Reliable Norton Roadracer

jseng1 · Apr 22, 2014

Some news from Austria

"I am going into my 4th season of racing with 2 bikes that use your [JSmotorsport] long rods and short pistons. I have not opened any of the engines again since the rebuild with your parts 4 years ago. everything is still going strong, no need for replacement or service.
I am totally satisfied... seems that it can go on for ages..." Herbert Toscany

Note that Herbert attributes some of this reliability to his slick 50 oil additive.

Jim

lcrken · Apr 22, 2014

Looks like a fun race bike. The Rickman frames seem to work well with the Commando twins.

Ken

acotrel · Apr 22, 2014

It looks like a very nice bike. I'm wondering about the twin spot caliper on the front - what rules does the bike race under ? It looks as though there is a bit more freedom than under Australian historic racing requirements. It would be really nice if one day someone smart devised harmonized international rules. Each year recently we've had Brits and Yanks coming to our event at Phillip Island in January. There is not much problem with eligibility, however it looks to me as though some of the rules applicable to classic racing bikes elsewhere, are much better than ours.

jseng1 · Apr 23, 2014

lcrken said:
Looks like a fun race bike. The Rickman frames seem to work well with the Commando twins.

Ken

Our friend Mic Ofield always said the Rickman handled better than the Seeley - had rode both.

acotrel · Apr 23, 2014

Impossible !

Matt Spencer · Apr 23, 2014

The Rickman would have to be stiffer , if weightier . The smoother endurance type device . less frenetic , positively relaxing even .

8)

just check out the front ends . Though Im prepared to give your Seely a Go , to see if its quicker , Al .

lcrken · Apr 23, 2014

acotrel said:
Impossible !

Highly possible! Mick was an accomplished racer, mechanic, and tuner, and spent a number of years racing his Seeley replica (Vendetta by John Caffree) with 750 Commando engine. He was employed by Norton before he emigrated to the States. He knew everyone in the race shop and had access to all their tuning notes. When the Vendetta frame had finally cracked and been repaired so many times it wasn't usable, he had a new Rickman frame built to replace it, and swapped over the engine, gearbox, wheels, etc. He then raced the Rickman for several years. I can't think of a better way to compare the two frames than that. I should point out that the Rickman frame also broke tubes and had to be repaired every once in a while. That's the story with any race frame built for serious racing with weight in mind. None of them are meant to last forever.

Ken

comnoz · Apr 23, 2014

jseng1 said:
lcrken said:

Looks like a fun race bike. The Rickman frames seem to work well with the Commando twins.

Ken

Click to expand...

Our friend Mic Ofield always said the Rickman handled better than the Seeley - had rode both.

I would have to agree with Mic.

I wouldn't necessarily say that meant the Rickman was faster. That is more of the ability of the rider/tuner to make use of what he has. Jim

pommie john · Apr 24, 2014

acotrel said:
It looks like a very nice bike. I'm wondering about the twin spot caliper on the front - what rules does the bike race under ? It looks as though there is a bit more freedom than under Australian historic racing requirements. It would be really nice if one day someone smart devised harmonized international rules. Each year recently we've had Brits and Yanks coming to our event at Phillip Island in January. There is not much problem with eligibility, however it looks to me as though some of the rules applicable to classic racing bikes elsewhere, are much better than ours.

From the last few meetings I've been to, no one seems to care much about the rules here either. I recently raced against a couple of Suzuki two strokes with Suzuki disc brakes in Period 4. Suzuki didn't make disc brakes in that period.

I'm told that at the Barry Sheene meeting someone had entered a 1000cc bike in the Formula 750 and they let it in.

pommie john · Apr 24, 2014

And while we're on the subject of race eligibility, here's a quote from a race report:

"In the first running of the Ken Wotton Memorial race, (for Period 4 bikes) which was also decided on points scored in two separate legs, it was Drmsby Middleton on the 1000cc three cylinder Laverda who scored maximum points to claim the spoils."

Period 4 is up to 1972. What three cylinder Laverda was made in 1972?

SteveA · Apr 24, 2014

I liked this thread when it was talking about Rickman frames.....

