Not a 650cc Norton on Ebay.....

This guy is selling a Norton on Ebay and advertising it as 650cc and it is not, it is a 750cc Atlas. Item# 150567180634.

The serial number he has for the bike says it is a model 20 115xxx, and in the photo you can see the breather off the end of the cam that all 750 Dominators have too.

I sent him a note telling him that it was a 750cc bike, and he sent a note back telling me that it was sold to him as a 650cc. Oh well......This is the actual photo the clown has on the auction, at least he is not showing any crack......another example of the newer breed of Norton owners, as in touch with their bike as they are with the rest of the real world....



Reminds me of the time a guy bought a Ducati 900ss from a dealership I was working at. He calls back a few days later and asks if it is a two cylinder or four cylinder, true story....

Hee Hee!
Yet another village missing an idiot!
Looks like a nice bike though, be interesting to see how much it goes for.
Talking of stupidity, many years ago (so long ago, I was still at school!) I walked into a well known car accessory shop in the UK and asked one of the young (well, young, he was older than me at the time!) lads if they had a three leg flywheel puller, he asked what one looked like, I explained it had three legs and a large bolt on top, he disappeared for a couple of minutes and came back with an axle stand. I could understand the mistake, but it had four legs!
So I went back the following week asking for a radiator cap for a VW Beetle :mrgreen:

Webby

The bike went for $11,000.00

bwolfie said:

The bike went for $11,000.00

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Jeez,
It would have to be a very nice bike for that!

beng said:

The serial number he has for the bike says it is a model 20 115xxx, and in the photo you can see the breather off the end of the cam that all 750 Dominators have too.
......another example of the newer breed of Norton owners, as in touch with their bike as they are with the rest of the real world....

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I wasn't aware that Norton ever produced a 750cc Dominator... Technically didn't the Dominator range only include models from 500cc to 650cc with the 750 Atlas not actually considered a Dominator? So calling an Atlas a Dominator would be much like calling a 750 a 650?

.

IIRC, only the 500 and 600 Featherbed bikes were calle "Dominator". The 650 was called the "650SS" and the 750 was the Atlas.

frankdamp said:

IIRC, only the 500 and 600 Featherbed bikes were calle "Dominator". The 650 was called the "650SS" and the 750 was the Atlas.

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"Norton Dominator 650 Sports Special"
http://www.classicbike.biz/Norton/Broch ... ochure.pdf

What about the 650 Manxman and 650 Mercury?
http://www.classicbike.biz/Norton/Broch ... anxman.pdf

Dominator is actually the name for the Norton twin cylinder engine that came out in the late forties. And every bike with that engine by Norton until they went out of business, EXCEPT for the Commando, is properly called a Dominator.

When the Commando came out the factory decided to drop the "Dominator" and push a new name. Probably for marketing they wanted it too look like they were doing something completely new, which of course they were not....

If you walk around telling people that their 650 and 750 twins are not Dominators you will look like a dipshit.

"Dipshit"? Dude, try to teach without being such an As#*%*h%le... Not everyone tries to come off like an expert, they are open for learning without such negativety.

Hmmm, so the resolution from Mr. Beng was short lived... in french there is a saying "chassez le naturel et il revient au galop"

Jean

Jeandr said:

Hmmm, so the resolution from Mr. Beng was short lived... in french there is a saying "chassez le naturel et il revient au galop"

Jean

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Good saying Jean, I'd never head that one before. Seem's very apt in this case.

Webby

Rop sot otienbop.....

You live and learn! I don't remember the 650SS being referred to as a Dominator. The one I rode to and from work for over a year was a very reliable machine, despite having over 100,000 miles on the odometer. I believe it was the Plumstead factory's development hack. How it wound up at Wolverhamto, I don't know, but I sure enjoyed my ride to work from Kenilworth to Wolverhampton.

I was not pleased when Plumstead took the 650 back for a couiple of months and I had to ride the Villiers "Fantabulous" scooter for 6 weeks or so. What a POS that was - made by Villers-India. It was tucked away in a corner of the Norton Stand at the 1967 Motorcycle Show, but I don't think anyone noticed it. I also rode an Italian "Motom" 50cc "high-performance" 2-stroke that N-V was considering importing to the UK. I'm not sure it was associated with Moto Morini. It had a cafe racer layout (here's my head, my ass is coming), a 4-speed twist-grip shifter and the skinniest tires I'd seen in years. It got worse gas mileage than the 650 because I had to run full throttle 99% of the time! I was very glad when the 650SS returned to Wolverhampton and I could ride it again.

It had been involved in tests of a single Amal carb set-up. We retained the stock twin carb set-up at Wolverhamton and re-installed it when the bike returned. I didn't know that the slides were individually lapped into the carb bodies, so I hadn't marked which sleeve matched which carb. Murphy set me up and I got them switched.

On the way home one evening, in rush-hour traffic (which sure wasn't "rushing"), I whipped around a slow-moving car and tucked in behind a double-decker bus. When I closed the throttle, one slide stuck open. Thank goodness there was a magneto kill switch right by the twist-grip, or I'd have been up on the rear platform of the bus among the passengers waiting to get off at the next stop.

Looks like it's one of those situations where the factory "officially" called it something but the public didn't.

Like the Viva van being a Bedford Beagle.

For the history and facts about Norton the internet has often been a vicious attack. Even Norton club forums are rife with ridiculous disinformation. Anyone that wants information on their motorcycle should certainly try the internet very LAST, even after asking Britney Spears about your Norton. It would seem to be common sense to look at printed books and factory literature or contemporary periodicals for answers, but I guess neither that or the printed word are in vogue anymore.

Day after day, staring at the blunt rape of history and facts is wearing, so excuse me for occasionally forgetting myself and using equal force to defend the helpless victim......

beng said:

Day after day, staring at the blunt rape of history and facts is wearing, so excuse me for occasionally forgetting myself and using equal force to defend the helpless victim......

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So you are a lawyer, that explains everything :twisted:

Jean

The French never cease to amaze me they have an amazing grip on situations that pass the rest of us by, the quote further back in this post doesn't make sense to me even after putting it through Babelfish.......but I do know I've riding for 46 years and I heard more Bu****it taked about bikes and their history it will put an insomniac to sleep....it's been along winter here in the U.K I think we all to get and ride and stop talking about it.......



P.S I live about 70 miles from the largest French colony in the world (France)

Just thought I'd throw this in...Publication, compiled by R M Clarke for Brooklands books, Surrey England... Norton DOMINATOR PERFORMANCE PORTFOLIO, 1949-1970...
" As fine an example of the trend as any, and better than most, is Nortons' ace sporster and marathon racer- the DOMINATOR 650 Sports Special " Introduced in 1962. Often referred to as the 650 SS...AC.
PS... New price for Motor Cycle Mechanics test bike..361 pounds 8 shillings and 4 pence.