á VELO MAC SPECIAL á NORTON INTER á AJS SCEPTRE SPORTS!
R 2018 Û £3.60 ISSUE 174 Û OCTOBER
Running, Riding & Rebuilding RealC Classic Motorcycles
BOXER TRIC CKS
HOW THE LEGEEND BEGAN
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HOME, JAMES!
WHAT LIES WITHIN
06
NORTON INTERNATIONAL ...........................6
AJS SCEPTRE SPORTS ................................52
For a while, the plunger cammy Norton fell out of favour with fast lads who preferred the featherbed frame. But Rowena Hoseason reckons that any 500 single which will take you to the ton is worth a second chance…
We normally associate the words ‘worthy’ and ‘workaday’ with AMC’s heavyweight 350 singles. After riding the Sceptre Sports, Stuart Urquhart would like to expand that vocabulary with ‘wow!’
BMW R11 .....................................................26
Recognisably a BMW, but a rather rare sight today. Alan Cathcart tells the tale of a very early flat twin JAMES SPORTS CAPTAIN............................38
Some old bikes rack up really high miles, criss-crossing the country. Others stay rather closer to home. This sporting stroker is a truly local lightweight, never straying far from its roots. Henry Gregson reports… BENELLI 254................................................44
Everyone knows about Benelli’s stunning six-cylinder superbikes, but the company also broke ground with De Tomaso’s flash 250. Nolan Woodbury meets a lively lightweight…
REALCLASSIC 174; PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER 2018
RC REGULARS THE CONTENTS PAGE ....................................3
A brace of unlikely sports bikes for you this time. AJS and James. More affordable than a Bonneville…
VELO MAC SPECIAL................................... 64
The beauty of building a bitsa is that inspiration can be unleashed by an engineer’s expertise and ingenuity. Harley Richards reveals a Velo MAC which blends the best of pre-war style and 21st century technology…
WE’VE GOT MAIL! ........................................18
The customary entirely eclectic and occasionally pertinent selection. We want to hear more from you! EVENTS ........................................................78
The evenings are growing darker, the rain is less warm, there’s a tinge of frost some mornings. Autojumble season…
MOTO GUZZI CONVERT ............................ 70
Ever seeking adventure, Nick Adams took his 1976 Guzzi V-twin with automatic transmission on a long distance haul across Canada’s remote, rough roads. If gravel and gullies weren’t tough enough to handle on a heavyweight tourer – suddenly the road disappeared altogether…
READERS’FREE ADS ....................................84
Quite quiet here, but some treats as usual PUB TALK ...................................................102
Founder’s Day at Stanford Hall produced overhead camshaft machinery from around the world, but also provided a reminder that the British contribution was not just restricted to the Norton, AJS, and Velocette racing models
BSA A65 CARBS...........................................90
During Odgie’s earlier adventures with his A65 flat-tracker, he got to grips with the Amal’s modern Mk2 carburettor. Here are his top tips for fitting and fettling both the Mk2 and earlier Concentrics…
TALES FROM THE SHED .............................108
It’s that same old story; three steps forward, four steps back…
MI-VAL PROJECT.........................................98
Stu Thomson plainly enjoys a challenge. Not content with restoring a Gilera Giubileo to the road, he’s now tackled something even less usual – at least in the UK. And here’s riding the result! First impressions…
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TODAY & SAVE
WHO’S DONE WHAT REALCLASSIC has mysteriously assembled itself this month, because Rowena Hoseason and Frank Westworth of The Cosmic Bike Co Ltd are on holiday. Don’t worry; by the time you read this we’ll be back. Possibly. While RH and FW were giddily gadding about, Mike Baumber and the production team at Horncastle worked ultra-efficiently to design the pages and get the magazine to press on time. Thanks for all the extra effort, folks. COVER IMAGE by Kel Edge You’ll find more old bike features, book reviews and event info at www.Real-Classic.co.uk TRADE ADVERTISERS for the magazine or website should call Helen Martin on 01507 529574, email hrmartin@mortons.co.uk EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES should be sent to Frank@ RealClassic.net or to PO Box 66, Bude EX23 9ZX. Please include an SAE if you want something returned or a personal reply SUBSCRIPTION INFO is on pg114. Call 01507 529529 to subscribe or renew or buy back issues SUBS QUERIES, late deliveries, or changes of address should be directed to 01507 529529, or email subscriptions@realclassic.net ALL MATERIAL in RealClassic is copyright its authors, so please contact us before reproducing anything. RealClassic is printed by William Gibbons & Sons of Wolverhampton. Our ISSN is 1742-2345. THIS MONTH we’ve been reading THE INTERROGATOR (tedious WW2 ‘thriller’which bogged down in the supposed nostalgia of romance in the Blitz); A GRAIN OF TRUTH by Zygmunt Miloszewski (brilliant EuroCrime, set in small-town Poland); THE PYRAMID by Henning Mankell (short stories telling Wallander’s early history); ONE WAY by SJ Morden (sci-fi romp combining The Martian and Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians), and THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM by Cixin Liu (entirely baffling Chinese sci-fi story which could usefully have been 75% shorter…). MEANWHILE AT THE MOVIES we were flat-out astonished that THE SPY WHO DUMPED ME was actually jolly entertaining (because it looked like the worst kind of rubbish from the trailer); were mostly disappointed by EQUALIZER 2 which followed the rules of sequels in being half as good as the first film; tried to like (but failed) an indie thriller called 88 (which isn’t anything like ‘Memento meets Kill Bill’, no, not at all), and are still utterly gripped by Grimm…
