“I’ve by no means sat on a operating Norton earlier than,” photographer Marian Promote proclaims proudly. He’s simply completed dialing on this 750 cc Seeley Norton Commando—a course of that concerned a number of warmth cycles, ignition timing changes, carb syncing classes, cylinder head re-torques, and valve clearance resets. Now, a 12 months after shopping for it as a rolling chassis, Marian’s first functioning Norton is lastly full.
“It runs like a clockwork,” he provides. “It jogs my memory of the Porsche 928 my grandfather owned after I was a child, by way of the engine sound and really feel. It has a really stable pull within the mid-range too.”
The Seeley Norton couldn’t be extra completely different from Marian’s common each day runner—a street-legal Husqvarna FS450. Nevertheless it’s not the primary time he’s flirted with classic or British equipment. He’s been fidgeting with bikes since he was a child—and he as soon as purchased a mid-30s Norton with the intention of restoring it.
“Once I was 16 years outdated, I began tuning my Vespas and Lambrettas in Germany, as a result of my associates and I had been very aggressive,” he tells us. “No matter mechanical abilities I’ve now got here from the world of Italian scooters.”
“In 2014 I went to the Manx Grand Prix on the Isle of Man, and for the primary time I noticed a non-scooter motorbike that I actually appreciated; a 1936 Norton Worldwide 30. A number of months later I purchased one in Canada, in a totally disassembled state, considering ‘I can simply wing it.’ However just a few years later I gave in and contacted NYC Norton.”
As its title states, NYC Norton is a Norton specialist store in New Jersey, owned by the educated Kenny Cummings. Marian’s 1936 undertaking won’t have panned out as deliberate, nevertheless it did introduce him to Kenny and the 2 quickly turned associates.
“Each time I walked into Kenny’s store,” says Marian, “I needed to go this row of fantastic-looking race bikes. Norton Commandos, Matchless G50s, Manx Nortons, Nourish Engineering; individuals would pay cash simply to take a look at these bikes. Kenny is a rock star and a celeb within the classic racing world—his bikes are among the best bikes I’ve ever seen.”
“On the finish of final 12 months, Kenny instructed me that his buddy John was seeking to promote his race bikes, so I visited NYC Norton once more to check out them. However as an alternative of shopping for a full race bike, I received my fingers on a rolling chassis that was amassing mud within the nook of Kenny’s store.”
The chassis got here from a race bike that John had constructed along with the Canadian Norton guru and racer, Herb Becker; a short-stroke 500 cc Commando. The bike scored a number of AHRMA (American Historic Racing Motorbike Affiliation) wins and podiums, earlier than being retired.
Marian snapped it up and began taking inventory. The bundle included a Seeley Mk2 reproduction body, constructed by Roger Titchmarsh within the UK. It got here with 18” Akront wheels, a Fontana four-leading-shoe entrance brake, a Manx rear hub, and Ceriani GP forks.
“With Kenny’s assist and experience, I began shopping for substances for a Seeley Norton Commando 750 street-legal racer,” says Marian. “I constructed the bike in order that it may be raced within the AHRMA 750 class, which requires the elements to be true to the precise period of the construct. For instance, I made a decision on round-slide Mikunis, as a result of flat slide carburettors weren’t but a factor in 1969.”
“I assembled the engine instances and high finish at Kenny’s store beneath his supervision, and from there I moved the construct into my lounge. I stripped the paint to disclose the attractive bronze brazing from Roger Titchmarsh and began constructing customized brackets. I assume all the pieces on this bike is customized, since, as Kenny says, there’s no ‘Seeley store’.”
For the engine, Marian used a Molnar racing crankshaft and crankcases, matched to a Norton Commando Fight cam and heads. The transmission is a five-speed affair with GP-style shifting (one up, 4 down), whereas the belt pulley and clutch come from Maney. The engine’s fed by a pair of Mikuni VM32 carbs and exhales by a two-into-one exhaust from Minnovation Racing within the UK.
Marian purchased the Seeley Norton’s rolling chassis with Molnar gas and oil tanks already put in, so solely half of the bodywork needed to be sourced contemporary. A Kirby fairing was fitted to the bike; it and the race-style tail part are completed in black to distinction the normal silver tank, appropriately.
The Norton has all-new wiring too, with a brand new loom strung round a Motogadget mo.unit management field, tucked beneath the seat. The flip alerts, switchgear, and tachometer are from Motogadget too, however the latter’s been disguised with a duplicate Smiths face to present it a period-correct look. The LED taillight is from Australia’s Objective Constructed Moto, the rear-set pegs are from NYC Norton, and the tires are Avon Roadriders.
There’s a smorgasbord of much less obvious mods too, however proper now, Marian is concentrated on how a lot enjoyable he’s having driving the factor. “I’m not used to driving this low to the bottom,” he explains. “This Norton desires to tilt, and feels very steady on the straights in addition to within the turns.”
Marian can also be fast so as to add that he has an extended record of individuals to thank for serving to him put the Seeley Norton collectively—except for Kenny, in fact. Aleksey at WorksMFG helped to manufacture the exhaust and did some further bronze-brazing work. Marian’s neighbor, Julian Potulicki, who occurs to be an oil painter, did the paintings on the gas tank, oil tank, and windshield.
Roger Titchmarsh fabricated further brackets to carry the fairing and headlight in place, Joel Levine took the tacho aside and fitted the Smiths face, and Marian’s buddy, Andi, provided countless help and electrical recommendation.
“And my girlfriend Annalise has been, and nonetheless is, very affected person about having a motorcycle in our lounge. It’s simpler now that the bike is multi functional piece, as an alternative of getting a thousand items of oily, British motorbike Lego flying round.”
Photos by Marian Promote | Instagram | NYC Norton
