Pictures of your Norton 961

Well, you don‘t see that every day! Came across this ‘legend(?) at a far flung bikers spot whilst out killing bugs at the weekend! Should’ve parked the Norton next door!

Our hero pulled in wearing t-shirt and shorts, with Chinese safety boots - no gloves (of course). Bolted on the back, you’ll see a colour matched unicycle and mount! I mean, why wouldn’t ya!

Had a quick chat and he told me that you can now buy unicycles that have brakes! “Useful on the hills” he went on to explain. As you can see, he’s definitely got safety front of mind!!:oops:

IMG_2639.jpeg
 
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I like his style. And bike(s). His choice purely. The way it should be.
With the opposite way of thinking, it is only a matter of time before motorcycling as a pursuit will be questioned. Too many wrong things with it.
I had a unicycle once as a boy. Didn´t end well.
 
I managed to survive my 82nd birthday ride today. Being an old guy, my first stop was the pharmacy to pick up some meds.

Pictures of your Norton 961


Then a ride down to the coast, to stop by my old place of employment at Pt. Mugu. When I first went to work there it was home to the Naval Air Station and the Naval Air Missile Test Center. It morphed through a couple of other names while I was there, and is now a part of the Naval Base Ventura County.

Pictures of your Norton 961


Couldn't resist a picture at the Missile Park.

Pictures of your Norton 961


From there, I rode South on Hwy 1, turning off on Decker Canyon Road to return home through a very twisty canyon with lots of elevation changes. It's work on a bike as heavy as the 961 with a long wheelbase, and today it still had wet spots and dirt and gravel in places from the recent rain, but it was still fun.

And the obligatory picture with the ocean, at Mugu Rock.

Pictures of your Norton 961


Back at the home shop.

Pictures of your Norton 961


A good day so far :)

Ken
 
lcrken said:
I managed to survive my 82nd birthday ride today. Being an old guy, my first stop was the pharmacy to pick up some meds.

View attachment 112273

Then a ride down to the coast, to stop by my old place of employment at Pt. Mugu. When I first went to work there it was home to the Naval Air Station and the Naval Air Missile Test Center. It morphed through a couple of other names while I was there, and is now a part of the Naval Base Ventura County.

View attachment 112274

Couldn't resist a picture at the Missile Park.

View attachment 112275

From there, I rode South on Hwy 1, turning off on Decker Canyon Road to return home through a very twisty canyon with lots of elevation changes. It's work on a bike as heavy as the 961 with a long wheelbase, and today it still had wet spots and dirt and gravel in places from the recent rain, but it was still fun.

And the obligatory picture with the ocean, at Mugu Rock.

View attachment 112276

Back at the home shop.

View attachment 112277

A good day so far :)

Ken
Click to expand...
Beautiful.
I hope I'll have an 82nd B'day ride like that someday.
Cheers Ken.
 
lcrken said:
I managed to survive my 82nd birthday ride today. Being an old guy, my first stop was the pharmacy to pick up some meds.

View attachment 112273

Then a ride down to the coast, to stop by my old place of employment at Pt. Mugu. When I first went to work there it was home to the Naval Air Station and the Naval Air Missile Test Center. It morphed through a couple of other names while I was there, and is now a part of the Naval Base Ventura County.

View attachment 112274

Couldn't resist a picture at the Missile Park.

View attachment 112275

From there, I rode South on Hwy 1, turning off on Decker Canyon Road to return home through a very twisty canyon with lots of elevation changes. It's work on a bike as heavy as the 961 with a long wheelbase, and today it still had wet spots and dirt and gravel in places from the recent rain, but it was still fun.

And the obligatory picture with the ocean, at Mugu Rock.

View attachment 112276

Back at the home shop.

View attachment 112277

A good day so far :)

Ken
Click to expand...
Hi Ken , Great pics and story. If the 961 was truckish on that canyon road , a bagger must be horrifying !
 
TonyA said:
Hi Ken , Great pics and story. If the 961 was truckish on that canyon road , a bagger must be horrifying !
Click to expand...