FROM THE FRONT
F
irst things should almost always come first. So – a big thank-you to all who completed our recent online survey. I’m no great fan of the things, but in this case they really do help us get an idea of what you want, what you like and what you don’t. It’s too easy to be blinkered, to consider only the opinions of those who we meet in person out there in classicland. And yes indeed, an online survey is always going to be skewed a little, because by its very nature it’s restricted to those who are both netted together and are also happy to complete surveys. That aside, it was a remarkably useful exercise, which is not always the case. And as usual, I’m personally (ie. without my ‘professional’ hat on) most interested in the marques and types of bikes you ride. It’s a fascinating array, and every bit as varied as you’d probably expect from reading the magazine. Everything from very ancient (very few of those), peaking around 1960 to 1980, but then declining only gracefully up to the modern day, where we discovered that a remarkable proportion of RC readers ride new motorcycles. Do not fret: this does not mean that we’re likely to alter the mix of motorcycles in these smudgy pages to include 50% new bikes. Probably! More entertainment was provided by a multiple-choice question asking what you would like to see more or less of in these pages. One of the categories included modern retros or classic-styled new bikes. The great majority of respondents were perfectly happy with the current level (which is pretty small, deliberately so) while a small proportion wanted to see a lot more, and almost exactly the same proportion wanted to see none at all! Interpreting these things provides hours of harmless fun, although everything is open to interpretation – even the results of the original interpretation. I’ll stop now while I’m ahead. Anyway. You have a 70% chance of being delighted to learn that RC will continue as
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it is, just as you’ve asked. If you’re one of the other 30%, I can reveal that although it’ll look the same, the New! Improved! RC will contain extra features on the bikes you want to know more about, and less of those you want to read less about. Which will be a struggle, as they appear to be the same… Which is why I always, but always, prefer to chat at events so RealPeople can express RealViews face to face, preferably over a soothing libation. And in turn, I can also share with you that the views expressed at events like shows and jumbles are often wildly different from those I listened to while meeting folk at OK Diners, and on other challenging rides. While on our ever-lively Facebook group, the views are different again – although Rowena and I were delighted that that group was singled out for a lot of praise in the ‘comments’ section of the survey. All of which proves to me that the best features are those written by you, by The Reader, about the bikes you own, ride, build, ruin and rebuild again. Which is exactly as it should be. Ride safely Frank Westworth Frank@realclassic.net
THE NEXT ISSUE
RC175WILL BE PUBLISHED ON NOVEMBER 5th, AND SHOULD REACH UK SUBSCRIBERS BY NOVEMBER 9th
Although clubman racers pushed the sohc Inter engine to output over 40bhp, a state of tune giving around 30-35 horsepower at 6000rpm is easier to live with
6 I OCTOBER 2018
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NORTON INTERNATIONAL
RAPID ROADSTER For a while, the plunger cammy Norton fell out of favour with fast lads who preferred the featherbed frame. But Rowena Hoseason reckons that any 500 single which will take you to the ton is worth a second chance… Photos by Kay Eldridge of FocusedImage.com.au, Rowan Bond, Mortons archive and Bonhams auctioneers
W
hen people talk about Norton’s cammy singles they typically mention the Manx first and the International… well, eventually, maybe, as a bit of an afterthought. Hardly fair, seeing as the International came first and the Manx model popped up post-war. The Inter was the 1930s race-bred roadster equivalent of the works overhead cam competitors. Joe Craig and Arthur Carroll drew up the new Norton cammy engine for the 1930 season, to cure some of the groundbreaking CS1’s idiosyncrasies. The CS1 was an impressive engine, but it was technically tricky to keep in tune and riders found it tough to extract its peak performance. The Inter was a smaller machine overall, with a shorter wheelbase and lower riding position which favoured the vintage style of ‘lean out’ cornering, knees gripping the tank to stay in the saddle.
