Norvina

Alan L

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Apr 13, 2021
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Hi, way back in the late seventies I remember seeing an article in a Cycle Magazine headed as Norvina. Someone had grafted a Cortina engine into a Norton frame. I know of no other details than that. Not sure what cortina engine they used but I guess it would have been a handful, certainly a Munch Mammot killer.
Today I came across some period photos of a Hillman Imp engine also mounted into a Norton. Unlike the cortina it looked very professionally done. I wonder if it was part of the weird experiments that were conducted by NVT in their dying days such as the Trident motor into a Norton frame. I think the all alloy Imp engine was stretched to 1100cc at the end and was a modified Formula 1 Coventry climax engine. Of all the oddball stuff, that one might have had some potential, particularly in view of what BMW did with the NSU motor.
Alan
 
Sonny Angel dropped a 4-banger into a Featherbed and showed it to the powers that be at NVA and was promptly laughed at and dismissed. The bike was on display at his shop in Cal up until his death, when, I believe, the shop was closed and contents dispersed. Possibly the Hillman-powered example mentioned previously.

Norvina
 
Wasn't the Hillman imp engine ½ a Coventry climax V8 , or something like that , the one I had when I was pretty young, the front of the car would get all jumpy at 50mph , from then on I carried a bag of cement in the front boot .Funny .
 
My first motorcycle was a 500cc Indian Scout. It got from A to B without breaking down. Other than that, it did not do much. Then I discovered what E3134 cams did to a Triumph Thunderbird.
Hillman Imp motors were used in road race sidecars, where they could not fall on your leg.
Norvins were the worst shit ever invented. If you were really brave, you could beat a Manx with one, in an Allpowers race..

Why would you want a bike which handled well, if the motor was a side-valve Indian. You might be able to use it to race around in a car park ?

There were a couple of blokes I knew in the 1950s who built bikes built with ES2 Norton frames. One had a modified 1200cc Indian motor. The other had a 600cc ES2 motor. I was offered the latter. I think I should have bought it - it was about $60. It might not have been all bad. It was pulling massive gearing. Both bikes had girder forks and swing arm frames. In the same area, there was an SS80 Brough foe sale.
 
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What some people do to featherbeds...

While looking for old pictures for the embarrassing photos thread I came across these... I took them at the Easter Bathurst races (no longer held). It says something about the strength of the frame. BTW - that's a 4 cylinder Ford Cortina engine. Funny... can't see a kickstarter??
www.accessnorton.com www.accessnorton.com

Norvina

Or if half measures dont suit , land rover , rover , leyland 4.4 etc etc might suit .
Norvina


Without a torsional Vibration Dampner , will the crankshaft snap ? :confused:

( apparently the rubber band broke . But a 3/4 in belt mightve been a bit optomistic . https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/Custom/norton_v8.htm )
 
Strewth , a battery powered motorcycle . ( It got just a torque Converter & direct ? drive , by this stage )

Norvina
 
Matt Spencer said:
Strewth , a battery powered motorcycle . ( It got just a torque Converter & direct ? drive , by this stage )

Norvina
Click to expand...
Hi,
Well there you go!
That is the very Two Wheels magazine article I was thinking of.
Strange, I can’t remember what I did yesterday but when I saw that front cover it all seemed so fresh in my mind.
Alan
 
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