Norton 500cc factory racer Barthelemy 1920 French Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Description

A superb and rare photo of the great
Barthelemy
, photographed shortly before the start of the 500cc French Grand Prix in 1920.
The original
Norton
company was formed by James Lansdowne Norton (Known as Pa) in Birmingham in
1898. In
1902
Norton
began building motorcycles with French and Swiss engines. In
1907 a
Norton ridden by Rem Fowler won the twin-cylinder class in the first Isle of Man TT race, beginning a sporting tradition that went on until the 1960s – The Isle of Man Senior TT, the most prestigious of events, was won by Nortons ten times between the wars and then every year from 1947 to 1954. The first
Norton
engines were made in 1908, beginning a line of side-valve single cylinder engines which continued with few changes until the late 1950s. In 1913 the business declined, R.T. Shelley & Co., the main creditors, intervened and saved it. Norton Motors Ltd was formed shortly afterwards under joint directorship of
James
Norton
and
Bob
Shelley
.
J.L.
Norton
died in 1925 aged only 56, but he saw his motorcycles win the Senior and sidecar TTs in 1924.
Designed by
Walter
Moore
, the CamShaft One (CS1) engine appeared in 1927, based closely on the ES2 (pushrod) engine and using many of its parts. On his departure to NSU in 1930, an entirely new OHC engine was designed by
Arthur
Carroll
, which was the basis for all later OHC and DOHC Norton singles. (
Moore
's move to NSU prompted staff to claim that NSU stood for "Norton Spares Used") That decade spawned the
Norton
racing legend. Of the nine Isle of Man Senior TTs (500 cc) between 1931 and 1939
Norton
won seven. Up to 1934,
Norton
bought the excellent
Sturmey
Archer
gearboxes and clutches. When Sturmey decided to discontinue production,
Norton
bought the design rights, and had them made by Burman, a manufacturer of proprietary gearboxes.
Nortons
also appealed to ordinary motorcyclists who enjoyed the reliability and performance offered by single-cylinder engines with separate gearboxes. The marque withdrew their teams from racing in 1938, but between 1937 and 1945 nearly one quarter (Over 100,000) of all British military motorcycles were Nortons, basically the WD
16H
(solo) and WD Big Four outfit (with driven sidecar wheel). After the War,
Norton
reverted to civilian motorcycle production, gradually increasing the range. A major addition in 1949 was the Dominator, also known as the Model
7, a
pushrod 500 cc twin cylinder machine designed by
Bert
Hopwood
. Its chassis was derived from the ES2 single, with telescopic front and plunger rear suspension, and an updated version of the gearbox known as the 'horizontal' box. Post war,
Norton
struggled to reclaim its pre-WWII racing dominance, since the single cylinder machine was facing fierce competition from the multi-cylinder Italians, and AJS at home. In the 1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, the first year of the world championship,
Norton
only made fifth place, and AJS won. That was before the
Norton
Featherbed
frame appeared, developed for
Norton
by the McCandless brothers of
Belfast
in January, 1950, used in the legendary Manx Norton, and raced by riders including
Geoff
Duke
,
John
Surtees
and
Derek
Minter
. Overnight the featherbed frame was the benchmark by which all other frames were judged.
Nortons
were winners again.
Norton
also experimented with engine placement, and discovered that moving the engine slightly up/down, forward/back, or even right/left, could deliver a "sweet spot" in terms of handling. In 1951 the Norton Dominator became available in export markets as the Model 88 with the Featherbed frame. Later, as production of this frame increased, it became a regular production model, and was made in variants for other models, including the ohv single cylinder machines. The racing successes were transferred to the street through Cafe racers, some of whom would use the feather bed frame with an engine from another manufacturer to make a hybrid machine with the best of both worlds. The most famous of these were Tritons - Triumph twin engines in a
Norton
feather-bed frame. Despite, or perhaps because of the racing successes,
Norton
was in financial difficulty.
Reynolds
could not make many of the highly desired featherbed frames, and customers lost interest in buying machines with the older frames. In 1953,
Norton
was sold to Associated Motorcycles (AMC), who also owned the brands AJS, Matchless, Francis-Barnett and
James
. The
Birmingham
factory was closed in 1962 and production was moved to AMC's Woolwich factory in south east
London
. Under AMC ownership, a much improved version of the
Norton
gearbox was developed, to be used on all the larger models within the corporation under the AJS, Matchless and
Norton
banners. Again, the major changes were for improved gear selection. In late
1955 a
600 cc Dominator 99 appeared.