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OCTOBER 2018 I 7
The sohc Inter engine was offered in 350 and 500 forms. As you’d expect, the 350s lacked the torque of the bigger engine but responded well to a big fat handful of revs. This is a 1949 490cc Model 30 which found its way to Australia
The new model paved the way for the cammy Norton to become a clubman’s racer rather than a pure works machine – it was perfectly possible for Inter owners to swap a valve or a piston without an entire team of mechanics. Inevitably the boys of Bracebridge Street offered private customers the option to upgrade their Inters with all manner of competition-spec components. In the mid-
1930s you could specify an Inter in ‘Manx GP’ trim, bristling with optional extras. After WW2, things became clearer with the launch of the customer double-knocker Manx model in 1949, while the Inter stayed available with its sohc top end. That doesn’t stop today’s sellers misdescribing an overpriced cammy single as a Manx when it is in fact an Inter, of course…
Setting up the bevel-driven overhead cam is a laborious process, but you can achieve an oil-tight engine with patience and (in this case) modern materials. Neoprene and silicone can work wonders!
8 I OCTOBER 2018
BACK IN THE DAY
Even among the actual Internationals, there’s a clear demarcation of desirable incarnations. Most folk feel that the truly unapproachable Norton is equipped with a featherbed frame, so the 1953-onwards version of the Inter, with all-alloy engine and laid-down gearbox, is usually the one which hogs the limelight. At the other end of the spectrum lies the simplicity of the Inter’s original iteration with rigid rear end and girder forks; a genuinely vintage experience from the 1930s. The final featherbed Inters might be the most powerful of the bunch and are blessed with the best handling of their era, but the early Inters are pretty frisky when the engine comes on song. Both types sell for seriously big bucks. Then there’s the awkward interim model. The Inter was reintroduced after WW2 for the 1947 Clubman’s TT, where both 350 and 500 took top honours. This bike was little more than a refreshed version of the pre-war racer, but the customer machine which followed for 1949 was a more pragmatic proposition. For the first time, the public was offered a cammy engine in a chassis with suspension at both ends – but the ‘garden gate’ frame with tele forks and plunger suspension did not meet with universal approval…
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NORTON INTERNATIONAL
A pukka TT carb, correctly accessorised. Owner Rowan says ‘If I inadvertently leave the bath plug in the bellmouth and try starting it, then I can forget kicking it over for a few minutes. It normally starts very well after that’
Above: Norton offered an optional bronze alloy head from 1935, but the valve seats tended to sink so it was typically only used on track, and road riders stuck with the cast iron head
It’s all a bit of a tight squeeze, fitting in the TT carb alongside the superbly-styled six-pint oil tank with its extended filler neck especially designed to suit the TT pits
The pre-war rigid bikes’ short wheelbase and low centre of gravity gave them responsive handling and instinctive steering. ‘Plunger suspension,’ observed Don Morley, who owned several Inters over the years, ‘especially if combined with tele forks, raises this level, adding considerably to the overall weight to ruin the entire equation. Indeed, these Inters suffer from stodgy and decidedly unsporting handling.’ He thought the 1949 incarnation of the Inter was ‘beautiful-looking but ultra-heavy and evil-handling.’ Historian Roy Bacon agreed. He thought the post-war Inter was ‘wonderful to look at’, but ‘it was no road machine. It rattled, it leaked oil and the cam timing battled with the silencer to hold the road performance down to around 85mph for the 500. The 350 was slower, having to drag along virtually the same weight, and thus its acceleration suffered badly.’ Even so, if you fitted a free-breathing pipe, then ‘a good 500 could make a memorable experience.’ Fitted with a Brooklands can, a plunger-framed 500 in a pre-war state of tune was timed at 97mph, and Bacon reckoned that ‘the engine, coupled to a close-ratio gearbox, had deep-down stamina. The plunger frame called for a firm hand and could roll at higher speeds, but would always
