Does anyone have info about the cam followers of Tom Phillis's 1961 norton 500 twin racebike that lapped Isle of Man at 100 mph

Thank you and I can see the advantage in weight reduction with that bucket type arrangement.

I have another question. Was there a flap lifter setup someone made for a Norton twin where 4 long narrow plates are hinged near the bore so the plates are riding on the cam lobes and only the plates are between the cam and the pushrod? The pushrods being located in recesses on the top side of the plates. Or is this just one of my fantasies?
 
The drawing for the Domi racer bucket style follower indicates other shape the tip was Stellite not Delcrome C that was used on the standard followers of the period.
 
Here's a Vincent follower That I think would work in a Norton if the hinge could be adapted. Maybe not practicle but a good alternative if it saved some reciprocating weight. Maybe place the pushrod end at the cam center and then lighten it up.

Does anyone have info about the cam followers of Tom Phillis's 1961 norton 500 twin racebike that lapped Isle of Man at 100 mph
 
jseng1 said:
Here's a Vincent follower That I think would work in a Norton if the hinge could be adapted. Maybe not practicle but a good alternative if it saved some reciprocating weight. Maybe place the pushrod end at the cam center and then lighten it up.

Does anyone have info about the cam followers of Tom Phillis's 1961 norton 500 twin racebike that lapped Isle of Man at 100 mph
Click to expand...
Jim, Doesn't your BSA lifter modification nicely address the Commando tappet's weight issues? What are you looking for?
 
Rob - that photo is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks. Any more info about material, dimensiions or contact info of the owner would be appreciated.

I'm happy with the BSA setup but I'm doing a lot of research on lifters now. The problem is the so called Stellite surface which is very difficult to obtain now and the price is prohibitive. For two years We've been trying every tool steel option, DLC coating etc. All had problems and so far there is only one other material other than the original stellite which looks good. Its exotic, proprietary and very slippery.

If the hinged lifter saves reciprocating weight then its worth looking into.
 
Last edited:
To further save weight, Doug used the aluminium push rods without the steel end caps at the TT. The resulting wear during the race slowed the bike, making the race result even more impressive.
 
jseng1 said:
Rob - that photo is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks. Any more info about material, dimensiions or contact info of the owner would be appreciated.

I'm happy with the BSA setup but I'm doing a lot of research on lifters now. The problem is the so called Stellite surface which is very difficult to obtain now and the price is prohibitive. For two years We've been trying every tool steel option, DLC coating etc. All had problems and so far there is only one other material other than the original stellite which looks good. Its exotic, proprietary and very slippery.

If the hinged lifter saves reciprocating weight then its worth looking into.
Click to expand...
Sorry Jim - I don't have any other information
Cheers
 
jseng1 said:
Rob - that photo is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks. Any more info about material, dimensiions or contact info of the owner would be appreciated.

I'm happy with the BSA setup but I'm doing a lot of research on lifters now. The problem is the so called Stellite surface which is very difficult to obtain now and the price is prohibitive. For two years We've been trying every tool steel option, DLC coating etc. All had problems and so far there is only one other material other than the original stellite which looks good. Its exotic, proprietary and very slippery.

If the hinged lifter saves reciprocating weight then its worth looking into.
Click to expand...
Jim, Do you know anything about material being used by Andover Norton for their new-fangled "solid" tappets (06.7820 - "COBALT AND CHROME MATERIAL")? I have installed a couple of sets on builds but haven't run up much mileage yet...
 
MichaelB said:
Hard for me to comprehend enough room in the case for that to fit.
Click to expand...
If you look at the standard 650ss barrel (here is mine) the milling off of the lower tappet tunnels and the keeper blocks creates a fair bit of room. There is obviously a "recess" behind those finger tappets for the conrods to operate.
Very do-able. I was seriously considering it at one time.
Cheers
Does anyone have info about the cam followers of Tom Phillis's 1961 norton 500 twin racebike that lapped Isle of Man at 100 mph
 
Rockithound said:
Jim, Do you know anything about material being used by Andover Norton for their new-fangled "solid" tappets (06.7820 - "COBALT AND CHROME MATERIAL")? I have installed a couple of sets on builds but haven't run up much mileage yet...
Click to expand...
Yes I have tested the Cobalt and Chrome material and it performs close to the original factory material but its very very difficult to get nowdays and the price has gone out of sight.
 
We trieds a bunch of tool steels and DLC coating which works on cars (but unfortunately not on high PSI Brit bikes) - none of them were satisfactory. However there is a newly available proprietary material we've tested that looks very promising. It's slippery and shows no wear on the cam lobes. It needs more time in a street bike to prove itself. So far its only been tested on the spintron. We will also be testing 19mm roller lifters in a couple weeks. Our hopes are on the new slippery material.
 
Back
Top