Considering a Pre War Norton

I remember a very special rudge v twin that used to come up high beech on Sunday up Epping forest
It was very fast ,the mechanical clatter was amazing
I believe it was built in the 60s
 
norton bob said:
I have a 1936 Ulster which has a later Ulster motor and an enclosed valve Special head. 36 was a changeover year ,my bike has a left side gearchange and interchangeable wheels. Next year it was all different. Rudges were fast and handled well and like Vincents were full of strange solutions looking for problems . An ulster did 200 miles in 2 hours in the 1920's and a 350 sprinter once did 156 mph . Not slow then !!.
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I've looked onthe internet about this Rudge 350 doing 156 mph, and I can't find anything, more information, please.
 
I was lucky enough to buy an original 1939 Model 18, which I ran for many years until I sold it in a moment of madness. The late thirties Model 18 and ES2 are fabulous bikes and in terms of ownership very practical. Parts aren't too hard to find (even new) and the late thirties Norton singles had enclosed valve springs, so they're actually pretty oil tight and of course very simple and easy to maintain at home. Mine handled very nicely and was happy to run along on club runs at 60MPH. I would happily find room in my shed for another.
 
bsaboss said:
I was lucky enough to buy an original 1939 Model 18, which I ran for many years until I sold it in a moment of madness. The late thirties Model 18 and ES2 are fabulous bikes and in terms of ownership very practical. Parts aren't too hard to find (even new) and the late thirties Norton singles had enclosed valve springs, so they're actually pretty oil tight and of course very simple and easy to maintain at home. Mine handled very nicely and was happy to run along on club runs at 60MPH. I would happily find room in my shed for another.
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That was then , this is now. Allthough ES2 parts are still available, something like the Inter are almost a different breed, not many were made, and parts, unless they were not from the Manxs were expensive then and are expensive now. Even if I was a millionaire, I would wince at the prices of some components.
 
Onder said:
94 year old mate of mine extols the virtues of the Rudge. "Don't trudge it, Rudge it!"
He said all the other brands are poorly made. :)
And may I note that make sure you have ONE good reliable bike in the shed when you
start to pile up the old 'uns.
Er, and futhermore, speaking from experience here, better to have one expensive old
jewel than several semi-precious ones. You will get overwhelmed.
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Yep my 650ss is my go to daily never lets me down :) had modern bikes leave me stranded under warranty etc but the 650ss is a trooper :)

Thanks everyone I'm leaning towards a mid 30s Inter currently an I'm starting to read up about the other pre war Nortons an the Rudge's to.

An pre ww2 I mean't quite liking the really early Norton's to like the brooklands style bikes 16h's model 8's etc. Could imagine bikes like the model 8 an 18's being a bit tricky to find
 
Doubt you will find that much on the Rudge sprinter via the internet, At one time it took 7 world and Uk records ,1967 I think. Bit before the Internet ! I guess the 156mph was done somewhwere like Elvington .
 
If you want to see a Rudge in action watch the U tube vid. Barry sheen Memorial trophy part 1 2016. full race /revival 2016, look out for no 25 ,half way thro the race it comes thro and goes into the lead and gone . race gets stopped the Rudge stays in front!!. Never mind Micheal Dunlop ,you can't win them all.
 
Onder said:
94 year old mate of mine extols the virtues of the Rudge. "Don't trudge it, Rudge it!"
He said all the other brands are poorly made. :)
And may I note that make sure you have ONE good reliable bike in the shed when you
start to pile up the old 'uns.
Er, and futhermore, speaking from experience here, better to have one expensive old
jewel than several semi-precious ones. You will get overwhelmed.
Click to expand...
Absolutely agree with these two pieces of advice!
 
Well the first step happened the GSX went a few weeks back and the 350lc is getting advertised this week :D hoping to get a rigid inter a cs1 is an outside possibility but the inter is top of the list.
 

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