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Flat Track Norton
A story by Tony Lenard
Posted with permission of The International Norton Owners Association
This was a feature article in Norton News # 124 Fall of 2001
This story actually starts in the summer of 1998 when a friend and I attended a District 16 AMA amateur short track event. I had not raced dirt track since 1975 but was being encouraged to rejoin my old (and I mean old) friends in the Senior Open Class (40 to 49 years old on any size bikes). They looked like they were having a good time and some of them got to take home a trophy too. Cool ! So I built a Honda XR650L into a DTX race bike (electric start for old guy with bad knees), bought a new set of leathers (my old ones had shrunk horribly in 24 years), and went racing. I had a lot of fun in “99” and ended the season in 2nd place in points.
This is where the Norton story begins. I have an original condition “73” Commando that I bought new in “74” from Del’s Cycle Center in Schofield, WI, another one that I did a complete rebuild on in “95” and a couple of wrecked parts bikes. I thought it would be fun to race a Norton in the Senior Class and in the Open Twins class, so I took one of the wrecks and delivered the engine to my friend in Kenosha, TC. I shouldn’t have to explain who he is. TC built me a big bore motor with a fat power band which is what I wanted for the slippery short tracks and TT’s in WI. This engine pulls strong from the bottom up, but does not have a rush of power at the top. This makes it easier to ride on tracks where traction is more important than raw power. I then ordered a flat track frame from Jeff Cole of C & J Racing Frames in Fallbrook, California. Why he ever agreed to build this frame is beyond me. He can crank out a Sportster, Suzuki TL1000, XR 750, or Rotax frame in one day and he charged me the same amount of money for a one off special. He is a true enthusiast. For this reason I cannot criticize Jeff, but for your own protection don’t ever think that building a bike like this is a bolt in and go operation. A project of this type should not be undertaken without machining and fabricating capabilities. The forks are from a YZF 600 and the shocks are White Power. Both of these have externally adjustable rebound and compression dampening and spring preload. The triple clamps have adjustable offset. The aluminum gas tank is from a “73” 500 Triumph. We had to make cut-outs in the bottom to clear the throttle cables. It has a belt primary and a handmade primary case. The ignition is Boyer running as a total loss with a Dyna Coil. Carbs are Mikuni VM 34s.
The first District 16 event of the season was the North Central Amateur National at Beaver Dam, WI. This 3 day event had a Friday Night Short Track, a Saturday TT, and a Sunday Half Mile. My plan was to ride my Honda in the Short track and TT with the Norton for the Sunday Half Mile. Unfortunately, in the short track final, a first time racer did something that he shouldn’t have and took me out. I broke a bunch of bones, thus ending my racing season. My wife says that if I race again she will leave me, so that is yet to be decided.
In the mean time my friend Steve Kasten, of Hately, WI suggested that he should ride the Norton in an upcoming AMA Supertracker National to be held at Superior, WI on June 23rd. The Supertracker class was for 1000 cc bikes that started life as a street bike. The AMA wanted to encourage other manufacturers to get serious about the Grand National Series and give the Harley XR750s some competition. The class ran for 3 seasons (1999, 2000,and 2001) and was then merged with the Grand National class.
Steve is a 25 year veteran of professional flat track racing, had qualified for a national number twice previously, and is a respected pro racer in the Midwest. So we took a 38 year old man and a 28 year old motor to race against the modern Buells and Suzukis in the AMA Supertracker National. We knew that we would be down on horsepower as we were giving away some cc’s and did not have a hot half mile motor. The handling was a different story as Steve would gain 4 or 5 bike lengths entering a turn, pass another rider, and then get eaten alive on the straight by the more powerful modern bikes. The excitement was incredible as the announcer and the grand stand were cheering for Steve and the red Norton to make the main event. Steve managed to beat enough of the Suzuki and Buell riders to qualify for the main. The crowd went wild. The main event found the power deficit to be more profound, and Steve ended up 15th (NOT LAST). This was the first time that this bike was raced. After the races we had more people in our pit than the National guys. It was an incredible head trip and we did not want the night to end.
I won’t say that this bike holds a record, but it does have a distinction that will stand. It is the only English Bike to ever qualify for a Supertracker national. By making this main event Steve qualified for a National number for the next year. The last time that a Norton made the main event in an AMA Grand National was Ted Boody in 1979.
