Kawasaki H1B at Kempton…

And what a cracker too…

Kawasaki H1b 500

 

And outside was a nice Knucklehead custom..

 

Harley Knucklehead Custom

Moto Guzzi Ercole…

I was working in Henley today, so had a walk around the market, and came across this 1948 Guzzi Ercole, being used as an ice cream wagon, what a cool bike these things are.

 

1948 Moto Guzzi Ercole

Guzzi Ice Cream Waggon.

One Last Step…

One Last Step…

So I am nearly at the end of my journey, and have one last step to go, in the small matter of getting the Norton registered (getting a title for the US contingent). I started this whole crazy dream back in November 2011, with just a frame I found on Ebay….

Norton project

And now here I am five years later, with a dating certificate telling me the Norton was built at the Norton works factory in Birmingham back on 26th June 1952, and was despatched to  Bennet’s of Southampton. Who knows what the bike got up to in the intervening years, but it is once again a fully working Norton, and ready to be out on the open road next summer. Just one final piece of paperwork, that is all I need.

The Lightning Project… part nine.

And another unexpected bike joins the group.

The lightning seems to have taken up residence on the bench right now, the whole front end is out, the head is away at SRM having a full on valve job, I was hoping the head may have been completed this weekend but not so. As can happen sometimes, I managed to break a piston ring fitting the barrel, and the broken piece of course dropped into the crank cases, and could not be seen. But some fishing around with a telescopic magnet found it in the bottom of the cases. So after again fitting a spare ring to the piston, and some help from Paul, I managed to get the refinished barrels in place, bolted down.

A65L new +20 pistons all fitted.

Next it was time to fit my new SRM magnetic sump kit, after removing the old studs I offered up the new gauze filter, only to find that it did not fit! it seems that SRM sent me out a kit for a B50 or other single, as the hole in the gauze was too small (8.5mm instead of 11.5mm) to go over the scavenger pipe. Luckily my old filter gauze was in very good condition, so I decided to use that rather than wait for a replacement from SRM.

Then it was just a case of bolting it all up to the underside of the motor.

SRM magnetic sump

It won’t stay shiny for long.

Vincent Comet…

I had a call from a mate in the US, telling me to go look over a Vincent Comet with a view to buying it, well a long story short, I did, and so I ended up with a Comet. I never thought I would ever own a Vincent, so getting this has come as a real surprise to me.

Vincent Comet

The Vincent

Vincent 500cc single

Norton Clubman Project…

Today I offered up the exhaust I found at Netley, to the Norton frame, to get an idea of what I will need to fix it on, and to see if it will fit, and of course how it may look.  At the moment I am quite pleased with it, but I will wait for final judgement until when the bike is built and running.

Exhaust fitting

Race Can

 

Like Juggling Ferrets!…

My Norton clubman project, I try to give it as much time as I can, but holding down a job, and sorting out my Guzzi Ambo, as well as keeping up with chores on the house and the BMW R80st, leaves me so little time, but I do my best. I guess with hindsight that I may have had a chance of getting it on the road this year, but I also really enjoy time out riding, so I am not too upset that it still needs so much work to get near the finish line.  But maybe it is not as much as it seems?

My next job is to convert this old damaged Triumph conical hub into a Manx style single leading shoe race hub, and although it won’t be correct in every detail, it will be close enough to give the look I am after.

Broken Fin, A good thing.

I collected my rebuilt front wheel today, the hub is a little too glossy, but I hope it will dull down a little as it ages, it now also has a Norton brake plate that has been machined to fit, and some different bearings to match up the Triumph hub to the Norton spindle.

Conical Hub

Rolling Chassis? Nearly

Front Wheel

The brake plate still needs some work, it needs to be painted satin black, and an air scoop needs to be added, also the rim is not sitting centrally in the forks, so I shall have to get that adjusted, but these are small things, with some tubes and tyres I should have a rolling chassis by the end of the month. Well, if the ferrets play ball, that is!

The Norton Project… Again..

I have now painted the gearbox to match the motor, and sorted out a few items that need to be powder coated.

Norton Project

And as you can see from the picture below, I need to get the 350cc head machined to fit the 500cc barrel. I will also have the inlet tract opened up to 30mm at the same time so as to fit a bigger carb.

500 Clubman

My Norton Project… Odds & Ends…

I picked up a couple of bits for the Norton on Saturday at the Kempton bike jumble, one of the parts was the front fork brace and mudguard support, I found
it in a box of old junk, and it cost me just £2.00 or $3.00 for the colonials out there.

So today I thought I should just check to see how it all fits together, this is not the wheel I will be using, as that is yet to be built, but it is a 21″ wheel so is right for testing.

 

Dry Fit

 

New Handle bars

 

My next job is to convert this old damaged Triumph conical hub into a Manx style single leading shoe race hub, and although it won’t be correct in every detail,
it will be close enough to give the look I am after.

 

Conical Hub

 

 

First job is to remove all the fins from the outer edge, luckily this one was already damaged in this area, this may have helped in me getting it cheaply off of the Bay..

 

Broken Fin, A good thing.

Then it will be away to be powder coated black, before I start to convert a Norton brake plate to fit…

 

 

Norton ES2…

Just a couple of Norton 500 shots taken this past week…

Norton ES2

Norton ES2

Norton 500 Special

Norton Girder 500

1936 Rudge…

I like Rudge motorcycles, they are like Velocettes, a little aloof, set apart from the general run of the mill bikes you see so often, and they always draw a crowd when parked up…

1936 Rudge

Look at how the wheels are laced with half the spokes down the middle, and half down one side, very strange…

Rudge Wheel

And one more shot of the engine…

Rudge 500 motor