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So been looking for a new project and came across this 1936 Norton just 5 miles up the road. Been used for racing few bits that need attention looking forward to starting....
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Last edited by Dexter; 04-28-2019, 1:50 AM. -
That would be a good one to restore and a nice subject for a thread. -
Which model is it? a 500?If buildin' old school choppers was easy, anyone could do it... ain't nobody said it's gonna be easy...Comment
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Chop away then. It will make an amusing show bike but 1930s machines not Vincents or Knuckleheads are junk for actual riding.Comment
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Build thread to follow - not sure I agree with the junk to ride statement but each to his/her own.
Trying to keep to the spirit of a period race bike but with my own twist.....
So first up fitting new ali mudguards and making stays and top mounts
Last edited by Dexter; 04-28-2019, 1:50 AM.Comment
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Well, I am a INOA and ONE member (Oregon Norton Enthusiasts) and have a few Nortons kickin around, the wife has a 48 ES2 and one of these days Ill finish it and my 1962 ES2 Poor Mans Manx (Hot rodded 500cc singles)
This one looks like a ES2 motor and a later one, but could be wrong, but I wouldnt chop one of these, period custom sure!(As in 30s-50s period, not some Arlen Ness 1970s Cocaine bad dream)
But this could be a really cool project, but gotta ask WTF is up with that tank?
As to riding, not for many people but people DO ride these,, some across the country. I was there for the finale this year and there was 2 Triumphs, 3 Nortons and a Ariel all pre 1930 for the MC Cannonball. One of the guys in the local wankers club has good film and editing skills and has 2 excellent videos of the finale here in the PNW,,
See his channel for them, But here is a shortended version featuring just the Nortons
See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkJzeZlSJt4&t=1s
Published on Sep 30, 2018
A few clips of the 3 lovely Nortons arriving at the grand finale of the 2018 Motorcycle Cannonball Grand Finale
More info about the Norton team:
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(I hung a big 10 ft banner at the entrance for the Oregon Norton club) But some people get SO excited seeing some quality Brit Iron, they just gotta celebrate! This lady and her husband rode the entire ride following the circus on mopeds, here she is literally tooting her own horn!
Also a pix of "The vintagent" Paul D'Orleans and his Brough Superior. (Cool guy!)
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Thanks for the response love the Brough like one of those in the garage...
So the bike came with what looks like a Honda 80s type tank which has been modified with tank mounting tubes welded to the bottom badly...this is defo on the list to change its full of tank sealer which is failing off inside.
I wont be chopping this bike so no worries on that front, jobs which need attention
# gearbox trouble selecting gears
# engine holding back - tank is the first item in the check list
# seat is a bit lopsided
#have a proper ride and see what else comes up.
Its got loads of potential.
got any pics of your Nortons ?Comment
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I was kidding when I suggested chopping it. it would be a shame.
This to me, from ElekVins, after I suggested not chopping up FXR'S.
"It's Chop Cult here not Stock FXR Cult .
If guys thought Knuckles and Pans were sacred in the 60's there would have been no choppers!"Comment
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Thanks! Hmmm, WHICH Nortons? Last time I did a big display was at the 2016 INOA National rally in Quincy California and I gave a "Tech talk" on Thursday, Other daily tech presenters was Jerry who owns the site AccessNorton (inaccessible), Jim Comstock, Peter Williams and a engineer who worked for Norton AND Harley, who was involved in designing the FXR Isolastics,,
*Fun fact, This engineer lives here in the US. HD wanted rights to use Norton Isolastics in their Milwaukie Vibrators, So when Norton said NO! HD hired Nortons Engineer who knew the system.
He talked a lot about the Combat Commando which he also worked on, But what I WANTED to know, and no one else did, was talk about working with Eric Buell on the FXR which was one of Erics first major engineering jobs so I wanted to hear this old salts take on it,, I hope to address that issue on my own shortly,
I have a range of Nortons, 3 ES2 500 thumpers, 3 hybrids,, which are part Matchless/Norton. N15, G15, Mdl 33 and sold my P11 project.
I have 5 commandos, but eventually selling 3, Keeping the yellow peril Proddie racer and a custom cafe with VR880 upgrades, I also own Norton America, the remnants of what Kenny Dreer had of Vintage Rebuilders and the revived Oregon USA Norton business. A nice bloke in England owns the rights these days but gave me permission as long as I promote the brand in a positive manner.