work with a rider to keep him out of trouble and get him through a corner.’ Fast riders certainly could make the most of the racing version of Norton’s plunger frame. ‘It made the bikes much more comfortable to ride in long races like the TT,’ according to the firm’s works rider Freddie Frith. And indeed, Frith clocked the first ever 90mph lap of the TT circuit in 1937 on a cammy single in a preproduction plunger frame. However, as Jim Reynolds once observed, ‘action pictures of the time suggest a very physical high-speed wrestling match!’ These opinions explain why the plunger Inters have traditionally been less soughtafter than their siblings, and why their values haven’t risen quite so stratospherically. Although the Model 30 (490cc) and Model 40 (348cc) were the top of Norton’s range for 1949, those times were pretty tough. Gone were the gloriously high compression ratios of the late 1930s, when works racers ran 12:1 on exotic fuels – the 1949 Inters were fitted with compression plates to cope with poor quality, 72-octane pool petrol. While the works bikes were still gussied up with trick bits, the road-going Inter specification was a bit less special than it used to be and shared many more components with the ohv roadsters. The sohc iron engine
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Purists tend to prefer their cammy Nortons with the famous featherbed frame, or to have a rigid rear end. But back in 1949, the plunger chassis was praised for its comfort over cobbles and the like
Although Motor Cycling would’ve liked the front brake to have more bite, they were impressed that it stopped 390lb of motorcycle from 30mph in 31ft… in the wet. In the dry, it could easily squeal the front wheel
A glimpse beneath the fuel tank reveals the exposed hairpin valve springs
OCTOBER 2018 I 9
By the 1980s, this generation of International had fallen out of favour. But when it was new The Motor Cycle said that ‘few riders could ask for more. It will cruise effortlessly and indefinitely in the seventies and do so with a degree of riding comfort that has to be experienced to be appreciated…’
retained its ribbed crankcase with built-up crankshaft, duplex gear oil pump, exposed hairpin valve springs surrounded by oil feeds, adjusters and breathers, with petrol provided via a TT carb. A three-spring multi-plate clutch transmitted drive to Norton’s four-speed positive-stop gearbox, now converted to foot change. The chain-drive magdyno was mounted behind the cylinder, ahead of the handsome, wraparound oil tank. The petrol tank lost its delicious scalloped edges but kept the cutaway to accommodate the carb. The garden gate frame is similar to the one used on the ohv ES2 single, adapted to suit the cammy engine and fuel/oil tanks. While the Roadholder forks at the front end were an undoubted improvement over Norton’s Webb-type girders, the Inter lost its lightweight pre-war mudguards and was weighed down with a set of standard guards. The Inter was given different tyres to the ES2, and swapped from a 3.25 rear section to 3.50 for 1951. Although the roadtests of the time overflow with gushing appreciation of the post-war plunger Inter, you can tell that it was a tricky creature to tame. ‘A trace of clutch drag made low speed gear changing slightly heavy,’ said The Motor Cycle, ‘and it was not usual to obtain an absolutely clean change from bottom to second gears.’ They felt that the 32-inch saddle was pretty high, while the 29-inch wide handlebars were unusually wide.
