Featherbed frames

APRRSV said:
Eddie,
Do you have any names/websites?

Thanks,
Ed
Click to expand...

First and perhaps foremost... Your favourite Commando parts supplier sells them: https://andover-norton.co.uk/

Mick Hemmings used to sell fantastic lowboys style featherbeds, so certainly worth calling or mailing him.

I have personally had several Dresda made frames from Dave Degens for road and race bikes, inc exact Manx replicas that fooled 'experts' he will also do anything else's you require from engine plates, to tanks, to wiring to a full build. Dave uses T45 tubing which is very light and very strong, he uses correctly specified brazing methods and materials and makes a very fine product IMHO. He can add mounting points for tanks and rear sets etc thus preventing unsightly add ons later in the build. I don't think he responds to web based enquiries much so best to call him on: +44 1293 871 887.

I'm sure there are many others, but these come to mind.
 
If you are in Australia, John Davis in Victoria is probably still making frames. You could find him through Jim Scaysbrook of Old Bike Magazine. Some of his frames were made with 26 degree rake, so they handled better with 18 inch wheels. My preference would be to use 24.5 degree rake and 19 inch wheels, especially if I had a Manx engine.
 
We've had this discussion before.
Manx frames, all widelines of course had 26 degree steering heads....
 
When several decades ago I was thinking of making a replica Domirace frame for the proposed short stroke 500 Dommy motor I borrowed a couple of frames to draw up before making the frame jig which ended up with its own trpanning attacment to bore out the trubes correctly for the headstock after welding the frame tubes together...which is how Reynold did it....One of the frames was a Ken Sprayson made Domiracer frame that the owner had sat for years on a damp earthen floor in his shed so the 18g bottom tubes were rotting away......
I do not know who manufactured one of the frames but it was a replica because some brain dead had welded the cross tube that goes between te top rails just behind the head stock to the down tubes thus ensuring the down tubes would fail at that point..... Some so called frame makers scare the proverbial out of me. As do some people who repair frames..... I often hear from a frame maker friend about some of the repairs he has to correct.......
Wonder how many buy a new frame and actually check they are correct ? Not many if any I bet.
 
Some frame guys also seriously know what they are doing.
The local frame guru here, who was factory trained by HD on frames incidentally,
has a Norvin he built where the engine just neatly slots into the frame - merely by suitably stretching the dimensions.
Rather than trying to squeeze something that is an inch too big into something an inch too small !
Now why weren't all Norvins done like that....
 
Featherbed frames

This is one of the frames that I manufactured some years ago in Brisbane, the only part I didnt get the same was the rear footpeg/muffler brackets.
I made the brackets so they could be removed, I made my own tube benders to get the correct radius.All the tabs etc were laser cut in bulk. Rohan had visited my place there on different occasions.
Don
 
Yes, it was impressive to see your production line of these !

The guy that took over your stock disappeared without trace ?
 
madass140 said:
Al, what was the reason Norton went from wideline to slimline?
Click to expand...

"In 1960 the top rails were installed at the rear of the tank. Riders complained that these wideline Featherbed frames were uncomfortably wide at 11.5 inches (29 cm) but it was not until 1960 that the top runs of the frame were narrowed towards the front of the seat, with corresponding overall styling changes including tank and seat to create the slimline frame."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Featherbed_frame
 
The reason for the change was not for riders comfort ,that statement was just PR BS. It was a cost saving exercise that did not sound as good. My slimline was built in 1959 , other firms were building enclosed "streamlined" bikes for the jet age was appon us and Norton was not keen to miss the boat. They had an enclosed rear end for the lightweight range that cost a lot of money to tool up for. With a bit of tube bending it could fit ,and it did . Just had to alter side panels ,seat and tank. The whole range 500,600 and 650 were made. It would not have gone down well to have let on that the Nortons famous best feature , the frame ,was being chopped about just to save money!. BAD PR. The 650 DL's mostly went to eastern Europe . If one still exists it would be the rarest Norton .
 
not sure how it would be a cost saving exercise , as a former manufacturer of Slimline frames I can assure you its much easier to make a Wideline frame than a Slimline frame. Thats the reason not many people make replica Slimline frames. Plenty of odd looking Wideline frames out there that arent anything like an original one.
 
Heavy duty press tooling cost from the Company that makes the panels . Shelleys. Imagine the other more honest approach " We have decided to chop up and change our proven world beating frame to accomodate the few whinging shortarse runts that are moaning about the width. All you manly big guys don't count and anyway by some strange coincidence its now an exact fit for a 250 rear end which we have a pile of from that minimum order".!!!.HA HA. I don't think so. Very bad PR.
 
When the Deluxe Models were discussed somewhere previously, it was noted that the Navigator
or was it Jubilee etc panels aren't the same as the bigger bikes ??
The part numbers give the game away.
And there are several versions of some of them too...

There was a lot of discussion back then even that the widelines were uncomfortable to sit on for long periods of time.
That cowboy gait gets a mention now and then.
It would be strange BS indeed if this wasn't a factor in going slimline...
 
As I have a deluxe Dommy and 2 spare rear enclosures one of which is from a Jubilee _____ the side panels were diferent and the panel drillings may be diferent but the tub is a common pressing.
 
so the sole reason for changing from Wideline to Slimline was the need to fit the enclosed bodywork? learn something new every day. As the Deluxe range obviously wasnt a big hit and didnt last very long , strange Norton didnt revert back to the easier made Wideline frame.
 
I've ridden a Slimline( my 650ss) and my friend's Wide line (99) back to back several times, as he has of course.
We both find the Slimline more comfortable. I'm 6'1 and change, he's about 6'.
So as far as we are concerned, it was an excellent move to make that change, whether it was to sell more motorcycles (and make more money) or to reduce costs somehow ( and make more money)

Glen
 
:roll: Revert back?, would have been a PR disaster !!, " We don't care about your comfort after all, and anyway it was just a lie in the first place". Also now the production line is geared up for slimline tanks and seats, and what on earth can we do with 1000 slimline mazack badges.
 

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