The Roar of History...

It's a romantic notion to think back to when Manx Nortons ruled GP racing throughout the 1950's. It's a time which I wasn't fortunate enough to experience for myself, so I'm left with just romantic thoughts, stories from those who were there and photographs form the period. And every once in a while, maybe just a small piece of a genuine race bike.

This is an exhaust megaphone from a 1960 Manx Norton 350, that I recently purchased. The stories it could tell, the rich history it must have, the sound it surely made, it's victories and defeats and it's time being ridden in anger by some brave soul that pushed himself and his machine to the limit, for the simple chance to be first across the line. It's an intriguing thought and I'm simply speculating as to the life it led prior to finding it's way to me. But any Manx Norton would have had it's fair share of racing, and this megaphone has some scars that prove it saw some time in action.

I have no immediate need to own it, but my curiosity surely needed to inspect it first hand. Perhaps I'll piece together a Manx of my own if I live long enough, or perhaps I'll run across the one guy out there that needs an original condition megaphone to complete his project. At which time, I'd gladly donate it. In the meantime though, I simply plan to enjoy it.

It's human nature to look at the past with fondness. Perhaps as some subconscious way that the brain blocks out negative memories or experiences. Or maybe the longing for a simpler time. In most cases, it's not 100% correct to think of things that way, as I'm sure that times were tough, regardless of what point in history you look at. But I know that riding a motorcycle has a way of blocking out everything in life. The past and the future have no relevance, as all you can do is live in the present. And even then, it's not a conscience thought, but rather a product of necessity as you're exposed to all the joy and danger of physically riding. I'm guessing that riding a Manx Norton race bike, in the heat of competition, would multiply that fact by about a million. So when the roar of the megaphone shuts off, the silence must be deafening, and you're left with just the memory...

On The Bench - Norton Dominator Hub

I've been looking for a standard Norton front hub for a little while now. They're easy enough to come by, and generally can be had for very little money. But of course, I had to make things more difficult than that. I wanted one that was vented, and I wanted the vent holes to be of a certain size, as I feel there's a certain proportion that's needed, as well as not wanting to remove too much of the casting and jeopardize it's strength. Of course I could easily have gotten a standard hub and milled it myself to the exact size I wanted. Simple enough task on a mill, but you need an indexing head and a bunch of patience. I have access to both of those things, so that should be the end of the story, right? Well, no, it isn't, because what I wanted was an original hub that was vented back in the day. A hub that some young lad back in the 1960's had done up to customize his featherbed Norton. It was fairly common practice back then for cafe racer guys to do such a modification, and while it probably has very little actual cooling affect, it certainly looks the part. And I've been sitting on this John Tickle brake plate and really wanted to go the distance in mating it to a period correct vented hub.

After and encounter with Ed Zender, owner of Morrie's Place, at the Davenport swap meet, I got to talking to him about what I was looking for. He had a vented hub at the swap meet, but it was set up with a standard Commando twin leading shoe brake plate, and there would have been no need to separate the two. And the vent holes on that hub were smaller than I was looking for. Ed told me had more vented hubs back at the shop, and we made some arrangements for me to head up that way at some point. Fast forward about 2 months, and I finally had enough time on a Saturday to make the trek north. A phone call ahead of time is always in order, and Ed agreed that he'd dig thru his parts and see if he could have something ready for me.

Upon arriving at Morrie's Place, Ed promptly placed a hub on the counter, and it was exactly what I was after. Perfect size vent holes and proportion to the hub. At least in my opinion. A price was agreed upon, and it was all mine.

My apologies for the terrible photo quality. After getting back to the garage, I was anxious to get started, and snapped these quickly.

These hubs are of course cast aluminum, and the castings are a bit rough. Which in a way, is the beauty of the piece. It sort of just is what it is. But with some elbow grease and a lot of patience, they clean up nicely.

This is the point in the post where I again emphasize NOT to bead blast these cast aluminum parts. It simply looks terrible and also opens up the already porous aluminum and makes them prone to getting dirty much quicker. If the aluminum is in way too bad of shape, or if you're the type of person that just doesn't have the time or patience, then at least do yourself a favor and send them out for vapor blasting. There's a number of places you can send these parts to have them vapor blasted for about $35, and it's much better for the part, gets them spotlessly clean and peens the pours closed so they stay nice. But, in all honestly, this is ones of those parts that you can do at home with a soft bristle wire brush.

I'll remove the bearings, clean the entire thing, polish the vented face, lace it to a wheel, skim the drum surface and then it'll be ready for action.