10 I OCTOBER 2018
Although this gave it ‘the feel of a big machine,’ the Inter was considered extremely agile, and its braking was flat-out fabulous: 25ft from 30mph is impressive by any standard. Motor Cycling noted that the rear springing felt quite hard in action, but certainly aided stability: ‘road-menders’ vicious cross-gullies could be tackled without gripeasing.’ Both publications suggested that the Inter was suited only to experienced, hard riders – and Motor Cycling had the decency to note that their bike was equipped with a special silencer: the customer machine would be quieter and somewhat… slower. The reintroduced Inter had certainly lost some of the pre-war model’s sparkle, but it was only intended to be a stop-gap, while Joe Craig and his gang got to grips with the Manx motor and an all-alloy sohc engine which would slot into the featherbed frame from 1953. Even so, some technical trickery kept the plunger Inter competitive on the Island, where it claimed three wins in 1949, 1950 and 1951 in the Senior Clubman’s TT. The plunger Inter was also a practical proposition for the man (or woman) in the street. Before WW2, intrepid traveller Theresa Wallach secured her gold star at Brooklands on a 350 Inter, lapping at over 100mph. Yes, I did
type that right. A 350. At 101.64mph. OK, so Wallach chose her motorcycle wisely – the bike was hired (for £5) from legendary tuner Francis Beart – but her achievement is all the more mighty when you consider that it lashed down with rain that day… The post-war version might not’ve been up to matching that feat, but instead a tele / plunger Inter carried Wallach on an epic adventure across America. For nearly three years, she worked her away around the USA, Mexico and Canada, maintaining her machine as she clocked up over 30,000 miles. So take heart if you quake at the idea of setting up the Inter’s top end, with its cam driven via that handsome two-piece bevel shaft and an Oldham coupling. Don Morley suggested that any reasonably competent spannerman shouldn’t feel too intimidated by the Inter engine. It ‘need hold no great terrors,
This was what happened with low-octane petrol and a high-comp piston on a high speed, long distance ride. ‘I have learned to read and listen to the signs much better these days,’ says owner Rowan. Since then he’s covered 6000 trouble-free miles
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OCTOBER 2018 I 11
By modern standards, this is a compact motorcycle. But compared to the rigid Inter which preceded it, the plunger-suspension bike was heavy and quite tall
12 I OCTOBER 2018
for they are remarkably simple,’ he said. Morley found the Inter motor to be much the same as Norton’s ohv singles ‘with a few extra but minor complications, like a need to shim the upper and lower bevel gears to obtain perfect mesh. There is little to worry about, given a source of shims, some common sense and a modicum of patience which are all needed for assembling, dismantling and reassembling the bevel gear housings as often as it takes until the clearances are right.’ The main thing with the cammy motor is getting to know it, so you can prevent any little issues developing into major aggravations. For instance, the smalldiameter feed to the valve guides – especially on the exhaust side – can get choked with carbon. ca bo . Modern ode riders de s may also want to consider carefully the m merits of the raceoriented close-ratio geaarbox which features a vast gap between first and second. Don Morley reckoned that the 500’s ‘wonderfully free-revving’ engine with its ‘oodles of usable torque’ w works better with a wider-spaced geaar set from an ES2: ‘less of a pain to use on today’s roads.’
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NORTON INTERNATIONAL And there is every chance that if you buy a plunger Inter you will end up riding it – this is another motorcycle which has found more favour as a classic than it did during its initial outing. It may be heavier and slightly slower than the flyweight pre-war machines, but the Roadholder forks and seven-inch stopper are much more suited to 21st century traffic than 1930s girders. You could remove the compression plate and give the performance a bit of a bump… or leave it in situ and enjoy kicking over a big single without it snapping at your ankle. Likewise, the plunger Inter is both lower and slimmer than the featherbed which followed it. (Nor is the featherbed frame of the International quite the same as the one with which the twin-cam Manx was equipped). If you want an exotic Norton which is beautifully balanced and easy to manoeuvre at low speeds – but which won’t shatter your spine as you rumble over every road ridge – then the garden gate variety has an awful lot going for it.
AN INTER IN ACTION
Rowan Bond in Australia didn’t need too much convincing. He fell in love with cammy Nortons while watching them race in the 1970s, so when the opportunity arose to secure (most of ) one in 1983 he snapped it up. His 1949 Model 30 was incomplete and very rusty. ‘I found the rolling chassis and gearbox on a dump; the engine had been used in a speedway car.’ Assembling an actual motorcycle involved sourcing the missing components, replacing the ones which were beyond recovery, and building up the resulting jigsaw puzzle – and it took a while before Rowan could really get to grips with
THINKING OF BUYING?
