Engineering & Tuning service
And a collection of fabulous Norton
machines……
The description "The Unapproachable" with respect to Norton
motorcycles is, I beleive, attributed to Rem Fowler after he won a trial in the
Birmingham area of England, in 1908, where these fine sporting motorcycles were
engineered. Mr. Fowler won the twin cylinder class of the first Tourist Trophy
race at the Isle of Man in the previous year on a Peugot engined V-twin Norton.
I have numerous letters and postcards written to Jas.L.Norton dating back to
1905 from pioneer riders such as Dan Bradbury, D.Royce and Seymour Smith. This
latter gentleman, who was the
"Machine ran beautifully, no
trouble of any kind.
'The Unapproachable One' climbed
everything in magnificent style".
yours faithully,
Seymour
I
wonder if this is the FIRST use of the term, or was he quoting from his fellow
enthusiast?
Norton M28 concept
The Norton M28 concept is a
modern interpretation of a Norton motorcycle for the 21st century. The concept
takes direct inspiration from the racing success of the International &
Manx Nortons of the pre/post-war eras, blended with state of the art materials
and technologies.
To achieve a lightweight
motorcycle with optimal handling characteristics, an emphasis has been placed
upon simplification, with exposed structural features taking the place of
external bodywork. The concept uses a single cylinder 500cc Norton engine,
which is also used as a structural element within a carbon fibre chassis.
The concept utilises a
front girder suspension system, similar to the original, and introduces a VPP
(Virtual Pivot Point) rear suspension system to the motorcycle world, inspired
by downhill mountain bike technology. This allows the mass of the rear shock to
be mounted centrally on the motorcycle, as well as maintaining a progressive
rear axle path and minimal chain growth.
The15 litre fuel tank,
designed into the chassis, has been relocated under the seat, again
centralising mass, allowing the area above the engine to be exposed. This
creates a unique aesthetic to the motorcycle where the rider can view all the
mechanical elements of the motorcycle whilst riding.
The engine is an air-cooled
499cc Norton single, running on bio-ethanol and featuring a desmodromic valve
drive, originally patented by Norton in 1924. With modern materials and
technologies, this fuel injected engine should be capable of an estimated 70bhp
at 8,000rpm, giving performance figures of 636bhp/tonne, with an estimated
weight of 110kg.
The Norton characteristics
continue throughout the detailing, such as the silver, black and red livery and
the fuel filler cap mounted at the front of the seat.
Arron Rogers
More pictures:
This
picture is of a very young Albert Denly on a 1920 Model 9 TT Norton
Courtesy
the Marticelli Archives.
1920
Model 9 Norton ONM-6 os Bert Denly 300dpi.jpg
At
the Stafford Show in October 2007 I put on a display of a 1926 Norton TT
paddock………..
Click on the image to see
how ridiculous we all looked; but it created a lot of laughs.
Two Nortons separated by 100
years!
Taken
at Mallory Park in September 2007, the idea was to make a comparison track test
between the 1907 Rem Fowler machine and the latest 2007 Rotary Norton,
developed by Brian Crighton and financed by Roy Richards. Unfortunately it
poured down all day and by the time it had dried out, all the marshals and
medical teams had buggered off!
click on image for a bigger one!
3
pictures of a circa 1951 40M I have just finished for my good friend, Bob. It
took me about 6 years! Fairly original specification (bar the carb); magnesium
cases and cambox, special cylinder head with tufnel insert in inlet tract.
Schenk engine dynamometer.
Three
pictures (click on them for bigger ones) of the
construction of the ‘Dyno-room’.
Silencers, from the exhaust, the gases and the noise
is taken through
two 6 inch diam pipe to two 5 ft long silencers.
Holes
cut through 16 inches of concrete block ( a lot of hard work, probably easier to get out of Colditz!) for the
inlet and extractor fan ducts; big and heavy.
The
dynamometer being moved into the room, also very heavy!
Running for first time 9th Nov.
2006
The Schenk
Dynamometer is an eddy current machine that converts mechanical energy of the
test engine, usually an OHC Norton engine on full chat, into heat through
electrical energy. The heat is taken away by cooling water in a closed system.
The
engine is coupled to the Dynamometer by 2 to 1 reduction and fixed clutch (soon
to be modified to a functional clutch), transmitted by a ‘NEB type toothed belt
of 30 mm by 8 pitch. The coupling utilises two ‘Centaflex’ couplings, which
allow strength, elasticity, wide torque range and zero axial loading, and
hopefully longevity!
The rotor of the dynamometer runs in
bearings mounted in the dynamometer casing. The frontal areas of the rotor
teeth are arranged opposite the cooling chamber. The D.C. flowing through the
exciting coil which is fixed in the dynamometer casing, produces a magnetic
field, the lines of which flow axially through the teeth and chamber services.
The rotary motion of the rotor teeth goes through the magnetic field and produces eddy currents in a thin
surface area of the cooling chambers (heat produced by this process is taken
away by the water system which has flow and heat sensors in both the inlet and
outlet tracts). The eddy currents build up magnetic fields which counteract the
rotary motion. The dynamometer casing consequently tends to rotate with the
rotor, but the load applied, in the form of an electronic load cell, equates to
the torque.