In
1960, a
new version of the featherbed frame was developed, with the upper frame rails bent inwards to reduce the width between the rider's knees for greater comfort. The move was also to accommodate the shorter rider, as the wide frame made it difficult to reach the ground. This frame was made in-house by AMC, and is known as the 'slimline' frame - the earlier frames then became known as the 'wideline'. The last Manx Nortons were sold in 1963. Even though
Norton
had pulled out of racing in 1954, the Manx had become the backbone of privateer racing, and even today are quite sought after. In January
1961 a
new
Norton
Manxman
650c was launched for the American market only. One year later a
Norton
650SS appeared,for the
UK
market along with the Norton Atlas
750 in
1962. For the American market more power was desired. Featherbed frames were still used, but the increases to the vertical twins engine capacity had caused a vibration problem at 4500 rpm. A 500 cc vertical twin is smoother than a single cylinder, but if you enlarge the vertical twin's capacity, vibration increases. The 750
Norton
Atlas
proved too expensive, and costs could not be reduced. Financial problems gathered. There was an export bike primarily for use as a desert racer, sold up until 1969 as a Norton P11, AJS Model 33, and as a Matchless G15, which used the
Norton
Atlas
engine in a modified Matchless G85CS scrambler frame, with
Norton
wheels and front forks. This bike was reputed to vibrate less than the featherbed frame model. AMC singles were also sold with
Norton
badging in this era. By the late 1960s competition from
Japan
and a rapidly declining home market had driven the whole British motorcycle industry into a precipitous decline. In 1966 AMC collapsed and was reformed as Norton-Villiers part of Manganese Bronze. The 750
Norton
Atlas, was noted for its vibration. Rather than change engines,
Norton
decided to change the frame, and the isolastic-framed Norton Commando 750 was the result. In 1969 the Commando was introduced; its styling, innovative isolastic frame, and powerful engine made it an appealing package. The Commando easily outperformed Triumph and BSA, and was the most powerful and best-handling British motorcycle of its day. The "isolastic frame," derived from the Featherbed, made it much smoother than the Atlas. It used rubber bushings to isolate the engine and swingarm from the frame, forks, and rider. As the rubber bushings wore, however, the bike became prone to fishtailing in high-speed turns. The customer could choose between single and dual carburettors, and the bike came in several different styles: the standard street model, a pseudo-scrambler with upswept pipes, and the Interstate, packaged as a tourer. Electric start was introduced in 1974. Sales were respectable, but the company declined financially and went into liquidation in
1975. In
1976 a
Norton
with a US-flag theme on the tank could be purchased for 76. The 'Combat' engine was released in January 1972, with a twin roller bearing crank, 10:1 compression and making 65 bhp (48.5 kW) at 6,500 rpm. Reliability immediately proved a problem. (Older engines had used one ball bearing main, and one roller bearing main.) This fragility did not show up well, especially when compared to the reliability of the Japanese bikes. In 1972, the former giant of British motorcycle manufacturing BSA was also in trouble. It was given government help on the condition that it merged with Norton-Villiers, and in 1973 the new Norton-Villiers-Triumph (NVT) was formed. The Triumph Motorcycles name came from BSA's Triumph subsidiary. In April 1973 an 8.5:1 compression 828 cc "850" engine was released with German SuperBlend bearings, which made 51 bhp (38 kW) at 6,250 rpm however the stated power does not give a true picture of the engine performance because increased torque seemed to make up for the lower horsepower. In 1974, the outgoing government withdrew the subsidies, although the incoming government restored them after the election. Rationalisation of the factory sites to Wolverhampton and
Birmingham
(BSA's Small Heath site) only caused industrial disputes at Triumph's
Coventry
site; Triumph would go on as a workers cooperative alone. Despite mounting losses, 1974 saw the release of the ‘828 Roadster’, ‘Mark 2 Hi Rider’, ‘JPN Replica’ (John Player Norton) and ‘Mk.2a Interstate’. In 1975 this was down to just two models, the 'Mark 3 Interstate' and the 'Roadster', but then the Government asked for a repayment of its loan and refused export credits, further damaging the company's ability to sell abroad. Production of the two lone models still made was ended and supplies dwindled. During the 1990s,
Kenny
Dreer
of
Oregon
evolved from restoring and upgrading Commandos to producing whole machines. He modernised the design and in the early 2000s went into series production, but then suspended operations in April 2006. After fifteen years of US ownership the
Norton
brand has now been secured by
Stuart
Garner
,
UK
businessman and owner of Norton Racing Ltd. Garner plans to develop a new 15000 sq foot
Norton
factory at
Donnington
Park
. In the
UK
a number of firms such as the remnant of the
Shenstone
Norton
factory, Norvil, Unity Equipe and
Norman
White
, a former team racer and mechanic, supply parts for various generations of
Norton
motorcycles.
We have more photos listed on Ebay, also motorcycle (racing) photos! Check them out and use the shipping discount!
This is your rare chance to own this
non period
photo that reflects a very interesting and historic piece of motorcycle and Norton ’s history. Therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12" (ca. 20 x 30 cm).
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We have photographs that came from professional collections and/or were bought from the original photographer or press studio! They are all of professional and excellent quality.
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