THE FINAL FEATHERBED NORTON
As we may recall from RC167, Triumph fan Chris has owned manyTRWs. But Chris served his spannering apprenticeship rebuilding a 1960s Norton Dominator, which left a lasting impression. When the opportunity arose to purchase a local Norton 650 twin, Chris didn't need much arm-twisting to decide that the bike was for him. The vendor was an engineer by profession, and had partially and sympathetically restored the Norton. It had matching frame and engine numbers and was still running on its original bore and pistons - exactly the sort of motorcycle Chris likes to add to his modest collection of roadgoing classics.
Nor was this an average Norton Dom mi. Chris had got his hands on a rare and delightful Mercury 650 model. According to your humble scribe's research, only 160 Mercury models were manufactured during a brief two year production span, 1968-70, and chiefly for export to the United States.
However, according to its documents, this lovely Mercury is a UK model which was manufactured in 1968 and registered in 1970. It probably languished in a UK dealer's showroom being upstaged by the new >- Commando, Triumph Trident and Kawasaki H1 - models that were much more desirable to young guns perusing the showrooms.
According to Chris, the Norton Mercury was not a parts bin special, as some people claimed following Norton's launch of the Commando. 'Far from it!' he said. 'The 650 twin engine benefited from several Commando components, making it a strong
