Need help identifying Norton model. (2016)

BillT said:

The Manx was so dominant at races like Daytona that the AMA changed the rules. First banning the featherbed frame, then banning the DOHC motor.

Couldn't make the 750cc H-D machines look too bad.

Click to expand...

Norton won Daytona 200 , (on the beach course) in 1949,50,51,52 so AMA and HD was a bit, …..pi**ed off
Hench the AMA rule banning OHC engines.

This was by and large, true; AMA protected the home build HD Company, that is, until a certain Triumph 500 built by Dough Helne won the Daytona 500 and blew the rule book wide open :!:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytona_200#Winners

Actually, H-D was losing to Indian at that time, too, with the Indian Wrecking Crew. Indian Engineers had figured out how to get power out of a flathead back in the '20s, and were a formidable force up until the company failed in '53

Bernhard needs to look into whether it was ohc or dohc heads that were banned.
The difference being an Inter had ohc, and the racebikes (manxs) had dohc.
Nortons had sidestepped the rules slightly, by offering lights and kickstarters as options on racebikes in the brochure,
to make them eligible.

There is a famous story about those Indian flathead racers.
After the race, the winners engines were stripped for measuring, to be sure they were legal capacity.
The Indian riders were instructed to take charge of the heads as they were removed, and sit on them !
The HD guys were kept totally in the dark about what secrets the heads held - and made them sooo fast.
(Not fast enough to beat the dohc manxs though, even if they were officially an Inter to racing spec)

It had been quite common all through racing history for singles and twins be allowed different capacity limits.
The Norton twin (mit peugeot v-twin) that Rem Fowler won the inaugural IoM 1907 TT twin cylinder race was
quite a lot larger capacity than the single cylinder guys were allowed - it was thought the twins were less efficient.
The advantages allowed to the twin cylinder guys dwindled in later years, back to parity eventually.
Took longer in the USA racing classes for that to happen....

But we diverge...

I have a 1950 (built for 1951) Manx daytona. The factory records from the London Museum of industry verify it was built for a Daytona effort 12-19-1950. It has been written(doesn't mean its true) that Norton sent 6 manxes for the 1951 races & they all finished in the top 10 spots(Mick Walker, The Manx Norton). Would anyone have any records to indicate who was on which serial numbered bike & how it finished? Clearly Dick Klamfords bike has been singled out & verified but what about the others. I dont care if mine came in 47th but would like to have a more clear history & who might posses that knowledge.

I attempted to insert an image of factory records & the bike but am new to the site & havn't figured that out. I understand positve ground just don't understand putting a picture on the internet.

1948 INDIAN CHIEF
1960 INDIAN WESTERNER
1952 ARIEL VH350
1951 NORTON MANX
1966 TRIUMPH T100R
1969 BSA A65 LIGHTNING
1971 BSA A65 THUNDERBOLT
1953 TRIUMPH BLUE BIRD
1958 ZUNDAPP R154 BELLA
1974 MOTO GUZZI V7 SPORT

IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY AT THE ONE PICTURE YOU WILL NOTICE IT HAS A KICKER ON IT. IT LOOKS VERY MUCH LIKE A WORKS BASED DAYTONA RACER BUT ON THE NUMBERS WOULD VERIFY OR DEBUNK THAT THEORY. AMA FORCED NORTON TO STILL RUN THE GARDEN GATE PLUNGER FRAME IN 1950/51 WHEN I BELIEVED THEY WOULD HAVE USED THE LATER BETTER FEATHERBED IF ALLOWED TO. AMA ALSO REQUIRED KICKERS. THAT IS DEFINITELY NOT AN INTERNATIONAL. CASES APPEAR(WHO KNOWS WITHOUT BEING THERE) TO BE MAGNESIUM AS DO WHAT WE CAN SEE OF THE WHEELS. THE ONE THAT SOLD AT BONHAMS MENTIONED BELOW LOOKS LIKE HALF THE PRICE OF A STANDARD OVER THE COUNTER MANX. WHAT WOULD A WORKS DAYTONA ONE BE WORTH? ANYONE EVER SEE ONE SELL? MORE THAN A STANDARD ONE I WOULD IMAGINE.


1958 NORTON DAYTONA 88
1948 INDIAN CHIEF BONNEVILLE
1959 INDIAN WESTERNER
1953 TRIUMPH BLUEBIRD
1969 BSA A65
1974 KAWASAKI F11
1973 MOTO GUZZI V7 SPORT

hello for one you can double the 24 thousand for this machine in this year there was not many built like this of 1949 they were racing bike like this before ww2 and long stoke manxs did make the 600cc model for side car use not many were made and extremely rare now' a nice motorcycle to be proud of, do not forget to use castrol R

I know this is an old thread but the reference to Beno Rodi reminded me of when my dog introduced me to him at Thruxton.

Myself and the wife had turned up to a race many years ago and we had the dog with us, don’t remember how we got the dog in the event but he was there. It was a weekend event and we were camping, and in the early evening just as the barbiques were getting going this rather irate chap came over with our dog and a piece of meat in his hand. Apparently he had just put the meat on the barbi and our dog jumped up and nicked it, he was very understanding and we had a chat about his bike and what he was doing over here. A nice chap Beno Rodi and he even recognised us later in the year in the Isle of Man, without the dog.