Budget around twenty grand for a factory-built Inter. This plunger machine sold for £20,700 at the Bonhams auction at Stafford. It had been recently restored and came with full history back to when it left Bracebridge Street, including outings at the Island in 1951/52
Not every cammy Norton need cost a fortune, especially if originality isn’t all-important. This one had very little history and needed recommissioning, so sold for just under £11k at the National Motorcycle Museum last year
the project. Over seven years between 1993 and 2000, Rowan did the majority of the work himself, calling in expert assistance for crucial tasks. ‘My frame was broken so the front downtube was sleeved and pinned. The frame was quite horribly bent out of shape from lying in the dump with things tossed on top of it, so there was quite a bit of work straightening it for use. While it’s not in the featherbed class of handling, it does handle and ride very well. The Inter sprung heel is, I believe, much better than the same fitted to the ES2, due to the different dimensions. The suspension is much more compliant and the chain tension is maintained much better. ‘When I built my motor, I was assisted by an old friend who’s now unfortunately no longer with us. Garth was quite a whiz with bevel bikes, especially Ducatis and Nortons. He was quite experienced at putting them together, even though he used to make jokes about emptying the oil out of your right boot every 100 miles or so. As a result, my engine
is almost oil-tight with only a few spots of oil from the cambox after a good 60 mile thrash at highway speed. ‘We used Three Bond sealant (the white one) wherever possible. The bevel housings have never leaked a drop. We made the cambox as oil-tight as possible by making sure that the circular alloy muff surrounding the cams is undamaged. Mine was broken, so had to be re-welded. ‘I also took great care in ensuring the sections of the rockers which act on the felt wipers were perfect and polished to a good finish. We also discarded the felt wipers. I fashioned some appropriately-sized neoprene cork sheet (left over from the discarded part of a car tappet cover gasket), which was wrapped on both sides by a red silicone sheet material of about 1.5mm thick. This material is extremely expensive and used in the mining industry. As we had lots of mines around our area, I was able to get a small offcut which would be big enough to do all the Inters left in the world!
Left: Yes, that’s the optionalextra tacho to match the Manx cam and TT carb. Given Rowan’s experience with a melted piston, it’s wise to keep an eye on the revs…
Rowan’s wife is ‘possibly the best passenger in the world,’ he says. ‘However she despises the pillion position on the Inter and doesn’t like her perch behind me. She has refused to ride on the Inter since we got an early BMW. This suits me fine as it is much easier to live with as a solo motorcycle’
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Left: The Inter engine is somewhat strangled by civilian silencing. Owner Rowan says that when he tried a straight-through exhaust ‘the Inter is a very different (nicer) beast when it can breathe properly and stretch its legs. Unfortunately it also rattled quite a few windows in the process!’
OCTOBER 2018 I 13
‘The sheet was bent in a U shape around the neoprene cork so it ended up with the two loose ends pressing on the rockers. I shaved both ends into a sharp blade in the same manner as a windscreen wiper and then put it all together. These wipers were used top and bottom and have worked spectacularly well for almost 20 years at keeping the vast majority of the oil in. I use mineral oil in the motor, normally straight 50, and use the highest octane fuel I can get, and always ensure it is fresh.’ In keeping with the intended purpose of the International, Rowan went for a highperformance spec; Manx cams, high-comp piston, TT carb, close-ratio gearbox and a tacho. But there are downsides to fast living. ‘When I first restored the Inter, I didn’t have the nut on the end of the camshaft tight enough, and it came loose, allowing the cams to move, and I bent an exhaust valve.’ Then in 2002, ‘the piston melted due to poor quality fuel. The bike was pinking badly, and lost considerable power. While trying to get home, I played continually with the advance/retard and fuelling as much as I could, but 60km from home the motor partially seized. It also broke a couple of teeth off the bottom bevels, which was quite a disaster. I sourced some bevels and a new piston, and got it back on the road in a few months. ‘After I trashed that piston, I went for a lower compression piston made locally here in Australia. Whilst ultimately the performance is not quite as good as before, it is much easier to live with. It has not let me down since.’
