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Manxman forever!

Submitted by lionel_yexley on Fri, 05/02/2021
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Nortons - General

Congratulation to Phil Hannam on his 2 -page spread in February's OBM (just received this morning)

Although we all know everything about them, thanks to a very proud owner who extols its praise ad nauseum,  there was actually a lot more information to be had - far more complex than I had thought, and VERY interesting. (No - REALLY!)

With the numerous combinations of parts and colours it is a very difficult bike to know.  The early heavy oil consumption (200 miles per pint!) would have been a worry to owners, especially if the oil tank level wasn't checked before taking it out every time.  Engine death on the cards!

Submitted by robert_tuck on Mon, 08/02/2021

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I think she  blotted her copybook  again,  but  I hope she will be allowed  back in  sometime soon. Any of us  are  likely to get a bit eccentric with isolation and age . Anna comes from a very famous  bike and car lineage and  has  a great pool of  knowlege  and experience .  Plus a few extras !!.

Submitted by bob_matthews on Mon, 08/02/2021

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I would also like to pass on my thanks to Phil as the article in OBM on the Manxman was extremely well researched, well written and very interesting.

Maybe there should be a link to it here on the NOC website or preferably the article reproduced here for everyone to see - with Phil's permission of course.

Submitted by philip_hannam1 on Mon, 08/02/2021

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Thank you all for the kind words re the Manxman article. These included a phone call from Anna who was just gushing with positive comments. She actually helped me complete the OBM version by supplying a few facts and figures that I was struggling to confirm. 

Anna is alive and reasonably well but unable to contribute to this Forum. That is until the hierarchy have discussed the fall-out from an Anneristic quote she made last year. If, in her case, the 'three strikes and out' rule is applied then the Club is going to lose  a valuable and thoroughly entertaining asset.

Delving into the design and manufacture of the 650 Manxman was very difficult due to limited access to records and Covid. The one piece of the puzzle that remains missing is why the first batch of bikes was removed from the production line and put into storage for three weeks. Was it an exhaust pipe problem or some other issue? Perhaps the nearby crate of exhaust pipes was labelled Dominator twins but full of 88/99 items.

The attachment is a shrunken version of the Manxman article to fit the file size limit.

Attachments
Manxman 650 Story + Photos.doc

Submitted by lionel_yexley on Mon, 08/02/2021

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Even better Phil!  I have saved the compacted version, so many thanks for going to the trouble.  I'm never likely to own one as there were only 1.5 ever made, but we know from NOC Owner's experience that they were the best bikes ever made - in the whole World!

Actually their spec is pretty good - shame about the colours and handlebars!  Still - "Chacun a son goût" as Confucius said.

Just a very small "nitpick" - I think it was "Twiflex" oil control piston rings that were fitted.  The company still seems to be running, but they are brake specialists now - or perhaps a different company with the same name, although the current one was founded in 1946. (As I was!)

Submitted by robert_tuck on Mon, 08/02/2021

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A very interesting  story.  Thankyou Phil.  I expect there will be some gnashing of teeth from those who insist on  relying on the official literature  and  specs.  

Submitted by philip_hannam1 on Mon, 08/02/2021

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Lionel......I consulted 3 so-called experts about which name to use for the replacement 650 rings.

I was informed it was one of   Twiflex ...... Twinflex .......Twyflex.

Eventually I settled for the Factory version which Anna agreed with as well. See attachments.

Letters of complaint to......Ledger Keeping Scribe, Bracebridge Street, Birmingham 6.

Attachments
Manxman Ledger Entry.jpg
Manxman Records.jpg

Submitted by lionel_yexley on Mon, 08/02/2021

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Thanks Phil.  How annoying that they can't agree on the spelling!  It is "Twiflex" in Norton's Workshop Manuals, as it is in both my W. C. Haycraft's two Books of the Norton Dominator Twins, including the '1955-65' version.  Both have the drawings of the "TWIFLEX" Oil control Rings fitted to the 650 engines.

Oddly enough, my "Bible", which I used from 1964 onwards, was P.L. Garratt's Maintenance and Repair Series, but it doesn't tell you how to refit the pistons!  In the absence of detailed information I used the standard method of hammer & cold chisel!

 



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