How do you refer to your favorite Norton?

acotrel said:
I have got INTENTIONS. One of my friends has a son in his 40s who sometimes rides his 350 Manx. They are interested in coming to a ride day at Winton. At present it is very cold and we have lockdowns due to Covid 19. But I have not given up. My bike is in bits, but it is easily fixed. I can think of about 12 guys who might like to come up for a thrash around. Most of them have raced regularly and we all have egos.
I could not put the Seeley on the road, it would break my heart to go backwards like that. Everything I have ever done has ben about making the bike faster, on the road it would be absurd. I could not even ride it through the town in first gear without getting booked. If I wanted to do that, I would buy a postie bike.
If you had a heap of money, would you buy a Mclaren and use it on the roads in Australia ? There are no cops with cameras on a race circuit.
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When is the last time you have been out on it Al?
 
This one is a bit out there but I bought my 16H while going through a phase of listening to early music, including a collection from Abbess Hildegard von Bingen.
The 16H engine was poorly set up initially, the cam followers and tappets sounded like a small stamping battery, so Hildegard von Bangin' stuck in my mind. Hildegard for short.
Ok, as you were...
 
gortnipper said:
When is the last time you have been out on it Al?
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I cannot remember. And I cannot remember much about any other time I raced. While I am forgetting, I am also forgetting about my two mates who died, who were involved with my road racing. The grief is slowly going away. These days, I find I can now actually look at my bike again. For a long time, I could not. This forum helps me a bit - when I read about other guys doing things. When I was young, I never really knew about grief, even though several of my mates were killed in road accidents. As you get older, your outlook on life changes. One of those two mates who died was the person who taught me how to build a race motor. I knew him when I was 18, and he was always there in the back ground. We sort of ran parallel paths. We were friends but rivals. He rode my Seeley 850 in a race and enjoyed it immensely I had never seen him so happy.
 
I am not bragging when I say my Seeley 850 is excellent - just stating a fact. It is a really great race ride. My problem is the emotion I feel when I see it. - It just brings back too many memories . A while back, I started fixing it and had to walk away, It is still in bits, but I am getting better. I was talking to another of my old friends the other day about a practice day. He said ' you silly old bastard, you are past it'. But he has Parkinson's disease and cannot ride his 750SS Ducati or his DB1 Bimota. His son has the 350 Manx, which was actually a Norton works bike, and he is still a goer. He is keen to come to Winton and have a bit of fun, so I need to get moving again. Off hand I can think of about ten guys who might like to get involved. In late August, the weather might be OK, and we might not have another lockdown.
My wife does not want me to ride again. However at practice days, you are not supposed to race.
 
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Al seems like you are on the verge of retiring from riding happens when you think like that, I have lost a few good life long riding mates over the years but the funny thing they never died from riding their bikes, usually the big C or everyday abuse from heavy drinking that gets them and most of the time after they been cremated we take them for a last ride on their old bike with all his riding mates and friends who no longer ride on the back, death is part of life, its how you handle it, myself I never think about it and just keep doing what I have always done since I was 15 years old, I still ride the same as I have always done, I ride hard and always pushing my motorcycles and still riding with the mates I grew up with.
Yes its sad when we lose good friends but it never stops us from getting on the bikes, I am lucky if the Norton is getting a few mods to it and is off the road for sometime I have 2 other modern Triumphs to ride as well if I want to play in the dirt I take the CRF450X out for a few days of hard bush bashing, as I have said before if I don't get on a bike for a week I get the DTs and feel trapped from not being out on them, my wife always knows when I need to get out as she knew from day one my bikes come first before anything else, she is a good girl and sometimes she comes out with me on the back of the 1200 Thruxton all the other bikes are solo reg.
I rather be on 2 wheels than in a 4 wheel box any day, I don't think about death, I enjoy life to much to even think about it.

Ashley
 
Al -

Ride the Seeley one more time at Winton during a track day. Then sell it to someone who will respect it and buy a nice 850 MKIII. Take your wife into Benalla and have lunch at the art gallery. Then ride off on one of the many nice roads in Victoria. You don't have to go fast to enjoy a motorcycle.
 
The 1972 Combat: The Other Woman - not that there is any woman in my life right now, but just in case - lol!! Her tenure in my life has surpassed any of the 2-legged variety.

The 1970 Roadster: Eric's Bike - after my late uncle Eric who passed quite suddenly a couple of years ago - He and his family wanted me to have it, and I graciously accepted.
 
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black cat
How do you refer to your favorite Norton?
How do you refer to your favorite Norton?
 

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