Hello to all Norton followers out there.
I’ve just joined up and thought I’d better introduce myself.
I’ve owned my 1974 850 Roadster for 31 years now. It’s pretty much standard and original. I’m the third owner. I rode it a lot until 10 years ago, when it was pulled down to repair a few items. Getting it back together took a bit longer than expected and probably wouldn’t have happened even now except that a friend contacted me with an invitation to go on a Norton run here in Perth, Western Australia. Look up “Norton the Glory Days” on Youtube. Anyway, I put the big girl back together and rode it to the local service station to fill up on the Saturday, then did the 120km round trip on the run the next day. A great ride through the bush with about 55 Nortons. I’m pleased to say that my Norton didn’t let me down and brought me home safely. Since then I’ve been riding and continuing to sort out various items. That’s my black 850 in front of all the shiny Nortons. It still carries the patina of age, but I’m enjoying riding again.
As it turned out, I enjoyed working on the bike again so much that I thought I’d better dust off the parts I’d been collecting for a special Norton and see about pushing on with that project too. It’s a 1955 wideline featherbed frame, 920 Commando motor, Shorrock supercharger, Quaife 5 speed gearbox (which probably end up in the 850 and a TTI gerabox used instead), Barnett clutch plates, belt primary, Yamaha mag wheels (don’t hate me, I just love the look on this bike), combined oil and petrol tank, single seat fastback ducktail, Kawasaki monoshock rear end and swan neck clip ons.
The parts are just mocked up in the photos, but you get a feel for the look. I like it, especially the high peashooters. What isn’t shown are the isolastics. Everyone has their own view on these, including me, of course. My plan is to mount the engine / gearbox / blower, rear swingarm and suspension and the exhaust system off the isolastic cradle. I’m planning on 3 or 4 isolastic units plus 3 separate cross stays. I’m working through the design sketches and measurements at the moment, before drafting it up in CAD. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes.
No doubt I’ll be asking a lot of questions of the forum and, hopefully, generating some vigorous debate.
Best Regards,
Lance
I’ve just joined up and thought I’d better introduce myself.
I’ve owned my 1974 850 Roadster for 31 years now. It’s pretty much standard and original. I’m the third owner. I rode it a lot until 10 years ago, when it was pulled down to repair a few items. Getting it back together took a bit longer than expected and probably wouldn’t have happened even now except that a friend contacted me with an invitation to go on a Norton run here in Perth, Western Australia. Look up “Norton the Glory Days” on Youtube. Anyway, I put the big girl back together and rode it to the local service station to fill up on the Saturday, then did the 120km round trip on the run the next day. A great ride through the bush with about 55 Nortons. I’m pleased to say that my Norton didn’t let me down and brought me home safely. Since then I’ve been riding and continuing to sort out various items. That’s my black 850 in front of all the shiny Nortons. It still carries the patina of age, but I’m enjoying riding again.
As it turned out, I enjoyed working on the bike again so much that I thought I’d better dust off the parts I’d been collecting for a special Norton and see about pushing on with that project too. It’s a 1955 wideline featherbed frame, 920 Commando motor, Shorrock supercharger, Quaife 5 speed gearbox (which probably end up in the 850 and a TTI gerabox used instead), Barnett clutch plates, belt primary, Yamaha mag wheels (don’t hate me, I just love the look on this bike), combined oil and petrol tank, single seat fastback ducktail, Kawasaki monoshock rear end and swan neck clip ons.
The parts are just mocked up in the photos, but you get a feel for the look. I like it, especially the high peashooters. What isn’t shown are the isolastics. Everyone has their own view on these, including me, of course. My plan is to mount the engine / gearbox / blower, rear swingarm and suspension and the exhaust system off the isolastic cradle. I’m planning on 3 or 4 isolastic units plus 3 separate cross stays. I’m working through the design sketches and measurements at the moment, before drafting it up in CAD. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes.
No doubt I’ll be asking a lot of questions of the forum and, hopefully, generating some vigorous debate.
Best Regards,
Lance
