After 43 years, and as the original owner, I rode my 7.73 MKI 850 Roadster for the first time today. First, special thanks to Mike Yingling and Greg Marsh, who saved this bare frame up restoration/upgrade no money spared project from disaster to a great piece...
In the spring of '73, I moved back East from a few years in Denver, where I raced MX sponsored by the local Yamaha dealer. Did pretty well until the 15 year kids showed up and kicked my
ass. At the time, my daily driver was a '69 Z28 Camaro, where I learned a Motorola was faster than a big motor. So I tired of weekend jail times from street racing.......And sold the car.
Decided it was time for a street bike. Yea, Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited, Triumph Bonneville for sure.....then my oldest friend to this day showed up with a Norton 750 he bought new in the UK to travel Europe, especially Germany where he grew up, and I said gotta have that!
Put together the $ 1800.00 for a new one, but I got a bad headache. My Mom took me to the ER, and after a few X-Rays, they threw me on gurney and prepped me for a surgery, saying we've got 45 minutes to keep you alive from a brain hemorrhage. Super rare deal. Survived that after a hole was drilled in my skull to drain my brain. 3 weeks later, I'm home, broke now,
but my folks, despite their feelings, lent me the money to buy a Norton. Mom bought me the classic black leather jacket that I still wear today.
Of course, at 21 brilliant and invincible, I rode it off the showroom floor, almost t-boned a school bus, and figured out the shifting and brakes after a few miles. I rode this thing as my only means of transportation for 10K and about 10 years in NE CT, rain, snow, sleet, hail. Never garaged and barely serviced. Never failed to start or run for the entire time until I raced
a KAW 900 and blew the. gearbox. Then it sat in pieces for 40 years until I had the bucks to finally do it.
In the middle of the project being done by a couple of guys who shouldn't have been doing it, I got sick.....Lost 40 lbs in a month and I didn't need to lose an ounce. In the ER, they took pics and said I had cancer, a tumor on my small intestine. A super rare deal. So eventually they cut out a softball sized tumor and after 3 weeks, I went home, thinking WTF to do with the Norton project that I knew was south....In comes Mike, who took it over, and referred me to Greg, who built a great motor.....And this bike is better than new.
Though the docs say I"m doing well, when you are in the "C" world, you never know. Interesting to me that 2 life threatening medical deals were around my Norton, hence my long post.
Never give up, not for one damned second, and never stop riding a Norton, to me, and I've ridden and owned tons of bikes over the years, is one of the greatest experiences in my life.
I'll admit to literally being brought to tears in the first 5 minutes....
In the spring of '73, I moved back East from a few years in Denver, where I raced MX sponsored by the local Yamaha dealer. Did pretty well until the 15 year kids showed up and kicked my
ass. At the time, my daily driver was a '69 Z28 Camaro, where I learned a Motorola was faster than a big motor. So I tired of weekend jail times from street racing.......And sold the car.
Decided it was time for a street bike. Yea, Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited, Triumph Bonneville for sure.....then my oldest friend to this day showed up with a Norton 750 he bought new in the UK to travel Europe, especially Germany where he grew up, and I said gotta have that!
Put together the $ 1800.00 for a new one, but I got a bad headache. My Mom took me to the ER, and after a few X-Rays, they threw me on gurney and prepped me for a surgery, saying we've got 45 minutes to keep you alive from a brain hemorrhage. Super rare deal. Survived that after a hole was drilled in my skull to drain my brain. 3 weeks later, I'm home, broke now,
but my folks, despite their feelings, lent me the money to buy a Norton. Mom bought me the classic black leather jacket that I still wear today.
Of course, at 21 brilliant and invincible, I rode it off the showroom floor, almost t-boned a school bus, and figured out the shifting and brakes after a few miles. I rode this thing as my only means of transportation for 10K and about 10 years in NE CT, rain, snow, sleet, hail. Never garaged and barely serviced. Never failed to start or run for the entire time until I raced
a KAW 900 and blew the. gearbox. Then it sat in pieces for 40 years until I had the bucks to finally do it.
In the middle of the project being done by a couple of guys who shouldn't have been doing it, I got sick.....Lost 40 lbs in a month and I didn't need to lose an ounce. In the ER, they took pics and said I had cancer, a tumor on my small intestine. A super rare deal. So eventually they cut out a softball sized tumor and after 3 weeks, I went home, thinking WTF to do with the Norton project that I knew was south....In comes Mike, who took it over, and referred me to Greg, who built a great motor.....And this bike is better than new.
Though the docs say I"m doing well, when you are in the "C" world, you never know. Interesting to me that 2 life threatening medical deals were around my Norton, hence my long post.
Never give up, not for one damned second, and never stop riding a Norton, to me, and I've ridden and owned tons of bikes over the years, is one of the greatest experiences in my life.
I'll admit to literally being brought to tears in the first 5 minutes....