Plug: NORTONS ARE AWESOME, YEAH NORTON!
I have health issues, so few of mine are currently running and downsizing my crap, and I got a LOT of junk!
I dont want to clog up your thread tooting my own horn, But my advice is free and worth half of what you paid for it.
Here is my Norton banner and sadly,, I rode my wifes Sportster to the event as it was tagged and licensed & Running, But I got Johns Morgan in the pix, This was on the entry road of the Skamania lodge where the Cannonball was.
Here is some photos from some years back, Laguna Seca Norton America product launch, I have all the Model shoots on digital files as well. You can often find my tech articles in the INOA newsletter and if you attend this years ONE Moto show in Portland, Ill have some stuff on display, artwork and cool stuff..
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Sounds like John Favill. I got a kick out of a British engineer helping save HD from its own gross incompetence.a engineer who worked for Norton AND Harley, who was involved in designing the FXR Isolastics,,
BTW any INOA event is worth attending. They're a fun bunch.Comment
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Last edited by TriNortchopz; 10-29-2018, 8:09 PM.If buildin' old school choppers was easy, anyone could do it... ain't nobody said it's gonna be easy...Comment
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WoW lots of love for Nortons then and thanks to everyone for sharing.
May have missed one of the questions but its a 500cc ES2Comment
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-------------------------------------------------------------Sounds like John Favill. I got a kick out of a British engineer helping save HD from its own gross incompetence.
BTW any INOA event is worth attending. They're a fun bunch.
It WAS John Favill! Correct-o-mund-o! I was having a brain fart remembering his name (Im Dain Bramaged) but he was a major reason I attended the Calif INOA event, I wanted to interview him at length on a variety of topics.
Sadly, he had some health issues of his own and ended up not flying out. The interview instead was a SKYPE thing and we had to submit questions via the audience so I didnt get to cover many of the topics I wanted to.
(Strangely others interests dont always align with my orbit)
But I have 2 pages of notes on the Combat Commando which was the bulk of the discussion and some of WTF was Norton thinking?
The interest in his perspectives working at HD was low, (Sadly, a very interesting juxtaposition IMHO)
Brilliant guy though, And worth learning about for those who dont know who he is. A GREAT deal of tribal knowledge and instead of some know it all on the internet or local club, I would rather hear the facts from the original source.
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As to the motor,, ES2= Easy2 is what many call them, I once worked for a Enfield dealer and their moto was
"unimpeded by technology". The Easy2 was that kind of motor. A 1930s design that lasted until just shy of the 1970s.
For background, The UK Based NOC ran a ton of articles from a bright bulb that really went to town on the tech on these and then built a variety of these motors in different configurations, (Short stroke, long stroke, big bores) and this evolved into the "Poor Mans Manx" (Manx & internationals started out with the same bottom ends but the top ends are a different design, DOHC) But for a pushrod motor, he transforms ES2s and some of his racing versions are spanking Goldstars in classic racing.
So, my dream is to complete mine, which is a 62 in the same style build as his. My wifes 48 will be mostly stock and Im running a stock motor right now but rebuilding her motor with the upgraded crank, rod and piston and a little massage of the cams. (I found a 2nd motor and freshened that).
I have a friend who has a very nice restored 62-63 stock ES2 and I have ridden it. Its nice, but I like the cafe racer Manx style, so going in that direction. My neighbor up the street has a lot more income than me and a big collection of cars and bikes, A few years back he bought a turnkey Pushrod performance Poor Mans Manx on ebay, Tony has let me ride it and it looks like a million bucks, but truth is, its not as fast as it looks.
But your 1930s version could be VERY cool if done right...I hope you do it justice!
I have somewhere (Im hoping I didnt loan it out) A collection of all his NOC articles which spans about 5 years,, But he opened a small specialist shop and does builds, parts and service.
Good guy, Mike Pemberton.
See: http://www.pushrod-performance.co.uk/services.htm
Another guy to research is Norton George, Sadly,, he passed last year, but an amazing guy. If you research that crazy bastard I think you will find some great inspiration for your build,
The way I see it,Here is your mission, Should you choose to accept it, Is build this bike like Norton George would have wanted you to. Can you live up to the challenge?
