Deans Motorcycles ' NORTON ' .

Matt Spencer · Jan 10, 2012

Presumably ' modified production , not 1970 either . Note Grid position Vs Japs .He'd knock them off ( NO , clean up , though elbowing was legitamate ) on time occasionally . Iron barrel & hot days stymed power .

Earlier 1976 at Newlynn , ' Production ' Stalwart Vs the Rice Burners , Cnr top of the straight . Sweeper onto that uphill climb
was a intresting vantage point . first road race Id attended , on the Suzuki 250 & mates 380 . ring ding ding .
Seen plenty of speedway & M-X aforehand .

These are the ' top corner ' , the corner onto the straight was a 70 mph left 80 deg. ' sweeper '
with a tricky exit , then ' straight up ' the rise , to this corner .Left hand all .

Robbie Dean I think was the second generation of ' Deans Motorcycles in Tauranga ' , you can have any Mk II as long as its 32

Moved these here , credits to Original shutter clickers . Half of em 'd miss em if left in innappropriate posts .

Brooking 850 · Jan 10, 2012

Is that Robbie Dean?
if so saw him race early '70's around different tracks in NZ most notably for me ,Awapuni estate in Gisborne, didn't he lowr/modify a C'do frame to race with?
Regards Mike

Matt Spencer · Jan 10, 2012

cant say on the frame , was a set of cases with 3/8 alum. webs welded all over, radially like a Rotax or sim , and bearing surounds . On the bench when I collected my carbs , around 1980
. ALWAYS a front runner , informative to observe rideing , though the throttle appeared to have one position after he'd ' turned in ' , ' ON ' ( the stop ). :lol: :shock: :?

swooshdave · Jan 10, 2012

That first pic is marvelous. :mrgreen:

cjandme · Jan 10, 2012

That first pic is marvelous. +1

72Combat · Jan 10, 2012

Is that New Lynn as in Auckland?
I just did a Google and it probably is...
The guy on the Suzuki is Paul Pavlovitch who I had as a coach recently at Pukekohe....and I bought some Thruxton headers off....

Same photo of the Norton and Suzuki.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jorvikiwi/5222237725/

Matt Spencer · Jan 11, 2012

Yea . Top is ' Bay Park ' , Tauraga / Mt Manganui .( liberated picture from a Kiwi foto fing )

New Lynn is ' around ' Crown Lynn ' stite . A big Clay Quarry from years back . Sir ( :lol: ) Tom Clarke pottery & Brother / Brickworks , Their Father started the opperation .Clake raced a Ferarri , Bent it and self at the bottom of Conrod
( Bathurst ) 59 and told to change his habbits or he'd be disinherited . So he took up Yacht Raceing . The Old Man did
the Yachts .Infidel / Ragtime Got the Transpac 3 times , when an old relic . :lol:
Liberated these pics from some forum somewhere where someone had posted ' His Dads Pictures ' . Mucho Grassious .

You can drive round counter clockwise and Dash Cam it for Us .

Bus stop out of roundabout had a few hard dives left , early on , to miss the curb . Dean would howl round through it and out , about a foot of the kerb there .
Think they only ran that twice , and had one or two down Beaumont street way , years back .

All a bit snottey there now for that sort of thing ??

72Combat · Jan 11, 2012

There is still some street racing ,Wanganui ( Whanganui for the PC) on Boxing Day and Paeora in Feb. I'm building up a bike to run at the Classic Festival in a few weeks at Pukekohe...should be choice.

Crown Lynn is now a sub division and New Lynn is a pretty busy suburb...the only racing there now is boy racers in hotted up Jappers doing donuts and dropping patches... :roll:

Matt Spencer · Jan 11, 2012

circuits-t12020.html

Yes ; We'll expect some pictures then , Please . Is Pukekohe still going ? Thought it was at the New Hill Circuit there . ? ?

You pronounce Pavlovich , Eh . Had him instruct me as to how to hold youre mouth on a Z1 round Puke , Ran the Triton then

They were the worst of days ,they were the best of days . Will Shakespear I think . About the only sensable thing he ever did say .

72Combat · Jan 11, 2012

Puke is on the way out as they have built a new track called Hampton Downs just south of the Bombays, I like it as it as its more of a technical track than a horsepower one .....thats what I have picked up after two CSS lessons and two track days.....
Hampton Downs changes elevation and has more corners as well as a surface that is smoooooth.
I'm looking forward to going for a thrash around it in a few weeks.
I'll post up some piccies.