14 I OCTOBER 2018
So what’s it like, living with a legend? ‘Starting is easy hot or cold,’ says Rowan. ‘I had the magneto refurbished at restoration, which helps significantly. Cold starting procedure is to tickle the TT carb until it floods, and close the air slide. After that retard the ignition about a quarter from full advance and give the bike a smooth but hefty kick. It will start on the first or second kick usually, even if it has not been used for some time. Fresh fuel is important. If you give it too much advance, it will give you a fearsome kickback, but just retard it a little from that point and away it will go… ignoring the pain in your foot and ankle of course! ‘The close ratio box is not much fun around town or two-up. First gear is quite high, and there is a gap to second (It has the fabled 20/22 tooth combination second gear fitted) with the top three ratios quite close together. It is magnificent going up and down through the gears on a good windy road though. I hate riding two-up especially around town as the combination of the ratios, the TT carb and Manx cams makes it an interesting progression between traffic lights. ‘The clutch seems to put up with the punishment of town riding quite well but
does start to complain, being grabby after a while. Luckily, I live out of town so can stretch the bike’s legs almost immediately. It’s an absolute joy to ride once you attain about 40mph. ‘As for the brakes, well, they’re about what you would reckon for a 1949 bike. I did the best I could with them and used quite soft, organic linings which were done for me at a local brake specialist. They wear quickly but have nice feel and are quite powerful. Powerful enough to compress the forks significantly when strong braking is necessary, and the back wheel can be locked with relative ease. Having said that, it is prudent to ride with some anticipation of what is going on in front of you to make sure you can stop in time.’ So even though the ‘experts’ might not think so much of the plunger International, this owner definitely believes his effort and expense were ‘entirely worth it. I have a nice collection of bikes and the Inter is my standout favourite both to look at and to ride. ‘It’s quite rightly a classic ride, especially if you restore it yourself. On back roads and when it comes on the cam it makes a great sound, and has the performance to match.’
The Inter is all about riding, #1. Rowan Bond gets to grips with his
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NORTON INTERNATIONAL
Undoubtedly, Norton’s telescopic fork front end improved the Inter immensely, giving ‘hairline steering, first-class roadholding and excellent stability’
The International was listed between 1932 and 1958. The story goes that its death knell was sounded by a lack of suitable big end bearings – but the final featherbed bikes were pretty much a special build to customer order from ’55 onwards
The Inter is all about riding, #2. Theresa Walla ch returns to England after clocking up 32,000 miles on a Norton Inter – a convincing demonstration that the bikes were more than capable of handling long distances
OCTOBER 2018 I 15
16 I OCTOBER 2018
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OCTOBER 2018 I 17
RC readers write, rant and rattle on...
Summat to say? Send your comments, hints, tips, tales of woe and derring-don’t to: RCHQ@RealClassic.net
PUB’S TROUBLES I do sympathise with PUB, whose writing I admire, on the problem of advancing years. Even my old Jawa 350 is getting heavier by the day. I’ve found two solutions. One is to put a chair on my newer Jawa. Filtering aside, I find it much more fun to ride and so convenient to throw in extra clothing, etc. I think the PUB Vincent would go well with a chair. At least Jacqueline can adjust the steering geometry which you can’t do on a Jawa. My second solution is to resurrect my Mobelette but here I hit a snag. My moped had been off the road for four years and I found areas of rust in the tank. At least AJS Mary could remove the tank of her Rex-Acme for treatment but the tank is the frame on the moped so not so easy. After fruitless poking about, and turning good petrol into woomph mixture for the November 5th bonfire by flushing the tank out, I decided on chemical warfare. I didn’t fancy coating the inside with any of the available treatments as I didn’t think I could get the surface clean enough and I couldn’t see far enough inside to check. Instead I washed it through with hot water and detergent followed by a soak in a citric acid solution. Having no idea of solution strength required I tried half a kilo of citric acid crystals in a gallon and a half of water. I repeatedly drained the tank, filtered out the rust flakes and put the acid back in. After four days it stopped coughing up rust and I carefully flushed it with the garden hosepipe. I should add that that during the soak I agitated the acid with a large, coarse bottle brush which I extended to reach the bottom of the tank. After treatment the inside of the tank is rustfree as far as I can see and has a healthy-looking grey surface. Good luck to AJS Mary Jim Lugsden, member That tank-flushing routine sounds splendid – do let us know how it works out after you’ve run the Mobylette for a while, Jim. And I reckon you’ve cracked it with a little lightweight; I’m getting on splendidly with my 9.75bhp Honda. I suspect a nice Bantam would suit Jacqueline down to the ground. Wouldn’t it, J? Jacqueline? Hello? Rowena