A special thanks to Ed for accommodating what I was looking for. If you're ever in the Northern Illinois area, or anywhere close to it for that matter, do yourself a favor and stop by. In the meantime, click the link below and get information for how to contact them.

Morrie's Place

Under the Hammer - ex Francis Beart Manx Norton

Just this last weekend, Bonham's held an auction in Stafford for what they titled "Important Collector's Motorcycles". Among the impressive line up of machines, was the ex Francis Beart 350 Manx Norton, which was reported to be raced by the likes of Joe Dunphy and Keith Heckles. In 1966, Heckles placed 2nd in the Junior TT aboard this very machine. And although it was raced again after that, 1966 was apparently it's most impressive showing. You can read the auction description which is lengthy and detailed.

Francis Beart was a well renowned tuner and many of his machines featured the now famous, pea green paint. And among other tuners of the day, he was known to stamp his initials into crank cases and other bits that he worked on. As can be seen in this photo, his initials, month and year are clearly visible.

Most collectors tend to gravitate towards the 500cc Manx Norton, and the estimate for this auction was between 40-48 grand (USD). When I first saw that, I thought that it seemed low for such a prestigious piece of British motorcycle racing history, and low and behold, it over doubled the high estimate. Machines of this nature, rarely come for sale, so I think it's a real pleasure to see it.

You can see a lot of interesting details with this bike. Upside down rear shocks, adjustable megaphone bracket, adjustable front brake fitments, custom made alloy top yoke and the list goes on and on. I encourage all to really study the details and admire what must have gone into them.

A random fact that I heard to be rumored was that Francis Beart had nicknamed the custom alloy petrol tank "Sabrina". Who knows if that's really true, but it's a cool bit of information to ponder. Things like that really give these old bikes some truly interesting history. The sheer thought and sight of them tends to take us back to a simple time. When real men rode real machines, in anger, with no regard to the importance those very machines would have half a century later. Some very wealthy, and very lucky new owner will surely enjoy this bike. Hopefully he's smart enough to bring out for others to enjoy and see.

The full listing and detailed photos can be seen here: Francis Beart Manx Norton

Hoarder versus Enthusiast

After you've spent any stretch of time interested in old motorcycles, you're bound to come across those guys that hoard things. In almost every case, those guys are hoarding parts that they have no use for, no intentions of ever using and no motorcycle that they could ever use them on. This is a phenomenon that I simply don't understand. I get the fact that people like cool stuff, they need to have spares for bikes they have, and in general, just like to be surrounded by these things. But, in reality, what's the point?

I've got a few key spare parts for bikes of mine. They're parts that generally wear out, and will need to be replaced at some point since I ride the thing. I'd personally never give someone a hard time for having spare parts. It's smart to have things like that. I also have a project bike that I'm actively building, and therefore I'm collecting the components I need to complete the project. But these are scenarios that I'm not talking about. I'm talking about the guy that just has stockpiles of parts with no home. Orphan parts piled up and tucked away in a garage, shed or basement. These parts are collecting dust and will never have get to be used. Meanwhile, there are other guys out there actively hunting for those same parts. Needing them to replace worn out originals or simply to complete the rebuild of a machine they're bringing back to life.

There's no photo to go along with this post, and maybe it's just a rant out of frustration. There are parts that I know people have right now, that I need, and they do not. Yet they're somehow not for sale. I'm not saying that people should just give things away. I think they should be sold off at a fair price so they can be used. I think the whole goal for anyone that's an enthusiast, should be to get more old bikes back onto the road.

So be honest with yourself. How many bikes can one man rebuild or restore? How many bikes have you completed over the past five years? How many could you possibly restore if you worked on them everyday for the rest of your life? What's going to happen to this stuff after you're gone? Are you an enthusiast, or a greedy hoarder?

Barber Vintage Motorcycle Festival 2013

I've been looking forward to going to Barber for 2 years now. For financial reasons, I was unable to make it last year. So I had made it a point to save money all year in order to get there this year. I bought tickets and booked a hotel in advance, and was all set to go. Three weeks prior to the event, I found myself in the emergency room headed into emergency surgery, followed by a full week lying in a hospital bed. As I laid there, I thought that my trip this year would be spoiled as well. With some amazing medical help from the surgeon and medical staff at the hospital, coupled with my sheer stubbornness, I kept my goal of making it. And while I was worn out and fairly weak, I had a great time.
I won't go into a long winded explanation of the weekend, simply because it's difficult to describe. Anyone that's enthusiastic about vintage motorcycles should make the way to Birmingham, Alabama and experience it for themselves. The following is a group of photos from my perspective:

You aren't going to see many of these. This is the road going version of the Matchless G50. Know as the CSR, and affectionately called the Coffee Shop Racer. Complete with magnesium cases and timing cover. Rare stuff...

