Manxman on ebay

Rohan

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Aug 26, 2010
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Has a red seat, so it must be genuine ?!!

Manxman on ebay
 
Quite sought after - and fairly rare.
Err yes, orange/red seat was a bit much, put on the shelf and fit a black one. ?

(Western bars were options on Nortons in the USA for many years.
Easyrider has a lot to answer for).
 
actually, i like it - a lot! :shock:

i'd be awful tempted to swap my preunit tiger for that sweet machine...
 
The speedo does not look to be the correct one, should have a 150mph item, so I would suspect the mileage claim.
 
beng said:
The speedo does not look to be the correct one, should have a 150mph item, so I would suspect the mileage claim.
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i suspect all mileage claims :mrgreen:
 
I was amused to see my (chronometric) speedo clicking over to the 10,000 mile mark a while back. As it ticked over, it failed to move the ten thousand dial - so we were back to 9000 miles. !! Perpetual under 10,000 miles bike ?? Hmmmm.

Several road tests in old period magazines have noted speedo failures - so you'd have to think they were not necessarily too reliable, or a long-life item. ??

Anyone seen a big life out of the magnetic (or chrono) type ?
 
Surely, on a decades old vehicle, it is the condition that matters, not the odo reading?
I had an old chrono [anachronistically] on my Triumph,- 'cause I dig that clockwork action -, saw it line up all the 9s, never had any dramas with it. I`ve had lots of Nip clocks that have only given problems from either crashing ,or being unused..
 
J.A.W. said:
Surely, on a decades old vehicle, it is the condition that matters, not the odo reading?
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Sure. And here as usual we have a case of people bidding on a bike that they have no idea what it's condition is except for cosmetics. When I see the word "restored", that is not a positive for me seeing how 90% of those doing work on bikes out there are poor mechanics and historians, especially on an obscure or rare machine.

Someone has done a fairly good job on restoring the Manxman on Ebay. It would be a tough bike to restore for most as there would not be other original bikes laying about to compare it to and there is not a lot of reference material for the bikes, besides being hard to find parts for.

These bikes were not the best when they were new.

It was Norton's first 650 and was right on the leading edge of their development program. Some good mechanics think that the oiling system on the Commandos is marginal, well here you have basically the same engine and power level with the oil pump running at half-speed and utilizing much smaller oil passageways! Which is why I have quite a few sets of 1961 & 1962 Norton 650cc crankcases laying around here with weld repairs and scars from where rods let go in them. The oiling to the rocker arms was supplied by nice hot oil from the return to the oil tank.
 
beng said:
It was Norton's first 650 and was right on the leading edge of their development program. Some good mechanics think that the oiling system on the Commandos is marginal, well here you have basically the same engine and power level with the oil pump running at half-speed and utilizing much smaller oil passageways! Which is why I have quite a few sets of 1961 & 1962 Norton 650cc crankcases laying around here with weld repairs and scars from where rods let go in them. The oiling to the rocker arms was supplied by nice hot oil from the return to the oil tank.
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Beng - are there fixes for these lubrication problems? How did the later 650s differ?
 
daveh said:
Beng - are there fixes for these lubrication problems? How did the later 650s differ?
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The oiling system on later Dominators and Commandos had larger oil passages and the oil pump driven at twice the rpm with a new set of drive gears, as well as having the plain rocker spindles being pressure-fed instead of being back-fed from the return line.

Yes all these later modifications can be retrofitted onto the earlier bikes by a competent mechanic. The oil passageways can be drilled out, and the later parts swapped on to any degree desired.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 123&type=3
 
beng said:
The speedo does not look to be the correct one, should have a 150mph item, so I would suspect the mileage claim.
Click to expand...

We notice you saying elsewhere that

"Norton publication PS217 is specifically for the USA spec 650 Manxman. It lists the tachometer and 150mph speedo as standard equipment on page 33. No other Norton roadster pre-1963 had a tacho as standard, and the Standard and Deluxe 650 Norton had a 120mph speedo. "

Just for the record, the 1961/62 Norton Parts Book PS 214 lists the speedo page 48 for BOTH the 650 Std AND the 650 Deluxe as being the 150 mph type.

So ALL 650 Nortons had 150 mph speedos then ??
 
Rohan said:
Just for the record, the 1961/62 Norton Parts Book PS 214 lists the speedo page 48 for BOTH the 650 Std AND the 650 Deluxe as being the 150 mph type. So ALL 650 Nortons had 150 mph speedos then ??
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Looks that way if you go by the books. Also looks like that Manxman on ebay sold for about $8500 US. Until it popped up I thought the one I had sold about 3 years ago was the only one around in good enough shape to use regularly. The guy I sold it to has been getting good use out of the bike and has put new tires and chains etc. on it.

I know where there are several of these blue 650s sitting in various states of disrepair in various garages, barns and sheds.

Maybe if I live long enough to get to it I will get the basket-case Manxman I have stuck up in the rafters on the road, but it is not high on my list of things to do so I figure someone else will end up getting it done after I am in the dirt...
 
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