18 I OCTOBER 2018
FINE PHOTOS
Thanks to Paul Wirdnam of the VMCC Dorset section for the photos of Paul Miles which we used last month. There should have been a credit… but wasn’t! Apologies for the omission
SUBSCRIBER
prizes
This month’s winners in our subscriber prize draw are GRAHAM ERREY and LARS SANDSTRÖM. Congrats, chaps. Your surprise RC prizes are on their way to you! Our monthly winners are drawn randomly from all current subscribers: it’s our way of saying an additional ‘thanks’ for supporting the magazine. So if you’re not already an RC subscriber – sign up online or turn to the back of the magazine. It could be your turn next time…
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LETTERS
BESPOKE BULLET Here’s my Enfield Bullet, before and after modifications. It’s a standard 350 Electra from 2002, which was bought last year with 500 mililes on the clock. No engine mods so far, apart from replacing the pushrods with Hitchcocks’ ones, but l have feelers out for a 500 engine. I’ve removed all the unnecessary heavy bits and upholstered a cheap seat with new leather. Del Ratcliffe, member
TOURING OLDTIMERS
COMMUTER CLASSIC 2 COMMUTER CLASSIC 1 This is ‘Old Red’, a Honda CB250RSA, my main ride, photographed outside my workplace this morning. Old Red hasn’t always been red. It started as black back in 1981 when bought new and has gone through other colours. Since then it’s been getting me to and from work and has just clicked around to over 70,000 miles. Some people remember a 250RS being parked outside Lings Honda (my previous employers) for years – it’s the same one although most of that time it was pale blue. The 250RS shares commuting duties with another RS, Old Blue, of same age; a 1979 CB250N which I call the slug for maybe obvious reasons, and my one shiny bike, my Canadian-market VT500FT Ascot from 1984. So all my commuters are 30 years old – as are my other two project Hondas, although the newest dates from 1987 so it only just counts. Michael Durrant, member
I was shocked that you did not think that your readers would be putting old bikes to regular use, though perhaps your strap-line ‘all about buying and selling, riding and restoring’ gives a clue to expected priorities. These are my daily rides. For about-town the Cub is favourite; for longer distances the 500 is the normal transport. The Cub was started as a project when a brand-new frame was going for very little in a local bike shop, and was completed with bits that came to hand in 1983. The 500 was bought as one-and-a-half Tiger 90s in boxes in 1980 and was used as a despatch bike for seven years, growing to 500cc along the way. It featured in Motorcycle Weekly as being one of the most practical despatch bikes for high mileages, and has now done well over 250,000 miles. It was the bike of choice for a holiday in the Czech Republic in 1993 and also for an urgent 400 mile round trip a few weeks ago. And although restorers deplore its scruffy condition, the reaction from the general public is invariably ‘nice bike!’ Phil Bootherstone, member 336
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Frank’s editorial in RC173 mentioned he doesn’t see many pre-2000 motorcycles being used for long-distance travel. I did Spain on a £625 K75S the other year; owned it for eight days prior to departure. It cruised in the high 80s all day, was mercilessly thrashed around canyons and behaved impeccably. Here’s a pic of my camping trip to North Wales this year on a 1995 R100R. Wonderful. My other foreign trips have been on old, 1990s FJ1200s. My question is: why would you tour on a complex, modern bike? You’ll go no faster, no better and carry no more gear. But you’ll have no hope of a roadside repair. On your old beast, you’ll know it yourself, have enough tools to manage any minor annoyances and not worry about it falling over on campsites. Long live old tourers! In both senses. Simon Lock, member
GOFF ON THE HOOF Just a note to let RC readers know that we are moving home and business to larger premises on 17th October, so there will be around two weeks of chaos and disruption to the normal mail order service. The website address is still www.norbsa02.freeuk. com, our new address is 49 Chequers Lane, Prestwood, HP16 9DR and the phone number is 01494 868218. We will have a stand in the usual place at the Stafford Show before the move, if anyone needs electrical items before they’re all packed up. Paul Goff, member
OCTOBER 2018 I 19
ENDOFPREVI EW
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