See: https://thevintagent.com/2016/05/29/...-george-cohen/
" One of my favorite characters in the old bike scene has left the saddle, and the world is poorer for his absence. Dr. George Cohen, otherwise known as ‘Norton George’ for his devotion to single-cylinder Nortons (plus a certain Rem Fowler’s Peugeot-engined TT racer), fought well against an aggressive cancer diagnosed late last year, but knew the jig was up, that swarf had fouled his mains and blocked the oil lines. What he leaves behind for those lucky enough to have called him friend, is a ton of wry memories, and his distinctive voice echoing through our heads, with some crack about our terrible workshops, ill-prepared machinery, or silly ideas. He was mad as a hatter for sure, but a hell of a lot of fun to be around.
George was also a devotee of using his vintage machinery to the hilt, blasting his favorite 1927 Model 18 Norton racer on the Isle of Man, and the roads around his ‘Somerset Shed’. Arriving by train for a visit to George’s sprawling country estate was an exercise in bravery, as he’d likely pick you up in his 1926 Norton Model 44 racer with alloy ‘zeppelin’ sidecar. Strapping your luggage on the back, and no helmet required, meant you experienced the full terror of an ancient, poorly braked but surprisingly quick big single in flight along the ultra-narrow, deeply dug-in Roman roads of the area. The mighty Bonk of the Norton’s empty Brooklands ‘can’ reverberated along the 8′ deep earthen walls, as we tore around blind corners of these unique Somerset roads like Mr Toad and Co., headed for home the fastest way possible. Unforgettable!
George visited the USA a few times, and we were fellow judges at the Legends of the Motorcycle Concours in 2008, at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Half Moon Bay. I’d brought two bikes for us to swap on the Sunday morning Legends Ride – neither a Norton, although I had a 1925 Model 18 racer at the time (it was hors de combat from my own relentless flogging). So George got to experience a vintage Sunbeam for the first time, as the photos show, which he quite liked (‘My Norton is faster’, of course he said), but preferred a spin on ‘The Mule’, my 1933 Velocette KTT mk4, which shared his favorite Norton’s camshaft up top. Well actually it was the other way ’round, as Norton copied the Velocette design! Which he grudgingly admitted with a half-smile as he hand-rolled another cig.
A few days prior, we’d picked up a pair of racing Nortons from California collector Paul Adams, which were entered into the Concours, and it would be hard to imagine two more dissimilar characters, who both loved Nortons with passion. Paul Adams is an ex-Navy pilot of many years’ experience, with the unflappable reserve of a military man, and George, well, flapped. Those two were chalk and cheese, and barely kept from breaking into open argument! Still, George later admitted Paul had a very nice collection, and that his workshop was really clean.
omething else he left behind; his incredible self-published love poem to Norton, created from his personal archive of early factory press materials, photos, and documents – ‘Flat Tank Norton’. If you’re a fan of early Nortons, it’s essential reading, and an entertaining mix – some of the early photos of James Landsdowne Norton himself can be found nowhere else. ‘Flat Tank Norton’ is the kind of book only a devoted enthusiast can produce, as a publisher would have squeezed out the quirks to increase ‘general interest’, but they would have taken out the George factor, which is what give the book its tremendous charm. It needs a reprint, as copies run on Amazon for nearly $1000!
Another memorable moment with George came not on a bike, but in one of his select few cars, at the 2013 Vintage Revival Montlhéry meeting. He’d brought his c.1908 Brasier Voiture de Course after breaking down somewhere in France, while driving the all-chain drive monster all the way from his Somerset home. He’d sorted the brakeless beast, and was enjoying flying laps around the banking, and offered me a ride, which I accepted with something like fear. George drove like he rode, and the Brasier had no seat belts, roll bars, suspension to speak of, or front brakes, but it did have an enormous 12 Liter Hispano-Suiza V-8 OHC aeroplane engine with 220hp on tap! I put myself in the hands of Fate, and George. I climbed aboard, clinging to the scuttle, and filmed the ordeal with one hand, laughing 100% of the time, as he slid the rear end on the short corners, and got as high up the banking as he could, while the behemoth shuddered, roared, bucked, and squealed. Unforgettable, just like the man.
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So, I hope that inspires you to build something cool!Comment
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Here is more info for the 1936 models:
The 1936 Norton pricelist
The 1936 leaflet
and stories and photos of 1936 models:
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info, stories and photos of the ES2 model:
Last edited by TriNortchopz; 10-30-2018, 11:44 PM.If buildin' old school choppers was easy, anyone could do it... ain't nobody said it's gonna be easy...Comment
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