1953 Norton Big 4 swing arm? Where to find one?

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Jul 14, 2013
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Anyone have suggestions on where I might find a swing arm for a 53 Big 4? I tried Waldridge with no luck. Any help would be appreciated.
 
A wanted ad in the old bike mart, the Norton Owners Club & this website might bring results; otherwise you will have to keep going to these bike swap meets at Stafford, Kempton Park e.t.c. in the hope that one will turn up. Sorry I cannot be of more help.
 
Plenty of swingarms on ebay - but none for your model, at the moment.
Where all the unusual stuff ends up these days ?
May have to watch, for a while.

What happened to your swingarm, they usually stay with the bike.
 
If you knew your Nortons, you would know that is not a featherbed swingarm...

We kinda just assumed the present owner, or a previous one, has married this into a swingarm frame.
Assuming it is not factory - plunger frame versions of 16h and Big4's did appear, they even had their own model codes.
Weren't shown (pictured) in the brochures though.
This was rumoured to have continued into the swingarm era, although ohv and twins had the lions share of the sales by then.

We haven't yet seen a pic of this project though...
 
Ariel's Anstey-Link which was a sort of plunger system had some pivoting links but not swinging arm in the usual context. Nortons never used it anyway.

Unfortunately, 'TonupTrav' (on a Big 4 ? :shock: ) hasn't replied to this thread or provided clarification (nor did he on the WD Norton forum where a similar question was posed).

If I had to guess, I'd imagine that at sometime a 1953 ES2 has been fitted with a Big 4 engine (of whatever vintage) but only photographs and preferably the engine and frame numbers and model codes will really confirm that.

I'd be most surprised if Norton ever put a sidevalve engine in a swing-arm frame as the price would have been out of proportion to the average sv buyer's budget.
 
79x100 said:
I'd be most surprised if Norton ever put a sidevalve engine in a swing-arm frame as the price would have been out of proportion to the average sv buyer's budget.

Probably very true, although with Nortons you never know.
A couple of Inters have appeared on ebay with swingarm (not featherbed) frames, so anything is possible though.
Mostly the owners admitted they had done it themselves though.
 
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