The Norton 500T

www.london-motorcycle-museum.org 

Another Norton.

Another week since I was at the Museum and that was just before New Year. The weather is still inclement but it did not deter the enthusiastic. We had visitors from Norway, Switzerland and Belgium plus a few sturdy Brits who took advantage of the pound off Monday saver. Since then I have been out and about on the Kawasaki trying to avoid the rain with no trip out being completely dry and not managing to leave fliers anywhere. As to my last day at the Museum I discovered another article in the Classic Motorcycle of May 1996 about another Norton we have at the Museum. This is a 1949 500T. T is for trials although at 300lbs or 136kg it is not a lightweight but it is allot lighter than bikes of that capacity now. My Kawasaki ER6F weighs in at 407lbs or 185kg and the Buell at 462lbs or 210kg. Bikes have got allot heavier and taller.

 So this Norton had alloy head and barrel that has a cast iron liner. The rigid rear end always gives a lighter bike than one that has suspension. The low compression of 6:1 of this long stroke single assisted greatly in ensuring the engine would pull from nothing but still had enough get up and go to get around a difficult trials course for that time. These machines were campaigned successfully by such people in Irish Trials as Kevin Keegan, Chick Gibson, Bob Kenny, Mick Treacey and Sean Whyte. I have heard that even Sammy Miller had ridden one.

 The style is a winner and was displayed on the Museum stand at the Kempton Park off     Road Bike Show in December receiving an exhibitors medal. At the Museum it sits at the back of the competition display next to the Norton 650SS production racer.

There is more interesting stuff in this magazine with Mike Hodder in 1969 testing out the 100bhp Honda 4 that Mike Halewood raced and Dennis Frost talking to Peter Goodman on Velocettes, the restoration of a Gnome-Rhone and Gold Star single verses the Gold Star Twin of later years. You may wonder what there is to do all day at a Museum but there is always some researching to be done to add a little more information about the bikes in the Museum so that when you do come along we can answer some of your questions.