Will get back to working on mine next week for a couple of days.....cracks repaired, but who'd a thought it would still be around nearly 39 years after I commissioned it from Rickman? Chris's bike that he was riding last weekend and I rode once last year has a frame that is even older....since he also has a Vendetta it would be interesting to hear his comments now.....

A lot of racers just say the Rickman is too stiff and ignore it in favour of the Seeley design....

I chose Rickman way back because all of the Seeley Commando's I looked at in race paddocks had cracks in their frames....even after only one season....todays replicas use better materials...

SteveA · Apr 24, 2014

pommie john said:
And while we're on the subject of race eligibility, here's a quote from a race report:

"In the first running of the Ken Wotton Memorial race, (for Period 4 bikes) which was also decided on points scored in two separate legs, it was Drmsby Middleton on the 1000cc three cylinder Laverda who scored maximum points to claim the spoils."

Period 4 is up to 1972. What three cylinder Laverda was made in 1972?

3C Evolution
Though no distributor had been appointed at that stage, the first 1000s arrived in the U.S. in early 1973 as personal import

Read more: http://www.motorcycleclassics.com/class ... z2znJwaWJR

Prototypes :wink:

But just possibly, a couple of very early production models, UK rules allow a 3 year run on for essentially unchanged models.......

pommie john · Apr 24, 2014

SteveA said:
I liked this thread when it was talking about Rickman frames.....

Will get back to working on mine next week for a couple of days.....cracks repaired, but who'd a thought it would still be around nearly 39 years after I commissioned it from Rickman? Chris's bike that he was riding last weekend and I rode once last year has a frame that is even older....since he also has a Vendetta it would be interesting to hear his comments now.....

A lot of racers just say the Rickman is too stiff and ignore it in favour of the Seeley design....

I chose Rickman way back because all of the Seeley Commando's I looked at in race paddocks had cracks in their frames....even after only one season....todays replicas use better materials...

I found riding the Rickman akin to sitting on a log. You feel like you're sitting on top of something rather than in it like you do with other bikes like the Seeley.

Fast Eddie · Apr 24, 2014

pommie john said:
SteveA said:

I liked this thread when it was talking about Rickman frames.....

Will get back to working on mine next week for a couple of days.....cracks repaired, but who'd a thought it would still be around nearly 39 years after I commissioned it from Rickman? Chris's bike that he was riding last weekend and I rode once last year has a frame that is even older....since he also has a Vendetta it would be interesting to hear his comments now.....

A lot of racers just say the Rickman is too stiff and ignore it in favour of the Seeley design....

I chose Rickman way back because all of the Seeley Commando's I looked at in race paddocks had cracks in their frames....even after only one season....todays replicas use better materials...

Click to expand...

I found riding the Rickman akin to sitting on a log. You feel like you're sitting on top of something rather than in it like you do with other bikes like the Seeley.

I agree John, you sit high up on a Rickman and have a long stretch to the bars. The riding position, I believe, causes them to be very sensitive to suspension set up, ie, its very easy to get the suspension too hard, which causes the rider to be jostled up and down quite badly. Maybe this has aided the 'too stiff' perception over the years?!

I rode one with a 500 NRE engine fitted and didn't get on with it. There was very little feel, it would grip hard right up until it let go, with out warning. It did it to me twice and then I called time and went over to a Manx rep frame.

However, the guy who bought my Rickman chassis developed it into a winning bike, so in reality, its more likely that my problems with it were more down to suspension set up, than the frame design per se.

jseng1 · Apr 27, 2014

Herberts other Norton roadracer below.

"I am going into my 4th season of racing with 2 bikes that use your [JSmotorsport] long rods and short pistons. I have not opened any of the engines again since the rebuild with your parts 4 years ago. everything is still going strong, no need for replacement or service.
I am totally satisfied... seems that it can go on for ages..." Herbert Toscany

acotrel · Apr 28, 2014

Matt Spencer said:
The Rickman would have to be stiffer , if weightier . The smoother endurance type device . less frenetic , positively relaxing even . 8)

just check out the front ends . Though Im prepared to give your Seely a Go , to see if its quicker , Al .

When and where ? I'd love to do that. If you can get down to Winton or even Wakefield Park for a ride day, I will try to find enough money to get there. I won't always be in this stupid financial situation, it is very frustrating however not impossible.

Reliable Norton Roadracer

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