few weeks later, thanks to the loan by Viktor of his timing pinion puller.

Apart from the fact that the original timing cover had been replaced with an earlier ES2 cover the engine looked fairly original externally, with only minor repairable damage to the lugs at the bottom of the crankcase.

Various shots of the engine taken during dis-assembly.  Note bob-weight polished flywheels, long holding down studs for head and barrel, flange mounting for carb., twin exhaust ports with internal threads, large spigot on upper face of barrel and corresponding recess in head, piston crown with unrecognised markings.

The flywheels fitted are polished and of the bob-weight type, which came as a surprise. This is because the only other DT engine of which I have seen the internals has flywheels without bob-weights – more like those fitted to ES2s of the period but with 22mm mainshafts both sides. However, those fitted to this engine are assuredly of 1930 type and have a drilled timing side mainshaft for positive big end feed, Perhaps, therefore, both types were fitted to the production DT range but until we can find out about the internals of some of the other few survivors, it remains a matter of query.

Cam gear showing earlier (W7) cams and spacers to achieve alignment with followers.

Another difference on this engine which I feel probably dates from when it was built into the road bike, is that the original small base circle cams have been replaced with a pair of pre-1930 cams. These have been fitted with small steel bushes on either side of the spindles to ensure they are correctly aligned to operate the seemingly standard 1930 type cam followers.

Both head and barrel look in excellent condition – the head having twin exhaust ports with internal threads for exhaust pipe nuts as pictured on previous postings. And finally, the piston, lightly domed and with three compression rings, has numerous letters and figures stamped on it, none of which I recognise!

Ian has been in touch re the unrecognised piston markings in this engine - his message - for which many thanks -  is below. It appears the CY80 numbers on the crown show it to be intended for 1931 CS1s and Models 18/20, with a 7/8" pin.

"The attached scan from the 1936 Polson list may help. The piston was made by the Polson Motor Parts Co of 172-180 Berkeley Street Carlton N3 Victoria (an inner northern suburb of Melbourne just outside the central business district). The copy came out of my 1936 Polson catalogue and no further reference  is made to these 'all compression ring' pistons in my subsquent 1953 and 1960 catalogues."

I have been asked for confirmation of how the magneto was driven when the engine was built into the Special - a suppementary sprocket brazed to the inside of the engine sprocket is the answer - see photo!