But great for serious sport bikes. I encountered one group of them coming the other direction who were serious knee draggers., going waaay faster than me.

Ken
CR961 said:
Excellent. Congratulations! You have good medication (red and norton-y). How long was the trip?
Did the base know you were coming?
Click to expand...

Nope. The area where I took the picture by the building was pretty deserted. It used to be the main security entrance, where new employees got their badges, and visitors got temporary permits, but that was moved later to what is now the main gate. I was able to reach it via frontage roads where there was almost no traffic. The base does have some restrictions about taking pictures of the facilities, but I don't think I violated any of them. My last day working there was 3 January 1996. I took an early retirement then, and worked as a government contractor with SAIC until my final retirement in December 2004. It's been fun and games ever since.

Ken
 
lcrken said:
But great for serious sport bikes. I encountered one group of them coming the other direction who were serious knee draggers., going waaay faster than me.

Ken


Nope. The area where I took the picture by the building was pretty deserted. It used to be the main security entrance, where new employees got their badges, and visitors got temporary permits, but that was moved later to what is now the main gate. I was able to reach it via frontage roads where there was almost no traffic. The base does have some restrictions about taking pictures of the facilities, but I don't think I violated any of them. My last day working there was 3 January 1996. I took an early retirement then, and worked as a government contractor with SAIC until my final retirement in December 2004. It's been fun and games ever since.

Ken
Click to expand...
Ah, retirement and freedom, I can’t wait. I think I’ll start acting like it now.
 
lcrken said:
I managed to survive my 82nd birthday ride today. Being an old guy, my first stop was the pharmacy to pick up some meds.

View attachment 112273

Then a ride down to the coast, to stop by my old place of employment at Pt. Mugu. When I first went to work there it was home to the Naval Air Station and the Naval Air Missile Test Center. It morphed through a couple of other names while I was there, and is now a part of the Naval Base Ventura County.

View attachment 112274

Couldn't resist a picture at the Missile Park.

View attachment 112275

From there, I rode South on Hwy 1, turning off on Decker Canyon Road to return home through a very twisty canyon with lots of elevation changes. It's work on a bike as heavy as the 961 with a long wheelbase, and today it still had wet spots and dirt and gravel in places from the recent rain, but it was still fun.

And the obligatory picture with the ocean, at Mugu Rock.

View attachment 112276

Back at the home shop.

View attachment 112277

A good day so far :)

Ken
Click to expand...
Happy birthday
Do you ever make it down to Neptunes Net near Leo Carillo beach, Mulholland area?
My father was an E.E. and tested missiles around Mugu in WW11.
I've always loved rides on highway 1.
John
 
Fantastic ride today - 190 Km of great bikin’ roads in perfect weather. The Norton did’nt miss a beat as usual! Racking up that mileage.

Odd bedfellows indeed these two! From absolute opposites of the technology spectrum and it doesn’t matter a damn - bikin‘s bikin‘, whatever your preference! Of course I give him shit about his ‘plastic fantastic’ V my ‘British steel’, but then you‘d expect that right. “…..might wanna park that in the shade mate, don’t wannit ta melt!” - you know, the usual!

He had the last laugh of course. The Norton and its shiny tank had been getting a lot of attention, but not all of it good! Got back to the bikes after fat-boy-breakfast to find some bird had taken a big dump in the middle of my pristine tank!! Oh how he laughed!

Not a word of a lie - bird‘s still sat in the tree above the bike eyeballing me! Seems everyone has an opinion on the Norton 961 (whether they’ve ridden it or not)!:rolleyes: The ‘beak’ of it!!

IMG_2696.jpegIMG_2695.jpeg

IMG_2701.jpeg
 
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Stephen_Spencer said:
Fantastic ride today - 190 Km of great bikin’ roads in perfect weather. The Norton did’nt miss a beat as usual! Racking up that mileage.

