SOHC Manx Norton - My Other Bikes Page

My Other Bikes

I thought I would include this section to show some of the other bikes I have either built or owned in the past. I like variety, so there is a little bit of everything here. Hope you find something that interests you or reminds you of your own past bikes.

1. Road Bikes

1967 BSA 250 Fleetstar
My first road bike

Same bike - much prettier Starfire tank

1962 Royal Enfield Constellation
Owned by us since 1975. Hinged in middle . . .

1980 Ducati 900SS
Until 2002, I had owned the Duke for 18 years. Beautiful bike with Glorious noise

1989 Honda CBR600F
A true classic and a bike that could be either toured or scratched

Yamaha LC350
The original nutters machine! This one was the dogs doodahs. Bored out to 370cc, all the best go-faster bits and Dream Machine paint job.
(Probably a good job I dident have it when I was 18!)

Suzuki TS250
I went through an off-road fad, although it never got muddy in all the time I had it

1972 Honda CB125
2 Speed Model - (1) 'Faster, faster . . .'
and (2) 'Gawd, I cant stop . . .'
Much abused

Excelsior 125 Universal
How this came my way is a long story - longer than the rides I had on it anyway . . .

Honda CBR900RR Fireblade
More recent nutters bike. Absolutely fabulous at everything except comfort. Recently demised.

2. Norton's

I started riding bikes on the road in 1980, but my father had owned motorcycles since the second world war, so I had grown up with them around me. In the late 1960's my father bought a Norton ES2 and sidecar from a man down our road. Others followed and this in turn sparked my interest in Nortons. He accumulated lots of spares for them and soon after my first one, I started doing likewise. Before long I had started building them from bit's which is how the racing bikes came along.
As you can see I have owned and built a few, but still hanker for a Cammy Norton. Maybe one day.

1955 Norton ES2
This was the first ES2 my father bought in the 1960's. After riding it myself for many years I decided to give it the restoration shown here

1947 Racing Plunger ES2
This was the first bike I built from scratch, having acquired a bare plunger frame. A very nice bike but I still remember the fishtailing around Gerards . . .

1947 Racing Plunger ES2
Same bike from drive side. At this stage the inlet tract was still at original 1 1/16" but using a 15TT10 carburettor and BTH mag

Norton 500T Trials (Replica)
Next bike to be built was a 500T trials replica. Used WD 'open' frame and forks with trials yokes. Also had all alloy engine and scolloped hub

500T Trials Engine
As well as trials engine, this photo shows genuine alloy engine plates and the narrower exhaust pipe that was fitted to 500T's. I actually fitted racing cams and used it for grasstrack racing, before cartwheeling it and seeing the error of my ways

Plunger and Rigid Racing ES2's together
2 years of the plunger gave me some good ideas on what the next bike should be like. Rigid with girders. Lower, ligther and more specialist. Everthing not required was removed and everything made to be easily worked on

1938 Racing Rigid ES2
Drive side of the finished bike. Note alloy Manx style oil tank, cable rear brake, remote float chamber and rearsets. Every bolt was drilled for lightness

Nice shot of Titch (Allen) on the rigid at Stanford Hall, Lutterworth. Around 1990

1938 Rigid Racer
Top view. ES2 motor is bored out to 550cc and runs on Methanol. Inlet tract now much bigger than original

1947 Model 18 Norton
This is another Norton we had owned for many years. This photo was taken shortly after I had finished a 3 year restoration to concours

Model 18 Tank Top
Compare with racer above

3. Off Road Bikes

As well as road racing I also had a go at Vintage Grasstrack racing. This is something Titch Allen and myself got involved in together in the mid 1980's. For Titch it was very much like going back to his roots.
As well as passengering for Titch, I also rode solo. At first, as mentioned above, I built a Norton 500T with a midly tuned engine. I soon found this was too big and heavy to compete with the JAP Speedway bikes that dominated in the post-war class, so built one of those instead. As with a lot of my bikes, I started by acquiring a (Rotrax) frame and forks and took it from there.

Circa 1952 500 Rotrax JAP
Ehh, yes that is me. Only with a bit more hair than now, around 1988.
Bike was built with 4-Stud JAP motor, dirt track carb, BTH magneto and Manx clutch. Handling is lively on the rough

500 Hagon Jawa
A little later I acquired this Hagon Jawa to compete in the pre-75 class. Note long track front wheel, liberally drilled around the rim

Royal Enfield Trials Bullet
About 5 years ago I acquired and restored this very interesting trials Bullet. It had been built in the early 1960's using a 1950 chassis and later engine unit. It had sat in a garage unused since its last trial in the mid 1960's. Note rear subframe which I believe was only fitted to 'works' bikes

'Works Rep' Trials Bullet
If you look carefully at the top of the timing cover, you can just make out a drive for a Rev clock. This and the alloy barrel identify the engine/gearbox as the ultimate development of the trials Bullet, a 'Works Replica' unit. Tank is also identified as trials tank by single fuel tap

4. Sidecars and Racing

Please press on the button below to see the odd racing shot and some of the outfits I 'monkeyd' in while racing in the 1980's and early 1990's :-