Great Racing Nortons

You can almost smell the Castrol Oil  and hear the megaphones roar!  Let's check out some great production racing Norton motorcycles I've encountered in the past few years. Here's a few that fired my imagination. In this first group we see a 1962 500cc Manx with rider Dick Miles pushing off at Mid Ohio Vintage Days.

Below is a pre-war Inter with a rigid frame and girder forks. This particular bike has been raced on the Isle of Man in 1937 and was then raced in New Zealand for many years, winning a National Roadracing Championship.

Below is what may be the finest original long-stroke manx in existence, owned by racer Gary Maucher.

Daytona 2010. JL,  Peter Jacobs (ex-Cycle magazine), Dick Miles & ex- AMA Pro racer Gary Fisher, son of Ed Fisher.

Behind the scenes at shooting for the TV pilot for The Classic Motorcycle. We're about to take the Lex Dupont Manx out for some passes on the airport runway for the cameras.  

The man himself, legendary Grand Prix tuner Nobby Clark fettles " The Old Boy" at Roebling Road 2010. Rider Alex McLean swept all events entered on this Stu Rogers-built pre-war 500cc Norton Inter.

#22 Alex gets the holeshot and immediately pushes hard on the 'Old Boy', lapping the much newer 1948 Garden Gate International at Daytona 2010. 

After having problem getting the bike in gear on the start line at Mid Ohio Class C vintage race, I was on a charge to make up time, finishing in second place. I'm just passing #42  AMA Hall of Fame legend Ed Fisher (about age 80 at the time and still on the gas!) on his Triumph 500 racer. Ed's bike is very similiar to the one he won the 100 mile National at Laconia on in 1953.

This is an excellent video for those interested in the Garden Gate Norton Manx and

 early post-war racing on the Isle of Man.  One of many great motorcycling classic films from Duke Video.