Model 30 International

Don't forget the humble ole ES2. ?
About the same cycle parts, inc brakes, and the engine has all the oily bits inside !
With a set of cams and higher comp piston, not that much performance difference either. (?)
Without the pricetag....


Model 30 International


But we diverge.
 
gtsun said:
I have to agree with you acotrel, I passed on buying one in 1984 so cheap by today's $$$ it pings my heart when I think about it. A friend has a 49 Norton 500 single but I can't remember what model. 16 maybe. All I know is I followed him onto the freeway once and he was ten cars ahead of me before I even knew it..
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Try an old five hundred single riding two up with luggage climbing up and over Beartooth pass (11,000 ft) It can be done, but modern cars will be on your ass, then passing you in dangerous spots all the way. Even a 60s Triumph Bonneville ran out of power on this climb.
With a Vincent twin or Commando, no problem, tho the Commando did get a little warm. The Vincent doesn't seem to care what you throw at it.

Glen
 
worntorn said:
Try an old five hundred single riding two up with luggage climbing up and over Beartooth pass (11,000 ft)
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The sensible way to handle that is to get her one of her one !!
Double the fun, and double the number of classics in the garage ?
Or take your buddy to the Mecum auctions......

Or, what are old classics doing climbing 11,000 ft mountains. !
Take the back roads, rather than flogging it on the highways....
 
Generally there is only one road over these mountain passes and it is a highway. We did a combined 26,000 miles on 7 old Brit bikes on that trip, only problem was one broken speedo cable. Old bikes can do it, but you need to choose the right weapon!

Glen
 
worntorn said:
gtsun said:
I have to agree with you acotrel, I passed on buying one in 1984 so cheap by today's $$$ it pings my heart when I think about it. A friend has a 49 Norton 500 single but I can't remember what model. 16 maybe. All I know is I followed him onto the freeway once and he was ten cars ahead of me before I even knew it..
Click to expand...

Try an old five hundred single riding two up with luggage climbing up and over Beartooth pass (11,000 ft) It can be done, but modern cars will be on your ass, then passing you in dangerous spots all the way. Even a 60s Triumph Bonneville ran out of power on this climb.
With a Vincent twin or Commando, no problem, tho the Commando did get a little warm. The Vincent doesn't seem to care what you throw at it.

Glen
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I didn't say that I thought a pre-war Inter was useful for anything. I just happen to love them - some things are so bad that they are good. And I don't think an ES2 is anywhere near a substitute for one - the performance issue is completely irrelevant. I prefer the models fitted with the girder forks with the drop springs. This one is close, however doesn't quite get there - the cylinder barrel is the wrong colour and the blocks of aluminium bolted to the forks and the bodged up oil tank destroy the image :

Model 30 International
 
Bernhard
'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' - Is this beautiful ? - it really does it for me :

Model 30 International
 
acotrel said:
Bernhard
'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' - Is this beautiful ? - it really does it for me :

Model 30 International
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I’ll like to see a pic of the engine with the ohc gear side cover removed, it’s all an acquired taste :!: :)
 
It has a gear train up the right hand side and across the camshafts. In about 1956, it was the best 125cc racer and you could buy it for about 400 pounds sterling - about the same as a manx. A friend of mine fled from the Australian police after crashing his car into a river, and bought the new MV Bialbero 125 in Italy and took it to the UK. He raced it a few times then went and watched the races at the IOM TT. Decided he no longer wanted to road race.
 
£400 does not sound much these days, but in 1956 you could buy a 3 bedroom house for that money and still had change in your pocket :!: :(
 
Bernhard said:
£400 does not sound much these days, but in 1956 you could buy a 3 bedroom house for that money and still had change in your pocket :!: :(
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I think about 2000 pounds. I think my first house cost 3500 pounds in the early 60s. I can remember when you could buy an H2R Kawasaki for about $3000 and you would have been sponsored.
 
Be an expensive house then for 2000 quid.
It was off quoted that a new Manx cost more than a house,
and that was into the 1960's ...
 
I don't know about the paint being original, but I am pretty sure the name isn't. I don't think an International is a Manx.

Stephen Hill
 
There wasn't a big difference in price between the Inter and a Manx,
if that is what you were getting at - they were a fair bit more than any of the other Norton models.

And for aco, I seem to recall the Japanese could supply a kit to make an ES2 look like it had a bevel drive. Likewise a cam chain housing to make things look more like a G50 ...

Folks will also throw in any old words in an eBay sale to get attention.
 
I don't think there was a manx during the pre-war era. Weren't they all known as Internationals ? I always believed all manxes were post war (1948 and later) featherbeds with the DOHC motor, and all post war Inters had the Single OHC motor, even when they were featherbed models. There were double knocker factory Nortons pre-war, were they known as 'manxes' ?
 
Now we are splitting hairs, again.
Anything with girder forks is an Inter, officially.
Some were built to racing spec, more than others.

And yes, some had tele forks and plunger susp prewar....
 
There is much conjecture on that point.
The NOC website says something about late 1930s bikes being labelled as Inters to Manx racing spec.
 
I think I read somewhere the OHC bikes with the newer engine were all Inters, however some had a label attached in the factory to identify them for use in the IOM TT by factory riders. I get mixed up about the Carroll and Moore engines. A friend found a very original bike with the early engine - useless for anything much involving riding, however a very lovely piece of kit. CS1 ?
I'd still like to own a garden gate Inter with the girder forks - don't know why. It is probably an emotional thing totally about the bike's appearance - they are the best. Very rarely do I see a bike which really makes me feel like climbing aboard and wringing it's neck. That 30s Inter is like that. To some people they must look like just another old motorbike, and they don't feel the urge ?
 
The factory race bikes were built up in the race shop, so that would seem to cast doubt on some parts of that story...
 
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