1934 Works bike ...

 

-SG- I recently came across Alain Daigne's 2012 French publication 'Manxman'  - a collection of seventy photos of racing Nortons from 1900 to 1970. Two of the shots are of the 1934 works bike - photographed like many others over the years against a sheet held up in front of the office door.  Grateful to Richard for what he has to say about it: 

"The bike in the pictures is the 1934 works racer as used by Jimmy Guthrie to do the 1934 TT double. This was the year that the works engines were completely up-dated using full magnesium castings and bronze skull/ aluminium cylinder heads and aluminium barrels. The crankcases used the front top bolt to attach the engine to the frame for the first time, and the front down tube was fitted with 2 separate mounting lugs. The lower lug was fitted with the usual triangular engine plates and the higher lug had separate straight plates to the top crankcase bolt. The following year, 1935, the crankcases were re-designed and used the single set of front engine plates that were subsequently used on all racing spec. Inters and post-war garden gate Manx. This meant the 1935 frame lost the lower lug, although the 1934 double lug frames were still used with the later engines in some events. The other firsts for 1934 were aluminium petrol and oil tanks, and the Norton designed gearbox which were put into all the range for 1935. The exhaust system is a straight-through pipe but a megaphone was used for the 1934 TT and most other major events."

Jimmie Guthrie 1934 Junior TT

 

-SG- Back in May 2014 we had an interesting posting about Guthrie winning the 1934 Junior TT at 79.16 mph.  Jimmie Simpson was second - also Norton mounted of course - at 76.10mph.  I have recently been sent a print of Guthrie during the event - to me it epitomises the very real effort he put into his riding throughout his career! It was his first Norton TT win.

 

 

Bob Spreadbrow's Model 30

-SG- I have mentioned my old friend Jack Bindley before on the site. He grew up in the Wembley area and one of his friends was a chap called Bob Spreadbrow. Jack introduced me to Bob a good while back now - probably in the seventies - and Bob has recently been in the news as his nephew Graham Leake has been researching (successfully) the whereabouts of his Wooler ME1095. I should add that Bob was a nephew of Ron Wooler and worked at the firm during the late twenties. You may wonder what all this has to do with pre-war Nortons and the answer is that Bob bought a new 500 Inter in 1934 which he used successfully in the Clubmen's Fifty Mile event at Brooklands as well as for general transport. Jack recalled that he and Bob used to spend the occasional Sunday morning going flat out along the newly opened Watford by-pass - Jack on the 1931 ex works OK Supreme he bought after being disappointed with the 1931 ES2 he bought new. According to Jack, the OK was a few miles an hour faster than the Inter but of course, Bob's recollection might well have been different!

Apparently, long after he had disposed of the Inter, Bob thought it would be good to get it back and he traced it to a lighthouse keeper in Scotland, who assured him it was safely protected from the elements. Bob went to see it and was saddened to find it had corroded to the extent that it was suitable only as scrap!

Graham has kindly sent a scan of Bob and the Norton at Brooklands - many thanks!

-Roger- RD Spreadbrow raced a Norton at Brooklands from March 1933 to August 1935 but his only top three finishes were winning the Clubmen's Fifty Mile Scratch race on 28 July 1934 and a third place in the Clubmen's Three-lap Round the Mountain Race in April. It seems very unlikely he bought it the bike new in 1934 as I believe it to be a 1932 model as the damper was discarded in 1933 and replaced by the rebound springs although the damper was added to the springs for 1934.

The 1934 brochure

-SG- Another Roadholder brochure, courtesy of Ian. This one covers 1934 - all models still fitted with Sturmey Archer gearboxes but now with Norton's own three spring clutch. In addition, the Models 30 and 40 were fitted with the narrow forks and front wheels.

c1934 Model 40 Norton

-Richard- This bike (as recently advertised on eBay) looks to be a 1934 racing specification version with some later parts fitted. I do not have the Norton records, but it looks as though it may have been supplied for the 1934 Manx Grand Prix as it appears to have features more often seen on 1935 models. The frame, forks and wheels look correct, as does the engine except the magnesium cambox and the mag chain cover which are both the later type. The gear box should really be Sturmey Archer and the clutch is of this type. The box now fitted looks post-war. This will be a problem because this clutch needs the corresponding engine shock absorber as currently there is not one in the transmission. I think the bike should have a Norton 3 spring clutch for 1934 anyway as only the works bikes retained the S/A clutch that year. The petrol tank looks like a recently made replica and possibly the oil tank as well. Also the fork check springs are the later type replacements and the Andre steering damper should be anchored to the tank. In conclusion I think the bike has been restored in recent years with only the tanks and the shock absorber/clutch in the transmission being the only visible minus points.

1934 Model Big Four Norton

Charlie in San Francisco has just put this bike back on the road after eighteen years of storage.

Charlie: "I bought it from a Volvo dealer in the US as a very complete basket case in 1989, made it roadworthy in 1990, and ran it quite a lot until late 1998. It is a strong runner now, and it's surprisingly lively for an old SV slogger with a 120mm stroke. All I had to do was replace tires and tubes, freshen up the top end, and replace the mag armature and condenser. A lot of time went into cleaning it up too.

