Norton NSU

[arnott]

hi guys,

i am completely new in the motorcycle world. Till now i was busy with classic racers and rare special builds, all based on the legendary NSU from Germany, see my website www.nsutt-scirocco.nl
Today i bought a motorcycle, a norton, year 1964, with an NSU 4 cylinder from a car build in.
To get more info on the frame etc, i would be very helpfull if you could tell me what type of norton was used, what front fork(is this the right english word??), which brake drums etc
here are some pics







thanks for a lot of feedback guys
best
arno from holland

[L.A.B.]

That is certainly an interesting motorcycle!

The Norton frame is the type known as a 'Featherbed' and probably belonged to a 'Dominator' twin (500cc/600cc/650cc)  or 'ES2' (500cc single cylinder) or 'Model 50' (350cc single cylinder) originally?

Are there any vertical (serial number) and horizontal (model *code* ) numbers and letters stamped on the left side gusset plate above the swinging arm pivot?

Those numbers can be used to identify the model and year.

The frame has had extra tubes welded on for passenger footrests.

The rear wheel I think is Triumph or BSA fitted the wrong way (sprocket and brake on right side?)

The gearbox is Norton, but it is turned around backwards, as the gear selector side is normally on the right side.

The front brake and forks are Italian, (does the small sticker on the left fork slider say = Ceriani?).  

[RichP]

In the motorcycle world, there is a suggestion that "N.S.U." stands for "Norton Spares Used" and here is the proof ! (It also stands for "Non-specific urethritis" but we won't go into that one !

In 1929, Norton designer Walter Moore defected to N.S.U. and took his engine designs with him which gave birth to this expression.

Your bike has nothing to do with any of this. The frame is a modified "slimline" featherbed and the gearbox is the Norton AMC type. Rear wheel is a BSA Triumph conical hub.
 
The "front end" (forks etc.) are not Norton but look to be Laverda.

I shall get a friend of mine to e-mail you. He has spent vast amounts of time, energy and money building a TTS powered (Wideline) featherbed framed racing sidecar outfit (I believe that he's changed his plans again now though !) - He's also owned drum-braked Laverdas and has Marzocchi forks on his present Norton so he should be able to work out exactly what you've got there. Hij spreekt ook een beetje Nederlands  

[arnott]

wow, great, these fast replies
i will pick up the bike on tuesday so i will be able to get you all the questions answered
the framenr is 18110319, don't know if this is an original norton nr.

the info about the TTS mounted motorcycle is a very interesting one, whatever info you have would be great on this, as a friend of mine wrote a book about NSU prototypes, private projects etc 10 years ago and these are sold out now, so he is planning to do a rerelease with more bikes and cars in there. So pls send me all info you can get if he wants to be in that book!!
thanks
arno
www.nsutt-scirocco.nl

[RichP]

18 is the code for the 650 twins, not that this makes a lot of difference as a slimline is a slimline (apart from a small depression for the valve gear on single cylinder engines) other variations were dealt with by differing engine plates.

When are you going to join the Norton Owner's Club ? I can recommend the Flanders Branch  

[L.A.B.]

18 is the code for the 650 twins,

And 110319 would date it to 1964 production.

The frame number should probably be stamped like this:
----------------------
18

1
1
0
3
1
9
---------------------------


Only the 110319 part is the actual frame number.

[lynxnsu]

Lovely bike although many will say its not It is a mix of Laverda 750GT (NOT SF )Norton and NSU
LAVERDA:fueltank side panels carbs(2 extra)footrests
               forks and ceriani brake
The danger of putting these in a bike chassis is that it is bably supported and the crankcases warp All you can do then is to change them
I machined a alloy sump from sollid to fix it to the frame
and now we are dry sumping one haven,t tried it yet so no info on that so far
your engine is still using the original pump a la MUNCH
sump capacity seems a bit low How much do you have
I have been tinkering with these for a while and would like to swap info

[arnott]

hi guys

of course you can get in touch with me:
arno.zuylen(at)planet.nl

I picked up the motor, it is pretty huge!! It has the oldest version of the 1000cc NSU engine mounted. This one isn't perfect, very noisy chain for the camshaft etc.
I am thinking of replacing the engine for a better one, i have a couple lying around, it may be that i will put in a 1200cc engine from a NSU TT. I need to do something about the carbs as well, as the ones for cylinder 2+3 are mounted very close to a plate which gives them not enough air. Very well to see on the exhaust pipes, nr 1+4 are nice blue, 2+3 are shiny chrome, not blue, so not hot at all.
I'll keep you informed about the progress.

But on the other hand i might sell the bike as well. i will think it over the next couple of days. I have as you see on my website a couple of other projects running as well.
best
arno

[arnott]

need your help again.
can anybody post a pic or send it by mail about the whereabout of the id nr on the frame?
I checked everywhere, can't find the framenr anywhere. It might be painted over or something like that, before i start scratching all over the bike, a pic would help

i drove the motor last weekend on a short tour, it needs some small maintenance and modification, which will be done over the next 2 weeks.

After that is done, i probably put it on for sale, as i have nothing really with motorcycles anymore.
 thanks for your help again
arno
www.nsutt-scirocco.nl

[L.A.B.]

Are there any vertical (serial number) and horizontal (model *code* ) numbers and letters stamped on the left side gusset plate above the swinging arm pivot?
 

I did mention the location previously ^see above^.

[arnott]

yes, i know, but due to the fact that i can't find them, i thought it would be better to have a pic of the location.
Maybe my English istn't what i expected, especcially with these technical terms  
sorry guys
arno
ps. i put the bike on sale for a high price in germany, just in case someone is interested there in the NSU world. Doesn't need to go but if price is right, who knows, i drove it saturday, but i don't feel secure, prefer to do hillclimbs in a car with 130miles/h, feels much better

[L.A.B.]

OK, so if you look at your first photo, and you see the frame plate that the swinging arm spindle pivot is passing through?

The frame number should be stamped on that plate just above the pivot in a vertical line with the model code stamped as a horizontal line above that?

[arnott]

no, no nrs there  
i will have to get them in there. as mentioned before, a pic would help. they may be under the painting, as the bike went through the autorities in holland to get the engine in the paperwork. it would have never gone through if the nr wasn't there somewhere
thanks a lot
arno

[L.A.B.]

as mentioned before, a pic would help.

OK

[arnott]

thanks a lot for the pic

looks like the frame has been powder coated, can't see the nr on that spot. Will take off the powder coating at that spot to get the nr visible.
we'll see what under it.

Can anybody tell me what a fair price would be to ask for this bike??

best
arno