New Owner intro and question

It was a norm for Nortons to be dated the year after actual manufacture. Your bike could have spent 6 months in customs and transit anyway. In the Uk it was also fairly usual for the Dealer to be on the log book as Ist owner. My 59/60 bike has Harold Daniel as the First owner ,doubt he ever rode it!. I could tell he liked my 88 a lot though, Best bike they ever made he said, and he was right.

Under the tank on the back of the headstock is the frame tab that the head brace bolts to. The date of manufacture is stamped small on the top. Could have been a replacement frame and the repairing dealer was supposed to stamp it with the old number?. If we still had to get the bikes MOT'd I would get the number stamped on the frame to avoid future problems. Not legal probably,but who would know?.

Just a small point: the '/P' denoted a Plumstead machine, not Bracebridge Street. I would need to check, but I know my Dommie has '/P' on the engine, but I'm fairly sure it does not appear on the documents. I don't know about the frame, but I don't think it's there either. It is also a 1963 bike with 1964 registration ('B' suffix here in the UK). The 7" fork spacing is the give-away for the date. They were widened for 1964 to improve tyre selection (and maybe increase tolerances to lessen the clash between fork shrouds and sliders). They went to 12 volt with zenor diode but that might have been changed by now anyway.

From your engine number I would suspect 1964 but I don't have any reference books to hand.

Nice part of the world to live, I have a friend on Texada

dan

Previously clive_brown wrote:

Hi All, just purchased my first Norton. Hope to learn about the bikes and be able to "give back" where possible. I have a few other classic bikes so the foibles of 50 year old motorcycles does not come as a surprise!

So, I purchased what I believe to be a 1963 Model 50. Has Engine number 13106752/P. Can not find a frame number anywhere! Not on the frame gusset above rear brake pedal... The plot thickens... Have the original registration document from Singapore. Shows that engine number and shows frame number as same (minus the /p). Also shows it as a 1964. First registration date is 15/6/64... My best guess is it was a late production that didn't get registered there until June 1964 so it became a 1964? To add to that the registration book has "1st" crossed out and "2nd" written in on the "original owners" page. I was told the bike was originally a police bike.

If anybody could shed some light on this I would really appreciate it!

Clive, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada.

Hi Clive - would love to see some photos of your Model 50 - I would love to have one myself !

Richard - NJ USA

Clive:

My 1964 Model 50 has serial number:

1396668 So I am thinking that you have too many digits in your s/n

Can you re-examine the numbers and advise us?

Mike

Hi. is there a gusset plate over the number on the frame.

Barry

Attachments
frame-number-jpg

Hi Clive, The 13 is the designation for a Model 50 as you probably already know and the remaining digits are the engine number and P is for Plumstead, the London manufacturing plant after Norton moved down from Bracebridge Street in Birmingham. The frame number would have originally been the same as the engine number.My 88SS twin has an engine number just after yours (88SS/1070xx/P and left the factory on 29/10/1963 according to the factory records so would be listed as a 1964 model. My spare frame 122/1071xx/P left the factory on 23/10/1963 and was one of a batch sent to Singapore. As you can see the despatch dates were not sequential with the engine numbers.Probably shipped at the same time as yours. Machines built late in the year were often first registered in the following year which ties in with the data you have.regards

Previously michael_sullivan wrote:

Clive:

My 1964 Model 50 has serial number:

1396668 So I am thinking that you have too many digits in your s/n

Can you re-examine the numbers and advise us?

Mike

Hello mate well your number is 13-96668 is from april 1961 , and bracebridge built

Previously clive_brown wrote:

Thank you to all for the advise/info... I purchased the bike from Dreamcycle Motorcycle Museum here in Sorrento BC. Currently here on a vacation at the lake and I will be riding her home! ( 450 klms over the Rockies!) Bike was purchased in Singapore by a Vancouver collector and totally restored in 1993. Dry stored in his living room until it was purchased out of his estate in 2013 by Mark at Dreamcycle. It was then displayed at the museum until I bought it a few days ago. Hadn't been started since 1993!

Filled her up with fresh fluids and gas, new battery and third kick she fires right up. Have put about 100 miles on her so far, runs 100%. No smoke, doesn't wet sump over night, no abnormal noises, great compression. Seems to be really happy at 50-55mph with my 240lbs on her. Surprised at lack of vibration? Does get buzzy above 55. Can anybody give me an idea as to what speed I'd be doing in third when I hit "safe redline"? I'd like to take her there once just to educate myself as to knowing her rpm limits..

Hi Clive, I was wondering if it was that bike, I had been looking at it as well but with three Nortons I couldn't justify a fourth (or find room). It's nice to know you're liking it. Cheers from Ottawa!