cotton frame id

[cardan]

Yep it's certainly easier to sell it than to restore it.

If I had to choose between a vintage Cotton or an Inter Norton, I'd take the Cotton every time.

Leon

[mini-me]

yes. lots of fake and wannabe Inters out there.

do some very careful research before you part with dollops of cash

[mark2]

ive got the Norton already as I bought it at the same time , I think it will be more useable than the cotton , I will keep one of the engines which came with the cotton as its a V twin (has nothing to do with the cotton im sure) and I will rebuild this with Pat bastokes ? help and sell that separate , that way the Norton will have come for free

[mini-me]

I do hope you have not made a massive mistake?

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Cotton+motorcycles&newwindow=1&biw=1920&bih=943&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAmoVChMIsN2rmLSKxwIVpWjbCh2x4wpY#newwindow=1&tbm=isch&q=Cotton+motorcycle+vtwin+JAP&imgrc=oifVupfTnvh_tM%3A

If I am correct, Cotton like so many small 1930s marques would fit any engine you wanted

[mark2]

nice bike , the frame I have/had does not have the extra rear tube , see pic above , im 99% sure it would not have had the V twin fitted , bit late now as I have agreed the sale and the V twin is not included , the new owner appears to know what he is buying maybe he will tell me before he leaves

[cardan]

I'll stick my neck out and say that Cotton most likely never made a V-twin. In this day and age, we're so fixated with buying and selling that no-one seems to care. If the v-twin Cotton is a fake, it is now described as "rare".

No doubt Mark2's v-twin will end up in a probably-fake-Brough-Superior-sort-of-thing, which will itself become rare and valuable in the future. If it turns out well, it will be sold at a glamourous auction with the description provided by the vendor and not checked by the auction house; if not we'll see it on ebay as "rare", "desirable", and "photos form the description".

Leon

[cardan]

Just checked the Show Editions of the magazines for Nov 1929 and Nov 1930. No mention of V-twins in the Cotton line-up. Oh well.

Tell us about your Inter mark2! I'd love to see some photos and hear about the dispatch records. John and Simon at http://vintagenorton.com can give you the good, or bad, news if you supply engine and frame numbers.

Leon

[cardan]

If you want the Inter to go faster, I can supply a racy top end to suit just-pre-war to just-post-war (plunger heel) racing-spec Inter. The head (single cam) is either NOS or little used and well-cleaned.

Leon

[mini-me]

I am sure I have seen other V twin Cottons over the years; probably at Banbury....just because its not in a show report does not mean a bike could not be made to a customers spec, especially here in the 1930s factories needed all the income they could get.
OEC are a prime example you'll not find a mention of an OEC with a Silver Hawk engine in any magazine but there it is in Sammy Millers Museum; I also know of another with an SV V-twin engine.
Some makers would fit any engine you asked for,  HRD and Rudge for example.

[cardan]

Over here we have a Matchless V4 in a Matchless mono-block V-twin frame, but that doesn't mean they were ever made like that. A bit of jacking works wonders.

Actually I don't agree that makers would "fit any motor you wanted": I think this is a myth invented in recent years to explain the dodgy things some "restorers" put together. If you think about it, it doesn't make much sense for any manufacturer to spend a huge amount of time building an un-tested bitsa just because a customer wanted one.

Anyway, happy to hear about the origin of the v-twin Cotton. My guess is that it started life in the 1990s rather than 1930. I could be wrong, of course, particularly because of all manufacturers Cotton had no favorites when it came to choosing motors.

Cheers

Leon

[mark2]

I think the cotton was a bitsa , at least this has moved forwards a good 12 months ,will see what ive let myself in for

[cardan]

A good starting point at least! Let us know how you get on with numbers.

Leon

[mark2]

its on the road reg and came with a V5C , was taken apart to tidy up and left , been in bits since @ 1988 , was sold to last owner by Tony Cooper (well known bike dealer ) in 1974 , bitsa engine

[cardan]

Hope the Norton is back on the road soon. Did it turn out to be an Inter or a CS1?

I like the JAP motor, presumably a KTCY for Coventry Eagle. I was recently involved in selling a Cov Eagle with the racing JAP side-valve engine (KTR) engine, and it was most sought-after. I wonder if your cylinders are correct; I think the KTCY mostly used cylinders with the spark plugs angled into the cylinders between the V, rather than in the inlet valve caps. I can't see in the photo which you have.

Cheers

Leon

[mark2]

this ones at my farthers hes working on it , its a   KTCY for Coventry Eagle , its unusual as it had twin mags fitted ? mines not as nice , the Norton is a 500 inter