The Matchless and AJS club round out their display nicely with original banners.

The Salt Ghost.
I've wanted to see this bike for a while, and I don't even like Triumphs. But this thing is about as cool as it gets. All the grit and all the cool bits, make this bike something special.

How often do you see a Rudge? And then how often do you see 5 of them lined up and ready to race?

Two Norton Internationals tucked back next to an RV in the paddock.

Manx Norton replica racer

Another Norton International

Seeley G50

I watched the guy ride in on this down and dirty Atlas special. Not set up to my liking, but he most definitely didn't care, and that's what made it cool.

On to the museum. I should start by saying that the facility is absolutely impeccable, and spotlessly clean. My hats off to George Barber for amassing such a collection of machines, and then allowing common folk to enjoy them all in one location. And for a very reasonable $15. Best part of all, nothing is roped off, so you can get up close and personal and view each bike from all angles.

Triumph "Slippery Sam"

Rob North Triumphs

Russian made racer which I had never even heard of before.

The John Surtees collection alone is worth the trip.

Detailed shots where you can see everything is drilled for lightness. The sign of a proper race bike.

Front brake with the actuating lever neatly operated between a cut out in the air scoop.

Surtees MV Augusta

I think it's pretty obvious at this point that I'm a Norton nut, so close up shots of a Manx are high priorities for me.

1962 spec 4 leading shoe front brake. cast in magnesium of course.

Anti vibration float bowl mount.

Overhead cam driven tach drive.

John Surtess Matchless G50

The single cylinder Vincent Grey Flash. Far more beautiful than the twin cylinder Vincent, in my opinion.

The Morbidelli collection is on loan to the museum, and is the kind of stuff, that most would never get to see.

All of the foot controls were machined in some sort of plastic, so if the bike goes down, they simply disintegrate, rather than cause damage. Very neat details.

Dresda Triton, which I'm not a fan of, but the historical significance of these bikes, is impressive. Dave Degens started Dresda motors back in the 1960's and is accredited for building more Tritons than anyone on the planet. He also built, raced and won on a Triton at an endurance race in Barcelona.

The G50 Matchless is always gorgeous. A competitor to my beloved Manx Norton.

The AJS Porcupine is insanely rare, insanely cool, and probably priceless.

George Barber, of course has two of them.

Gear shift lever is odd, in that it faces right to left, rather than front to back. I wonder how it felt for the rider making gear-changes.

The CMA brake is rare. The 4 leading shoe version is even more rare. This one was mounted on the right side of the bike rather than the normal / left side.

A nice looking Norton Atlas. I wasn't a fan of the RK Leighton seat, but the rest is quite nice.

John Player Norton. So ugly that it's beautiful.

Strangely, this one had an Avon GP tire on front and rear. I've always known them as a rear tire, so I'm curious how it rides.

A Christmas tree display of small displacement bikes.

Lovely Manx Norton oil tank.

My buddy walked the museum with me, and he's an absolute nut for Italian race bikes. So this Mondial was high on his list.
Very early twin disc brake set up, with cable operated calipers. Made by Campagnolo.

         

  

 

  

  

  
Left and right handed GP carbs on the parallel twin Matchless

  

Bultaco TSS road racer

Paton

The Britten is impressive. In person it's over the top impressive. John Britten and his loyal group of friends built nearly every single piece of these bikes from scratch. Look up the Britten online and watch the documentary. It's inspiring.

DKW

 Cosworth Norton

Riveted monocoque framed Krauser

An incorrectly restored Norton 99, with later model gas tank and strange paint. But who am I to judge...

A wall of Parillas

I'm not sure what brake this is. The hub with the scalloped spoke flange looks like a Robinson, but I don't recognize the brake plates. Either way, I'd love to have one, whatever it might be.

Pre War Nortons

The always hideous, yet extremely rare Gus Kuhn Commando

The newly built Brough Moto 2 bike which they hope to race in 2014 as a wild card slot. I actually don't understand this bike at all. The carbon fiber bodywork is really trick, but the motor is a Honda CBR 600. So how does that make it a Brough?

Dunstall Commando

And lastly, a couple of shots of the amazing race track. It reminds me more of a British circuit like Cadwell Park. The way it doubles back on itself allows you to view most of the track from nearly any vantage point in the park.

All in all a great weekend. A great experience shared with close friends and about 60 thousand complete strangers. I could point out a hundred things about the place that I didn't like. But what would the point of that be? They would all be outweighed by how great the place is.

And to George Barber, my hats off to you sir. Truly amazing, and much appreciated.