Dominator 88

Despite the DSN and its conception I have never heard or seen of such a frame! Interesting points here is that the plate at the top of the rear damper unit has been refitted ie poor weld, but the foot rest/silencer loop looks very original fitting. The seat loop is also different, slightly up swept by the tool tray and the continuous loop over the mud guard is new to me. But we all have to remember that this frame is 70 years old! Any one with any ideas? 

I've never seen that loop before.  But there is also a mysterious boss at the bottom of the main frame loop.  In my pictures, that corner is always behind the silencer, but it certainly wasn't on later frames.

I wonder if someone used it for sidecar racing, and the loop was added as a hand grip?  The only time I rode on a flat sidecar I had to hang on to a fan belt attached to the frame.

It's on the right, where (I guess) a sidecar might have been fitted in the USA,  possibly with siamesed pipes on the other side (not UK side), so there was no need for exhaust pipe hanger?  Did it come with an exhaust fitted?

This frame is most likely a 1955 or 1956 version of the Featherbed. So with a non bolt-up type of frame. It has the wide top rear loop of the Manx and International frames which accounts for the shaped oil tank.

The earlier bolt-up frame had a droopy rear sub-frame loop that supported the rear mudguard. Whereas the 1955 on welded frame rear ends stopped short by the suspension units.

Clearly this frame has received a few serious modifications for what ever purpose.

The triangular rear passenger footpeg plate has been replaced by a piece of piping / tubing that just looks completely wrong.

The top of the rear frame should stop around 4” after the rear suspension top bolt. This frame has been extended with some heavy duty pipe-work to emulate an earlier bolt-up version.

The factory has never really explained the strange chunk of cross-tubing at the bottom rear section of the Featherbed frame. The best suggestion being to add strength to that frame section in the event of a side-car being attached. Though, for the rest of the 1950s, Bracebridge always claimed that the frame was not designed for use with a sidecar.

Nice colour!! Or should I say color? The idea of hanging onto that loop while 'in combat' in the chair, with the rear wheel that close!! No thanks.........

Hi Steve, your Wideline 88 looks stunning in the early shade of Polychromatic Grey - my favourite of all the Featherbed paint schemes! I'd love to see any more photos of it nearing completion - perhaps we'll see it in Roadholder?

Many thanks

Ran

The modification to the rear subframe suggests to me that rear loads were expected. Got me wondering if loaded panniers or crash bars needed a sound fixing on extended pillion loops like yours. Is this a police bike? 

My own craven panniers, remarkably heavy when fully loaded, absolutely require good support near the bottom to prevent swing about the two upper rail fixings.

Peter 

wow ! ,what a lovely job.  A very individualistic looking machine. The only line I would question is the battery that appears to lean backwards . And its clear what those loopy things are for ,   somewhere to hang the brake switch !!.  Some Dommies have the appearance of engine etc  lolling backwards too (a bit sad looking) , you have avoided that somehow , Longer than std rear suspension units ?. I can see a few prizes comming.

Steve.........great restoration.  Looks good all over. Well done.

My records indicate two batches of modified Model 88s sent overseas (poss USA) in Police trim. One batch of three in Jan 1955 and a second in Feb 1955. Could your Norton be one of these? Have you got a frame number that you would be willing to share?

Hi Steve ,perhaps we will confer over the 860  restoration , I have had one lurking for years , Space being the big issue . And now I have  now somehow aquired a 650SS proddy racer project .

A strange thing about the loops is that, if they were designed to provide a fixing point for panniers, footrests, silencer etc, there is a complete absence of any drilled lugs, brazed onto the loops, through which to fix them. They may have been cut off at some point in its life, of course, but too late, now that it has been painted, to look for any tell-tale signs of such. 

Police 'bikes would not have had pillion footrests of course, so Peter & Phil may be onto something there.

It has the exposed battery, bolt-on rear mudguard section and round footrest rubbers.  That suggests a transition between 1955 and '56 spec.

I like the early '50s polychromatic blue better than any poly grey, but then I may be biased -I have one of those.

Paul