Norton, but wich model? [Solved: It's a 1925 16H]

[Norton55]

Your Norton probably would have looked something like the 1927 Norton 16H in the following link to a blog about Nortons. There are many pictures of flat tank Nortons on the blog and you could contact the author for detailed pictures and technical information that you will need to return it to original spec.
http://rapidhare.blogspot.com/2009/11/1927-16h-norton.html
Hope this helps.

[RichP]

I 've looked the numbers up in the factory records. The frame and engine numbers are in fact 'matching' as they left Nortons together as a 16H in 1925 despatched to 'Mototechnica' who appear to have been Norton's Milan agents in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Interestingly, in the forks column, 'Druid' has been crossed out and replaced with 'Webb' so the forks may be original and the special fittings column refers to a special large fuel tank with separate fuel and oil compartments (which appears to have been replaced).

I have thousands (no exaggeration) of images to sort through. I will mail a copy of the relevant page to Ivan as soon as I can.

Rich

[teibet]

I 've looked the numbers up in the factory records. The frame and engine numbers are in fact 'matching' as they left Nortons together as a 16H in 1925 despatched to 'Mototechnica' who appear to have been Norton's Milan agents in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Interestingly, in the forks column, 'Druid' has been crossed out and replaced with 'Webb' so the forks may be original and the special fittings column refers to a special large fuel tank with separate fuel and oil compartments (which appears to have been replaced).

I have thousands (no exaggeration) of images to sort through. I will mail a copy of the relevant page to Ivan as soon as I can.

Rich

Thanks Rich, I really appreciate the work you did digging in the factory records.
Really interesting informations to know to wich extent the bike has been modified.
I keep waiting for the images. Don't hurry.
Thanks again.
Best,
Ivan

[teibet]

So, to whom may be interested, it looks like the front forks have not been replaced.
Looking at the factory records (thanks Rich) the custom fittings include the webb fork in replacement of druid fork.
Same applies for the tank. The factory records says "extra large combination of petrol and oil tank" so I am now wondering how it should look like.
Ivan

[cardan]

Hi Ivan,
It really is an interesting bike you have there!
Make sure you get a copy of the factory ledger, so you know exactly what it does and doesn't say. If you wish to try to return the bike to its original condtion, you then have an interesting task.
First, the bike may have been fitted with Webb forks in 1925, but are these the forks still on the bike? Find out exactly what the 1925 Webb fork looked like (the early ones are sure to have some peculiarities not found on the later ones), and compare it to what you have.
Note that the works record doesn't say "modified frame". We could probably assume that the bike started off with a standard frame. In this case, the extra-large tank would look much like the standard tank but wider. I'm not sure how many flat tank Norton's you've seen, but some (particularly the Big Fours) have very, very wide tanks! You usually don't notice in side-on photos, but sitting on the bike your knees are wide. My guess that the original tank would have looked much like a standard 16H tank from the side, but wider.
As I've mentioned before, don't rule out using it "as is" before you decide exactly what to do with it in the future.
Leon

[teibet]

Thanks Leon, I got your point. I agree.
I have a friend that can help me in better understanding the bike.
Ivan