A Little Norton Update…

I have just managed to get a nice late-model, 350cc alloy head, this will be opened up for use on the 500, with new valves etc. this will be used in combination with a BSA B50 high comp piston, and a set of custom profiled high lift cams, to give it all a little omph!
My rear wheel has been built around a 19″ flanged alloy rim, with stainless spokes, and will wear a 4-00 x 19 tyre. And today I picked up a 21″ front wheel with twin leading brake, just to get me moving while I look to find a conical front hub.
My frame is about to go into the shop to have some brackets welded on, so that I can move the brake pedal and foot rests back a piece, and fit some rear sets on the gear change side.

Today has been a Norton day again, cleaned up all the threads on the new alloy head, then I managed to get hold of a late-model rocker box assembly, and bolted that all together ready to go off to the vapour blaster this week. Then it can have the machining done to fit a 500 barrel, and a new set of racing valve
guides and valves fitted. I will also have the inlet tract polished up a bit too.

More Norton Tales..

Way back near the start of the year, I picked up some nice old unused alloy mudguards at Kempton jumble, very light and perfect for the clubman look I am after. The problem was, they were not a true set. they were in fact both rears, one a complete rear with removable panel for changing the wheel, the other was the large section, missing the smaller rear section, so not only was it not complete it was also the wrong shape for the front, being square-cut, and having two holes, as you can see…

Now what I wanted, was the guard to be re shaped, and a raised lip put on, like you see on older guards of the period, but I wasn’t sure I could do this job at home, but I knew someone who could, so last week I dropped off the section, and explained what I needed, today I collected the finished item, it just needs a good polish now..

 

Before

New shaped Lip

Lip Added

There is also another project on ebay right now, it is a 1931? Norton CS1 500,  if you look at the frame you can see a lot of differences when compared to my later frame, the plunger units are bigger, and the frame tubes holding them are tube, where as mine are cast, the top tube is straight, my one has a crook in it, and there are other changes too.

CS1 Project

CS1 500cc motor

Velocette, Norton’s & Plungers…

Today was a good day, today was the first “build” day,  I now have a few parts, and today they started going together

I had the rear plunger rods machined, and so today I took the frame, plunger rods, springs, and covers, over to Mick’s place to get some help fitting them on the frame, Mick has a homemade spring compressor just for doing the plungers, a job that would be tough to do without the use of a spring compession tool.

Norton Plunger Suspension

 

Garden Gate Suspension

 

And when I got back home I fitted the headstock assembly with the new bearings that turned up this week. I also have the parts needed to put the Roadholder forks together, so things are moving in the right direction.

There was a nice Velocette there while I was getting the rear suspension fitted, and a Norton on the bench too.

 

Velocette 500

 

Norton Single

 

 

 

Kawasaki H1b again

Kawasaki H1 500

I have my H1b frame back from the painters now, and it is sitting here in my living room! just need the weather to pick up a little, and I can start rebuilding it, lots of new old stock parts are here too, that I have collected over the winter months, so should be a fun rebuild when and if I can find the time, in what is already shaping up to be a very busy year.

 

 

Norton Again! Looking at eBay

I spotted this rigid Norton International on eBay this week, a nice project for someone, but you would need to be commited to the bike, as the outlay for the project is high, £6850 as of today, with five days left to run. but the bike is as cool as it gets in vintage race bike terms, and would make a sweet road bike too….

Norton International 500

 

Looking Back…

I have been sorting through some old photo’s today,  looking back at some of my old bikes I used to own, so thought I would share some on here too.  It’s funny looking back, at the time I thought getting rid of certain bikes was the right decision, but now there are one or two I wished I had given more time. But then I guess we all feel like this when looking back at the past?

BSA A10 Bobber.

The A10 Bobber was a cool old bike, with siamese pipes and 16″ rear wheel, it sounded sweet too, never did get to finish it though.

Triumph T100-A Tiger

Now I loved this little bike, and did a fair amount of work to it, to get the look I was after,including changing the front brake to an 8″ TLS.

1978 Kawasaki Z650

My Kawasaki Z650, this made it to the cover of a classic bike magazine, I sold it shortly after, a big mistake..

Kawasaki Z1000-A2

My old Z1000, this has been my greatest regret, I should never have sold this bike, and knew that on the day it left, oh well at least I still have the memories..