Powereng03 · Jan 11, 2012

I like how he rounded the number plate in the front of the bike for aerodynamics!!! I think he is using it as a fairing!!!

72Combat · Jan 15, 2012

I was at Pukekohe today thrashing the Triumph Thruxton and I asked Paul Pav about the photo with him on the Suzuki and Robbie Deans on the Commando....he laughed as it was such a long time ago...and said " Robbie Deans could ride the arse of that Norton....up to 100 mph he was brilliant" ....he also mentioned the skeleton leathers....I only just noticed them.
I also asked about the New Lynn races.." oh the Ceramco Series ...I was just starting out then..."

Sadly the Thruxton hit the rev limiter in top...around 200 kmph....still enough to pass a few air cooled Ducatis....if you pick your moments.

There was a bloke there talking about a 750 in a Rob North frame that hunts Gixxers......I love stories like that....

Matt Spencer · Jan 15, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25CSNjq6X5E The Name comes up here once or twice .

Matt Spencer · Jan 20, 2012

Another Kiwi Nutter , Crosby .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCgtMc1w ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eFYmSYp ... re=related Whoops .

72Combat · Jan 21, 2012

Matt Spencer said:
Another Kiwi Nutter , Crosby .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCgtMc1w ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eFYmSYp ... re=related Whoops .

Croz now lives north of Auckland and restores bikes according to a mate who sort of knows him. There was an article in one of the English bike mags....Classic Racer...? where he takes the Journo for a lap of the Isle of Man....keen or what.
Wanganui or Whanganui as it is now still runs every Boxing Day ( day after Xmas). I'm usually to stuffed from Turkey and Ham to go....

johnm · Jan 21, 2012

I can remember watching Robbie Deans on the Commando in the 1970s at the Cemetary circuit at Wanganui. He was up against H2 Kawasakis and then Z1s. He did extremly well but they had way more HP. Latter around 2000s he was riding Aprilia. I think his father was a Velo racer.

J.A.W. · Jun 7, 2012

Those shots take me back, & from memory, I first recall ol` Robbie production racing [& in this part of the world it meant showroom stock -to the scrutineers eyes -no like at the I.o.M.] a Trident, but being swarmed by hordes of H2s & Z1s. He went to the Superbike class[improved producton Commando] which he`d done a lot of development on, destruction testing a lot of it,I once saw him blow a crankcase spectacularly at Hamilton [Ithink] there was smoke,flames etc everything, so next time out, there were big beads of weld -like hands -enclosing the cases, but then the barrels went at the flange, so next step, a big clamping arrangement to hold it together, then the mainshaft went, replaced by a special one piece unit, I think he used warranty return parts from the shop to try this stuff on experimentally. But boy, did it go when it was going! a REAL snortin` Norton..as underdog , he got the cheers from the Brit-bike types & jeers from the Jappers, & sniffy silent treatment from the Ducati mob [who wished their overhyped lumps sounded that good].

Matt Spencer · Jun 8, 2012

Been thinking of getting him to write a tirade for here .
When I got my carbs in 80 or so , he had a set of cases there with 10 mm alloy webs radially from the crank out to 10 mm donuts around the bearing area .
V much hot rod stuff & suck it and see . He was Folklore among the British rideing diehards .

J.A.W. · Jun 8, 2012

While you are at it, why not get Ray Pratt to do like-wise, I `ve always found him approachable, even about Nortons, which he put a fair amount of effort into[& had success too], I recall watching him & Buckley [on his Vincent] makin` a fair bit of noise shifting real-estate on their speedway side-hacks.

72Combat · Jun 9, 2012

J.A.W. said:
While you are at it, why not get Ray Pratt to do like-wise, I `ve always found him approachable, even about Nortons, which he put a fair amount of effort into[& had success too], I recall watching him & Buckley [on his Vincent] makin` a fair bit of noise shifting real-estate on their speedway side-hacks.

We had Ray Pratt come to the Vintage Motorcycle Meet and tell us about his exploits. He now has a large Harley dealership up the Khyber Pass, he also has a Triumph dealership and was the KTM dealer but I understand HD told him to ditch it....Just in case a Hog rider might change his mind and buy a KTM.... :roll: I also heard that HD want the Triumphs to have a separate showroom too...
We don't have anywhere here that does old Brit stuff now...or any old stuff for that matter.
Speedway is still there but its no longer a run down part of the city and the well healed don't like the noise...although some world series stuff was there recently.

Deans Motorcycles ' NORTON ' .

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