To
determine the power output, it is essential to measure the speed. An A.C.
tacho-generator is driven through a toothed belt; the generator being fixed to
the cradled dynamometer casing. Voltage proportional to the speed, is utilized
for the speed indication and dynamometer control.
The
control unit provides numerous safety features which include: water
temperature, water flow rate and maximum revolutions cut-out switches to shut
the machine down in the event of impending trouble!
The concept of torque originated
with the work of Archimedes on levers.
Informally, torque can be thought of as ‘rotational force’. The rotational analogues
of force, mass and acceleration are torque, moment of inertia and angular
acceleration. The force applied to a lever, multiplied by its distance from
the lever’s fulcrum, is the torque. For example, a force of 3 newtons
applied to 2 metres from the fulcrum exerts the same torque as 1 newton applied
6 metres. This assumes the force is in a direction at right angles to the
straight lever.
Torque
has dimensions of distance X force and the SI units are Newton-metres, but more
familiar to old motorcycle engines is the unit ‘pound- force-feet’ or
‘foot-pounds-force’.
Torque
is part of the basic specification of an engine producing power,
the power of an engine being expressed as its
torque X rotational speed.
To be continued…………..there is a lot to learn!!!
Three terrific machines and three famous pilots!
Taken Montlhery, France 2003
The first picture shows Stu Rogers with his replica
of the Guthrie 1935 record breaker
Click on thumbnails
This is
Miles Robinson, of Walton Le Dale, who is apparently NOT on any register; with
Ginger Woods 500 V-twin.
Not a Norton, but a fabulous machine.
Click on thumbnails
Finally, the remarkable Sammy Miller, with the ‘Fish’
Click on thumbnails
Ten Norton conrods; how many can
you identify? Click on thumbnail
Three
pictures of 1934 Model 30 with
McCandless
swinging arm conversion
Click on the thumbnails for
500 Mb pictures
Now at the NMM, Birmingham
Another
Norton built in Somerset… A Model 19CS
The
CS stands for custom Special and this machine features many unique components
put together by Clinton Alexander and me! A c1956 600 OHV engine,
Note the detail to the rocker box cover, the
BSA petrol tank and the other machine
is my ‘Coronation Special’ which is featured
further down the page.
Click on the
thumbnails to see the quality of our work………
the
600 is a slow revving ‘plonker’ and the short stroke Coronation Special revs to
7,500!
"Norton Queen Elizabeth Coronation Special"
click on thumbnails to see a very trick OHV motor. Originally built by Rodney
Wright and re-engineered by me.
84mm X 79mm ( standard is 79 X 100 );
Special flywheels; JAWA big-end & rod; hot cams; downdraught head, twin
plugs.
Picture courtesy of ace Norton man, Ken Mackintosh.
A
bronze skull alloy Cammy cylinder head after it got very hot! (click for a
bigger picture)
Click on thumbnail to see a picture of my 1957 Aston martin DB2/4 MkII.
A straight 3 litre DOHC motor which is a bit like 6
manx engines linked together by
a relatively fragile bottom end. It is great fun to
drive!
My
90 Bore Molnar Manx, at the Creg, IOM with Kate’s Cottage in the background
Another picture of me on my 1926 TT machine, at
Alec Bennett would not have looked better!!
a 1953
International model 40, 350 cc OHC built up for a friend in the autumn of 2000.
A very sweet machine, click on image to get a better view! Note: Manx front
hub, short circuit lyta tank, and quality of the whole package.
A 1936 CJ, with factory
option of large 3 ½ gallon tank.
A very original machine, bar
the exhaust system which emits a very healthy bark!
I rebuilt this fine machine
and the performance is excellent….a joy to ride!
Click on picture for a
bigger one (220 KBs)
My very good friend, Bob
Chapman, ready for the ‘run and bump’ on his
c1952 Manx 350 long-stroke
It took me 5 years to put
this one together…….a real beauty.
THE GREATEST
MOTORCYCLE ENGINEER....JAMES L. NORTON
geo cohen......still learning
A very strange Edwardian
Norton with Donkey head
and monkey rider; photo taken in Sheffield
I am sure that most of you know the story behind the
"featherbed" frame: designed by Rex McCandless and given its name by
Harold Daniell, who described it as "riding on a featherbed" as
opposed to riding the "garden gate" frame. That's the story, but a
picture is sometimes worth a thousand words……….and this is the actual jig
McCandless used to make the first featherbed frames. It looks like a pile of
rusty iron and, infact that is exactly what it is! It resides at a friends
house. Click on small picture for a larger one.
a friend in the
workshop for a "fitting" for his pre-war racer!!
Steve Lacey 1931 Model 30, pictured at Guthrie's
memorial, IOM; ridden by Ron Harris in the '31 Manx G.P. to 10th place ( after
lying 4th for 5 laps………..did he fall off and remount during the final circuit
of 37 miles or did he stop at the Creg for a few jugs of ale?)
The inscription on the monolith
reads:
"James
Guthrie 1897-1937. Erected to the memory of Jimmy Guthrie of Hawick. A
brilliant motorcycle rider, famous on the Isle of Man course for his wonderful
riding and great sportsmanship. He won the race six times, beat many world
records, and was first in numerous foreign races. He died while upholding the
honour of his country in the German Grand Prix, August 1937"
This machine is a 1956 Manx rolling chassis, fitted
with a big fin Inter 500 motor,
standard
gearbox and prepared for the road.