The engine number is 59XXX, frame number is 54XXX. It was first registered 3 September 1934. I have what I think is the second log book. The bike was registered to Dudley Hale Pearson, of Stourbank, Nayland Nr. Colchester. The first stamp is 31 March 1948. The Registration Authority is West Suffolk County Council, Bury St. Edmunds. The final stamp is 5 January 1967.

Any information about this bike and its owner history would be greatly appreciated!"

1934 Junior TT programme

-JdK- Alain in New Zealand sent a copy (click this link) of the complete 1934 Junior TT programme which makes very interesting reading.

Simpson, 1934 Model 40

-JdK- Jimmie Simpson and his Model 40 at the 1934 Ulster.

Freddy Frith, 1934 Model 30

-SG- Freddie Frith needs no introduction as a leading works Norton team member in the second half of the thirties. Prior to that, he had won the 1935 Junior MGP, finished second in the '35 Senior, and put up good performances in the MGPs of 1930, 1932,1933 and 1934. I am not that keen on action photos for the site, as they show too little of the actual machine details and this 1934 shot is no exception. But it epitomises Frith's tidy riding style and certainly shows a man in a hurry!

Jimmie Guthrie, 1934 Junior TT

-Alain- Above a picture of the 1934 Junior TT programme, signed in ink “Jimmie Guthrie 1934” and a newspaper clipping I found inside.

596cc Model 30 engine - SOLD

Thierry in France is selling sold this 596cc Model 30 engine. The 596cc OHC Norton was never officially listed in the catalogues and only a handful of these machines may have been built. See the this entry for more info.

"Thierry: he number on the base of the barrel is 60xxx; there is no number on the crankcase, which may have been replaced at some time. The number on the barrel belongs to a 596cc Model 30, shipped on 8 November 1934 to a Geneva dealer "Demont", with an optional dynamo (Bosch) and a speedo. The frame number could have been 55xxx but unfortunately the page that contains my Norton's details is messy and the numbers are unclear. The engine has some interesting racing parts fitted: a full bronze head, magnesium cambox and the central oil feed through the camshaft to the cambox."

c1934 Model ES2 Norton

-JdK- Dr. Czokor and his Norton at the "Thernerberg-Rennen" in Hollabrunn, Austria, 23th of September 1934. The Norton looks like a 1934 Model ES2.

c1934 Model 30/40 Works racer

Photo contributed by Keith

-Richard- This may be a 1934 Works racer that has seen some modifications later in life. The frame looks like a genuine 1934 Works item with the 2 lugs on the front down-tube for the engine mounts. The forks look like 1934 with the small diameter check springs and the low mounted brake cable mount. This was moved further up the fork leg in 1935 so it could be adjusted from the riding position, amazing it took so long  when you see this picture of Jimmie Simpson. The engine looks like it is later as it has different crankcases to the 1934 works ones. The gearbox looks like a 1934 Sturmey Archer racing type but not the works one which looked like the later Norton/Sturmey dolls-head. Petrol and oil tanks are soldered steel, not the alloy works ones, but the carburettor might be a Bowden racing type.

-Roger- I found a picture in Chas Mortimer's 'Brooklands and Beyond' with a line-up of machines including Francis Beart and Forbes with Francis sitting on a Norton with a pale frame fitted with forks with the low adjuster. Looking at this picture I see that it is the same Norton with engine, oil tank, frame, forks and even the front brake exactly the same. It is certainly Jock Forbes on the left of the picture on top.

c1934 Model 40 Norton

Another one from the Technisches Museum Wien; a mr Helmuth Loichtl at the "Goldener Sturzhelm" in 1934. The Norton could be an early 1930s Model 40.

1930s Model 19 speedway Norton

Garth from New Zealand sent these pics of his mother and dad, Elva and John Henderson and their speedway Norton. Both pictures were taken during the 1947-48 season at the Western Springs speedway in Auckland. The engine is clearly Norton and the height of the barrel suggests a Model 19; the shape suggests that the engine dates from the early 1930s. Frame and wheels seem to be from another make than Norton.  Does anyone know more about this motorcycle?

Al's 1934 Model 18 Norton

Sent by Al in the UK

"This is my 1934 Norton Model 18 - this was professionally restored a few years ago, I use it regularly and it has proved to be 100% reliable, I have all document going back to the first owner."

1934 Model 30 Norton

Sent by V. Devis in Italy

This is a Model 30. It was checked by Annice and Michelle against the Works Records and it still has the original engine to frame. It was sent to Jordan, Hull, 8 May 1934. The specification is very hard to read in the records but it probably contains the word 'racing'.

Marcel's 1934 M30 Norton

Sent by Marcel

This is Marcel's 1934 M30 International, another Norton that used to belong to Ko Konijn. Fresh paint was applied by Marcel, for the rest it had been properly rebuilt by Ko in the past. This was the first bike from Ko's collection that was started after decades in storage.

Max's 1934 Model ES2 Norton

Sent by Max in Argentina

I am sending a three pictures of my 1934 ES2. The photo above was taken on a trip to Mar del Plata. Appropriately I used a 1934 Leica camera for the photograph.

Nortons in the 500cc Dutch TT races, 23th of June 1934

Piet van Wijngaarden with number 2 and Swiss rider Georg Cordey with number 38; both on Model 30 Internationals.

Piet again, being chased by P.Ruttchen on an NSU.

...and Vidal, on an over-the-counter Model 30, chasing a Sunbeam.

...and Jimmie Guthrie. The race was won by someone called Pol Demeuter.