Latest Project - Norton Manx with Matchless G50 engine
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Hmm. Appears to be manx wideline chassis with Conical hubs, so that's latish - I was figuring later than 58 but not my area of expertise - with what looks like a 7R motor - no make that G50 motor. peel mountain mile fairing and tank that could be glass based on rough looks. Hard to tell from here. I love the square section megaphone. Alloy rims - probably Borrani, with KR73/KR76 ? Triangular tires.
Seat appears to be FiGlass, so that makes me wonder if it might be a street wideline. It's an interesting project for sure.
What's the story on this one Steve?
Or are you asking about the MiracleGro bucket load of chicken sh!t?
Seat appears to be FiGlass, so that makes me wonder if it might be a street wideline. It's an interesting project for sure.
What's the story on this one Steve?
Or are you asking about the MiracleGro bucket load of chicken sh!t?
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Lol I didn't even notice that.
This bike reminds me of the go-cart from the little rascals movie
The bike has a 1958 Manx frame and swing arm. The factory despatch records say the original bike was delivered to Francis Beart. Much of the rest of the chassis (except the front wheel) is also Manx, the front fork is contemporary with the chassis and match the despatch record for this frame. The body work photographed including tank is GRP, the peel fairing has an air duct taking air to the rear of the carb an attempt to equalise pressure inside the fairing to the outside (these big fairings could create a low pressure in the bubble). Rear brake plate is floating.
The front wheel is AJS and from a ultra-rare "porcupine" model and missing the alloy plate from the centre, 2LS magnesium front brakes don't get much rarer.
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The engine is G50, as is the gearbox, most is original except for the cases which are Colin Seeley replacements from the 1st batch he made and are alloy. The sad bit is the new crankcases replaced a cracked original set which were part of G50 No3! Its head has twin plugs fired by a twin spark 2MTT. Carb has also been bored out and just over 1 1/2". No idea what is inside the engine yet
The bike was put together over the winter 1959/60. Its got lots of history though with wins as a 500 Manx both short circuit, Ulster GP. The bike also has TT / Manx history with a number of riders. Currently trying to verify who built it.
The bike will be restored as a special for parade use, I will re-use as much of the original bike as possible. The seat and fairing will be restored, I have repaired its original alloy Lyta fuel tank and have found an original late Manx oil tank. And yes its been brush painted by a couple of 8 year olds back in the late 70's.
The front wheel is AJS and from a ultra-rare "porcupine" model and missing the alloy plate from the centre, 2LS magnesium front brakes don't get much rarer.
The engine is G50, as is the gearbox, most is original except for the cases which are Colin Seeley replacements from the 1st batch he made and are alloy. The sad bit is the new crankcases replaced a cracked original set which were part of G50 No3! Its head has twin plugs fired by a twin spark 2MTT. Carb has also been bored out and just over 1 1/2". No idea what is inside the engine yet
The bike was put together over the winter 1959/60. Its got lots of history though with wins as a 500 Manx both short circuit, Ulster GP. The bike also has TT / Manx history with a number of riders. Currently trying to verify who built it.
The bike will be restored as a special for parade use, I will re-use as much of the original bike as possible. The seat and fairing will be restored, I have repaired its original alloy Lyta fuel tank and have found an original late Manx oil tank. And yes its been brush painted by a couple of 8 year olds back in the late 70's.
What a nice project
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bravo~!! to the top of the class forn you !
forgive me but im have 2 unrelated to \
anyway "can't be arsed with"i like the pace it sets
it is british i guess how long has it been spoken,did granpa uise it ?
and yourv age for no ther reason than that is is interesting to know the culture age that they endured through the mind developing hishool years
for me it was the 60-70-s quite a turbulent era worldwide
i first tasted air in 57
i remember watching live the ed sullivan show with the super long haired beattles
which happened first?you were exposed to wrenching or dropped on yer asre-head
forgive me but im have 2 unrelated to \
anyway "can't be arsed with"i like the pace it sets
it is british i guess how long has it been spoken,did granpa uise it ?
and yourv age for no ther reason than that is is interesting to know the culture age that they endured through the mind developing hishool years
for me it was the 60-70-s quite a turbulent era worldwide
i first tasted air in 57
i remember watching live the ed sullivan show with the super long haired beattles
which happened first?you were exposed to wrenching or dropped on yer asre-head
Nice when you can add to the provenance. I had a very early TR2 and always figured it might be noteworthy assuming the first few off the line would have been steered towards riders who would put them to good use. Unfortunately never was able to track anything down from either end. The folks at Yamaha over here didn't keep any of the records, so couldn't find out who it initially went to.
