age and colour of my dominator

Thats a fairly common colour combination .  I had a 61 88  dl in that , After  I used the bike to wreck a minivan  I rebuilt it as an  88 ss  with those colours, Up to around 1960 you could order in a range of colours ,  Pick one that gives you a warm glow.

Hi David ,what clues have you that point to red-dove.?, An orriginal log book?. Paint clues? Does it have any extras, twin or single carb ,extra chrome ,an SS cam, polished ports,twin pipes or siamese pipes?.Ignition system?.  Flat or raised bars?. This is all part of the fun , a never ending puzzle.  Our Atlas will be a puzzle for a future owner ,came to us as a chrome Dunstall and now resembles a Black Australian Police bike. My red and dove 88DL recently was advertised as a black and chrome 88 SS, naughty!.

Hi David

Have you got the factory records? That should tell you the original paint colours.

https://www.nortonownersclub.org/records

Mine was black and silver when new but I preferred the polychromatic grey - so that's what I painted it :)

I always thought that this Forum was created so that members could exchange information and solve various problems regarding Nortons motorcycles. To a large extent this happens but not when information only found in the Factory Records is needed. Then a strange ruling gets applied that insists any owner seeking such information must go through a very formal procedure via the Club Records Officers and generally have to pay for this. Alternatively, make a visit to the VMCC or National Motorcycle Museum. 
Now the bonkers bit.......there are at least 6 people who contribute regularly to this Forum who could answer David's questions about his bike instantly but are discouraged from doing so.

I note from my records that David's bike was one of a batch of 'special' Nortons but not 99SS that were not painted Red, Silver, White or Grey. It must have been sold at a bargain price by the first Dealer as by 1962 the 650SS was on sale and leftover 99SS models were being given away.

David......the attachments show the positions of where you should find the later 99 numbers.

If you could take photos in these two positions and post them,  those of us who know the engines well may be able to narrow down the producion date. Also include photos of the cylinder head from side and top. There should a casting number by the inlet cover.

Ignore the incorrect information from Phil where he says "Then a strange ruling gets applied that insists any owner seeking such information must go through a very formal procedure via the Club Records Officers and generally have to pay for this. "

 You can get a factory records check for free:-

Basic Factory Record check

When you need a basic check on a Norton, the Club's Records Officers can provide some information to verify the machine details. Any data provided are for information only and could be liable to transcription error. NOC Factory Record certificates or information are not proof of identity or specification and may not be used for licensing purposes. Please note that you need to be a member to use this service.

This is a free service but ‘Reasonable Use’ limits may be applied.

If you mean by 'very formal' that you have to supply your name and address then I would not disagree with that.

Tony

I will go a step further than Tony. There is a very sound reason not to publish the factory records because if we did the potential for cloning and re-stamping would increase.  Bikes could be sold with a factory record that actually applied to an entirely different Norton - which may be yours! Any bona-fide  owners could lose out or come under suspicion. There are plenty of dishonourable people out there who would misuse the records if they could get their hands on them. The club will provide a factory record to a genuine owner of a Norton. I paid for a record and certificate and was happy to do so. Some people may remember of the scandal of Bugatti's being manufactured and stamped up as originals. Therefore the NOC records information is solely in the hands of the Records Officers.

The Basic Records Check does not contain all the useful information written in the notes panel of the original factory records. Vital information, that  in some cases that can makes a huge difference when trying to identify the actual models produced. ie. is this 99 a 'Special' or 'standard 99' or actually a 99SS? Why does it only have one carburettor when it should be sporting two like the rest in the batch? Why is it not two tone in colour when the 20 bikes before and the 20 bikes after were Red and Cream?

Dave's 99 is not what he thinks it is by a million miles but he will not learn that with the information provided by a basic check from the NOC.

I can appreciate the need to be cautious when offering information to people. Especially non-NOC members. But as I found out myself, all that anyone has to do is head for the National Motorcycle Museum Records and/or the VMCC Library and you can get the answers. 

That head is of the type fitted to early 1960's bikes. 88,99. and early 88/99SS (sometimes with a little extra attention to ports).

David ........ your photo shows a 22707 cylinder as used on both the 88 & 99 Dominators from late 1959 to 1962. This head was used on the 99 Special and later 99SS bikes. It was also used on the off-road 500cc & 600ccNomads. The same valves went into the SS head that  had a different porting layout but kept the same 22707 casting number.