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International Nortons Model 30

Another year is coming to an end, every year seems to go quicker than ever. Work has been busy yet again this year which is great, but unfortunately the amount of motorcycling time has been less due to work and family commitments. We did however manage to take our annual trip to France and I also made it to the Isle of Man with some friends for the Manx GP.

Typical Isle of Man weather, some sunshine, lots of rain but great racing as usual. We met Maria Costello in an Italian restaurant one evening after just buying her book for a friend’s birthday present. She kindly signed the book for him and made his night! Had a great time and all went well in the Isle of Man, except for an expense not accounted for, the Inter clearly went too well and I managed to collect a speeding fine. Oh well one of those things!

There have been limited weekend runs for me this year, but I’m determined to change that in 2012 by participating in more club runs.

Shepton Mallet Bike Show 18th& 19th February 2012, you can find us in the Main Hall, Stand 18 (this is by the stairs that lead up to the bar, very handy and I’m sure you’ll pass by at some stage during the day). I’m currently working on two International Norton’s Model 30 1956, and one will be displayed at the show and will be offered for sale. The 2nd bike which will be on display is a 1965 Triumph T120, which I have just restored for Martin Holbrook.

We are looking forward to seeing you all again in 2012.

For 2013 show, I’m not sure at this stage what will be on display as I have a number of interesting projects;
1949 BSA Star Twin
1938 Model 18 Norton
1960 Norton Dominator Deluxe (ps we are missing a left hand front styling panel. If anyone can help please call!)

See you at the 2012 Show

Gordon

A customer has sent in some very kind feedback for jobs completed, please take a minute to read it.

BRITISH CLASSIC MOTORBIKES

Gordon is a genuine all-round expert who does all aspects of motorcycle servicing, repair and restoration to a consistent high standard.

The workshop of British Classic Motorbikes is well equipped. It is crowded with projects, indicating a successful professional activity.

Gordon has been undertaking a full restoration of a BSA A7SS for me. He has fitted in resolving problems, left by previous paid restorers, with my Bantam and T100 engines.

Unlike some other restorers, some who are regularly publicised, Gordon does cut corners, nor are machines at British Classic Motorbikes for an undue time because of other projects always taking priority or alternatively because of an insistence on expensively made parts.

At British Classic Motorbikes you get what you want and have agreed to, subject of course to it all being sound, enduring and roadworthy.

Gordon is a skilled craftsman who has a fine understanding of how things go, or should.

The charged hourly rates of British Classic Motorbikes compare very well with others.

Gordon readily gives advice. I have found that he is always right.

John Bowley
Warminster
Wiltshire

1957 99 Norton Dominator

In between all of the repairs and restoration work we have managed to do some motorcycling with a couple of great trips in particular which I would recommend to anybody. The first was a trip on my Norton Commando to Dijon Mid France, where we also visited the Moto Legand historic bike racing weekend. If this is the type of thing you like to do this was a great experience. The second long distance trip we managed was to Northern Spain, travelling from Portsmouth to Santander by ferry then travelling from Santander to Colombres with the Norton Owners Club on my trusty old Norton International again. This is probably the most mountainous and scenic parts of Northern Spain and well worth a trip. Next year we are hoping to go back to the Isle of Man for the Manx with guess what, the Inter again (I’ll wear it out one day).

Norton Navigator

Julie’s Navvy …..
Going back some time ago you will see from the pictures many boxes of bits. I was fortunate enough to purchase these Navigator parts off of a friend of mine, Chris, who had been collecting most of these parts over many decades. A couple of years ago I started to put together the jigsaw of what went where, what was missing, what we had six of and what I was going to have to find. Finally, earlier this year, I managed to MOT and register the bike. Unfortunately due to too much work and the odd holiday it has taken until the last part of the year before I have been able to spend any time sorting out minor teething problems. The bike now runs and looks great and it will be OK for Julie next summer.

Bristol Bike Show (Saturday 19th/Sunday 20th February 2011 at The Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 6QN)…. we have Stand Number 12 in the Main Hall and we will be displaying our fully restored 1957 99 Dominator (which will be offered for sale after the show). We are also planning to display my 1947 International Norton which is currently undergoing the final stages of a running restoration. The third bike on the stand will be my trusty Vincent Black Shadow which was restored in 2005, has been to Oz and back and has covered a lot of miles since the restoration. She is still looking fresh which shows a good job lasts. 2011 looks to be a good year as this is my first bike show. Come along and see us, have a chat and see what we do.

I have two 1956 International Norton’s I am hoping to restore and display for 2012 show, where one bike will be offered for sale…. it’ll be another busy year!

We are always looking for interesting restoration projects whether for a customer or for me to take on as a personal project.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and see you at the bike show.

2009 was a busy year for us and there have been many changes.

The Summer was particularly hectic with a lot of classic bike repairs and partial restorations. During July a trip to Austria on the Norton International with the Norton Owners' Club was a great success and pushed the bike to its limits. A good time was had by all.

The end of year has seen the sale of the garage premises and setting up of a multi-purpose workshop to accommodate several new restoration projects and ongoing work. The projects lined up are a 1957 99 Norton Dominator, 1963 650SS Norton Dominator and a 1972 Honda CB750K2. We have these for restoration and they will be ready for sale as required. We still anticipate other partial restoration work and ongoing repairs.

Due to the busy year, we have not updated the website as often as we would like. However, going forward to 2010, we will provide more regular updates with regards to the restoration work and anything else of interest.

We understand classic bikes and their owners.

Call us and see if we can help you with your project.
Ask for Gordon on 01934 835745 or 07971 213632.