Odd bedfellows indeed these two! From absolute opposites of the technology spectrum and it doesn’t matter a damn - bikin‘s bikin‘, whatever your preference! Of course I give him shit about his ‘plastic fantastic’ V my ‘British steel’, but then you‘d expect that right. “…..might wanna park that in the shade mate, don’t wannit ta melt!” - you know, the usual!

He had the last laugh of course. The Norton and its shiny tank had been getting a lot of attention, but not all of it good! Got back to the bikes after fat-boy-breakfast to find some bird had taken a big dump in the middle of my pristine tank!! Oh how he laughed!

Not a word of a lie - bird‘s still sat in the tree above the bike eyeballing me! Seems everyone has an opinion on the Norton 961 (whether they’ve ridden it or not)!:rolleyes: The ‘beak’ of it!!

View attachment 112464View attachment 112465

View attachment 112463
Click to expand...
Hi Steve , You have got your bike looking real nice .
 
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Boss302 said:
Happy birthday
Do you ever make it down to Neptunes Net near Leo Carillo beach, Mulholland area?
My father was an E.E. and tested missiles around Mugu in WW11.
I've always loved rides on highway 1.
John
Click to expand...
Hi John,

I've been to Neptune's Net many times. We used to run down there for lunch a few times a year, back when I worked at Pt. Mugu. Although I retired from Pt. Mugu in 1996, and worked as a government contractor until 2004, I did stop in at the Net now and then during that period, but not very often. Since my final retirement in 2004, I've continued to stop in for lunch now and then, usually when riding with friends in the nearby canyons. I quit for a while, when they started charging for parking, but eventually came back. I think their parking fees only apply on the weekends, and maybe only in Summer. They don't mention them on their website any more, so I'm not sure what their policy is. I only go there on weekdays anyhow. They get pretty crowded on the weekends. The food is ok, but nothing special, and a bit pricey, but the view of the ocean is great.

Ken
 
Not my bike, but Stu’s (parts) being polished by Harry Overton in the UK. Beautiful job as ever!

Interesting approach to painting the Norton logos in black - for anyone interested in doing this, as I am. Appears to be: tape off as close as possible; spray; remove paint from unwanted areas using a cotton bud (soaked in a solvent of some kind).

Not looking to remove engine casing to do this myself, so I may need to adopt the artists paintbrush approach - AKA the awkward angle technique!:rolleyes:

I remember Richard7 had a technique to age the logos once painted, that gave a great vintage appearance. Can’t find it, ‘‘twas a long time ago - if anybody remembers that would be great.

Pictures of your Norton 961 Pictures of your Norton 961
 
Stephen,
I did them originally about 8 years ago with the awkward brush technique, It did help having a bike lift and workshop stool. They lasted quite well. The bike is currently having oodles of Motovated and Britworx love lavished on it and I am exited to get back out on it. I’ll post a piccy when I get my sticky mits back on it. 🇬🇧🏍❤️👍
 
Day out getting a Datatrac fitted. Had a trip of about 100 miles all in. First trip out on it this year. Good to be back in the saddle.
 

Attachments

  • Pictures of your Norton 961
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TonyA said:
Hello GLB , Can I ask how you use the Datatrac ?
Click to expand...
It is fitted under the seat hump. If the bike is moved without the use of keys it sends an alarm to both me via an app on the phone and the tracking Company who notify me and the police. I can monitor the bike from the phone and out also has a program whereby of the battery level on the bike drops it reverts to and in-house battery and placed on standby until movement. I am told it has very little parasitic drain but apart from when on tour mine is permanently on a C-Tek charger.
 
glb said:
It is fitted under the seat hump. If the bike is moved without the use of keys it sends an alarm to both me via an app on the phone and the tracking Company who notify me and the police. I can monitor the bike from the phone and out also has a program whereby of the battery level on the bike drops it reverts to and in-house battery and placed on standby until movement. I am told it has very little parasitic drain but apart from when on tour mine is permanently on a C-Tek charger.
Click to expand...
Hello GLB , That little drain should be no problem even on tour you will be riding the bike everyday .
 

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