The Horton has surfaced....

Has surfaced in Hawaii, check out the pictures

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Norton-750-Comm ... 51&vxp=mtr

A seat cover? That's what I get with this link.

Ken

Look at the name on the tank. Does anything seem out of place on bike?

Somehow, I'm still only getting a Norton seat when I click that link.

Ken

Aaaargh...No....Get thee behind me, Satan !

...You need to pull down the thumbnails to see the extra photos...Someone has put a...No, I can't bring myself to say it... :shock:

Look thru the photos for the seat, then you will see it, The Horton. It was offered for sale a while back, Built by the late Sir Eddy

Looks like the seat cover is pop riveted on. Good luck getting it recovered.

On a personal note, I would like to thank 79x100 for his restraint. He has shown the class we expect here on the forum.

Oops, was I not supposed to show this?

You've got too much time on your hands Brent.

Ehh, possibly. the seat showed up in my searching, looked a little familiar.

Then I noticed the Horton. I've always liked that bike. Thinking of building my own some day.

That seat looks as though it is about to give birth to another normal sized seat! I guess it would be born fully formed and covered, ready for life, much the same as seal pups and baby sharks are born. :mrgreen:


Glen

worntorn said:

That seat looks as though it is about to give birth to another normal sized seat! I guess it would be born fully formed and covered, ready for life, much the same as seal pups and baby sharks are born. :mrgreen:


Glen

Click to expand...

raff! :mrgreen:

bwolfie said:

Ehh, possibly. the seat showed up in my searching, looked a little familiar.

Then I noticed the Horton. I've always liked that bike. Thinking of building my own some day.

Click to expand...

750Fourton :twisted:

Got it now. That's the second one I've seen. I saw another like it, but different colors, and I think it had an Interstate tank, parked at a race track back in the '70s or '80s. My memory fails me a bit, but I think it was at Riverside.

I can understand it for that period, in a way. I started racing a Commando PR in '72 or '73, along with my friend who was racing a single cam Honda K1. My Norton was much better in the corners, but his Honda had more power. The Honda was real disaster in the handling department, even with braces welded to the frame and swingarm. We traded bikes many times at the track, and were both faster on the Norton. I can see how someone at the time might think that combining the handling of the Norton with the power of the Honda would be a good idea. Reg Pridmore had a similar plan when he put a Kawasaki triple 2-stroke in his Manx frame, but that didn't work out too well.

Ken

Nortons had the first 750 four in England, in 1969 or 1970. They ran side by side comparisons with a 750 Commando. The Commando outperformed the Honda in all aspects except braking, understandable since the 'mando had the TLS drum. What was missed was that when the bikes pulled in for petrol (sorry you guys but this was in England), the Honda was left idling on its side stand, whilst the Norton had adjustments to its timing, or carburettors or rear chain, or primary chain .......

This provided the impetus for the Norton disc front brake.

Mind you the Commando was only ever intended as a temporary stop gap, until a totally new bike could be introduced.

cheers
wakeup

Somethings are just wrong, and this is one of them :x

I don't know that it is so wrong. Years ago when the CB750 was new, I rode one. It was a great road bike, no oil leaks or ratlles, but the handling felt stiff and horrible. These days they get raced in historic racing with success in Australia because of the dopey rules which permit excessive over boring. The bikes are essentially 'point and squirt' types with great top end. A few years ago I raced my Seeley 850 against them and got blitzed off the clutch start, and at the ends of the straights, but everywhere else I could easily outride them. A CB750 is a good top end motor, but even as a CR750, they are better on a big circuit. I've noticed in the videos of Doug McCrae and Kenny Cummings that the CR750s sometimes flash by them on the big stuff. A commando frame is not so flash, and fitting a CB750 motor to one seems a combination of two uglies, but the bike might just be nimble, and have good top end. So it would be able to be used as both 'point and squirt', and have nimble handling .
When I first looked at t hat photo I thought is was pretty disgusting, until I actually thought about what it wold be like to race . Fitting different motors into different frames is an unpredictable activity. The worst is when two stroke motors get fitted into frames built for four strokes. Only a moron would build a Kawasaki triple motor into a featherbed frame, when Egli frames are available.

Well, I guess that would make Reg Pridmore an idiot, but there are people who might not agree with you.



After Reg took the Kawi engine out, the chassis got sold and had a Commando fitted. It was raced that way for a while. I eventually bought it from a local dentist who was planning to restore it, but had lost his enthusiasm. He had collected the original Manx engine and other bits. Reg had cut and spread the lower frame tubes to get the wider Kawi engine in, and had cut and narrowed the rear to fit a skinny seat. I restored the chassis (with help from Rob North), and started on the engine, but got sidetracked on other projects. I had the project stored for years, and sold it not too long ago to Ben Gradler, one of the listers here, who restored it.

Ken

When you fit a motor like that into a frame intended for a totally different style of motor, it is not chicken-shit stuff particularly when the bike is fitted with drum brakes. The H2R was developed in Australia with riders like, Toombs, Hansford , Willing and Sayle, and I've s till seen one swap ends three quarters of the way down the main straight at Calder Raceway. I'm sure the guys who rode the Trisaki were never constipated . Have a look what tyres are on it - enough said ?

I feel ill at the thought that the Trisaki could be accepted to race on the IOM. It would be like playing with a loaded gun. Sorry fellas, I've been around too long, the bike really doesn't thrill me, and the thougt that some kid might get on it is appalling .