RealClasic NORTON MODEL 7
I like these machines. Really do. I also remember when it was almost impossible to sell them, resulting in lots ending their days in breakers’ yards, which was ever so sad. An example: back in 1973 or so my pal Geoffrey and I were turning parts of several BSA twins into an actual motorcycle and decided that although BSA A10 forks were fine, the yokes on the Ariel version were better (the top yoke holds the speedo, which we thought was a bit ace). So off we trekked to Bob Gotts’ place out near Mundesley, a haven for penniless motorcyclists in those days, and dug around until we found an Ariel, which we relieved of its forks.
What to do about the brake? The Ariel fullwidth alloy anchor was considered marginal by the fast lads, but everyone knew that Norton 8” stoppers were the best. We asked. The occasionally cheery Mr Gotts pointed at a far corner, where the old bikes which had lost almost everything of value awaited the kind attentions of the scrapper. He was pointing at a Norton. A Norton with half of a twin engine in it and nothing left of value apart from the front wheel, which we immediately purloined. That, gentle reader, is how worthless nonfeatherbed Nortons were in the early, preclassic era, 1970s.
And of course every time I ride one of these gently charming roadsters these days, I am reminded both of those distant breaker's yard days and of how completely delightful are these models. Like many otherparallel twins of the early 1950s, they have enormous character, as well as comfort and considerable practicality. The Model 7 also hung its power train inside a seriously hefty frame – a frame suitable for sidecar use, of course, which was a consideration for many buyers in those days when family cars were rather less plentiful than they were to become a few years later. That frame is almost identical to the device used on Norton's big singles, the Model 50, ES2 and Model 19, and is of considerable toughness.
