Norton at the 1914 Isle of Man TT

This photo was taken on Ramsey Promenade during the 1914 TT races on the Isle of Man. From left to right: Dan O'Donovan, the Braid Brothers, James Norton and his father sitting inside the sidecar combination. The motorcycles would be TT Model 9's or 3 1/2 HP models while Pa Norton brought his Big Four. This is another pic of Ossie Braid on this very machine.

...same day, same people, except for James' father.

...and looking at the rider's number (59), this must be Dan at the 1914 TT.

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1912 Model 9 Norton

Sent by Alf. From an article in Classic Motorcycling Legends No. 5

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Tony's 1921 Model 9 Norton

Sent by Martin

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1922 Model 9 Norton

This 1922 Model 9, fitted with the optional Philipson's pulley, was spotted at Brooklands last April.

Martin: "Simon and I both think this Norton is 1922, not 1921, particularly if that's its original engine, as engine 4200 dates from November 1922 when the surviving records start. Also the Philipson pulley has a visible date of 1922, and the frame has sidecar lugs and the final pattern of belt drive footrests with a wiggle to miss the brake rod."

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Martin's 1921 Model 9 Norton

Another email from Martin in Scotland:

"I've always wanted a belt drive Norton since reading about them in Titch Allen's First Vintage Roadtest Journal in the 1970s. Despite restoring and riding many belt drivers since then, owning one was something I never thought possible until I came across some very rusty and damaged remains of a 1921 Model 9 in Australia in the mid 1990s. It's taken me 'till now to get the bits together for it, by which time my health is not so good and I may not be able to do justice to it once its a runner. However I decided early on to use a 20 inch belt rim which affords a lower gearing than originally used, so it should be more tractable at low speeds at the expense of top speed, so as they say, you never know till you try...

...and as this Model 9 is obviously a basket case, my pic shows the basket too!!

Cheers,
Martin"

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1920 Model 9 Norton

A very nice picture of a Norton with direct belt drive transmission from the engine crankshaft to the rear wheel. No clutch or gears were fitted; push-starting the engine resulted in direct forward motion and stopping would be done by pulling the valve lifter and stalling the engine. Some were fitted with a Phillipson pulley to the engine shaft. This pulley automatically varied the 'gear' under influence of speed and torque.

Direct belt drive machines were favoured by speed merchants as these motorcycles were lighter than models fitted with a clutch and gearbox. Famous names for these machines are the Brooklands Track Special and the Brooklands Road Special, the latter being fitted with mudguards etc. like the Norton in the picture. These machines were guaranteed to do respectively 70 and 75 MPH over the flying kilometre; very respectable figures for a 500cc sidevalve machine.

A note added on the 29th of November when I was contacted by Martin, the discoverer of this photo that is now part of "The Marticelli Collection":

"I have a circa 1920 Model 9. Whilst searching for illustrations of the Model 9 to help get my machine as authentic as possible, I found in an antique shop in Bath, England, a little original picture of a similar machine which I was delighted to buy. The registration number, ONM 6, is that of a works Norton trade plate. There is a picture of works development engineer, Dan O'Donovan in George Cohen's flat tank Norton book standing beside an almost identical bike with the number ONM 4, so one presumes the rider is a colleague of O'Donovan's. Some think he is a young Bert Denly, but others disagree as he looks much older and not that much like Bert."

Martin would be very pleased if anyone could identify the rider; please let me know and I'll forward the info.

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From the rediculous to the sublime

Both these photographs depict Roy Reece. The Norton in the pic on top appears to be a Model 9, note the absense of gearbox and the belt drive. It's an early 1920s model I would guess. The norton in the bottom pic appears to be a 1924/25 model 16H.

Is the later model sublime and the older one rediculous? The older bike has a decently fast engine combined with an almost complete lack of brakes; probably the reason for the mangled front mudguard!

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