What are you going to do with that down spout come mega? Part of the history or banished to the back shed?
What are you going to do with that down spout come mega? Part of the history or banished to the back shed?
Ref provenance.
This project was originally started by Francis Beart in 1958 and built for Mike Hailwood, Beart built a 7R in a wideline and this bike with a G50 engine. The engine and gearbox came from a Matchless G50 campaigned by a rider call Ned Minihan who used the bike to finish 3rd in the Manx GP that year, the G50 was number 3 of the 1st batch of 9 bikes produced.
Toward the end of 1959 the project was taken over by Clive Waye. Around the same time the front brake was changed (may have been fitted originally, it's a detail I cannot clarify) which came from a E90 Porcupine C1949. In Dec 1960 the bike was sold to the current owner, pictured on the bike at the 1962 TT for the sum of £500 - a small fortune in 1961.
To put the bike into some sort of context in 1958 the Manx chassis was about as good as it got, the G50 engine was pretty much state of the art 500cc single GP engine - today it would be like fitting a Moto GP Honda engine into a Movistar Yamaha Chassis.
The exhaust will be reused.
This project was originally started by Francis Beart in 1958 and built for Mike Hailwood, Beart built a 7R in a wideline and this bike with a G50 engine. The engine and gearbox came from a Matchless G50 campaigned by a rider call Ned Minihan who used the bike to finish 3rd in the Manx GP that year, the G50 was number 3 of the 1st batch of 9 bikes produced.
Toward the end of 1959 the project was taken over by Clive Waye. Around the same time the front brake was changed (may have been fitted originally, it's a detail I cannot clarify) which came from a E90 Porcupine C1949. In Dec 1960 the bike was sold to the current owner, pictured on the bike at the 1962 TT for the sum of £500 - a small fortune in 1961.
To put the bike into some sort of context in 1958 the Manx chassis was about as good as it got, the G50 engine was pretty much state of the art 500cc single GP engine - today it would be like fitting a Moto GP Honda engine into a Movistar Yamaha Chassis.
The exhaust will be reused.
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IIRC I've seen a pic of young Hailwood with a Manx framed 7r before... will see if I can dig it up.
Well the Manx G50 is now in pieces.
The frame is well and truly bent and it has a crack in the top tube. I noticed that the bike had been fitted with quite a large and crude float bowl mounting bracket which I decided to replace, I thought I would replace with something more in keeping. Removing the bracket revealed a crack and the reason why the bracket was made to big and plodded up with braze fill - The bracket was made big span the crack and support the tube. I could just replace the bracket but that not my style so a new tube!
The frame is well and truly bent and it has a crack in the top tube. I noticed that the bike had been fitted with quite a large and crude float bowl mounting bracket which I decided to replace, I thought I would replace with something more in keeping. Removing the bracket revealed a crack and the reason why the bracket was made to big and plodded up with braze fill - The bracket was made big span the crack and support the tube. I could just replace the bracket but that not my style so a new tube!
Attachments
Engine stripped. Not too bad, one broken piston ring ("*****" L shaped) and one broken valve spring. Rings are going to be a challenge to find.
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As usual Castrol R has gone sludgy in the engine.
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The timing chain it was solid with castrol "R" and stood up all on own!!!
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Every once in a while I read posts about old bikes being dragged out of long term storage and sometimes their owners try to start them well "above" is why you shouldn't. Old mineral oils do exactly the same thing when left for years.
As usual Castrol R has gone sludgy in the engine.
The timing chain it was solid with castrol "R" and stood up all on own!!!
Every once in a while I read posts about old bikes being dragged out of long term storage and sometimes their owners try to start them well "above" is why you shouldn't. Old mineral oils do exactly the same thing when left for years.
Maybe thats how they did the old Indian rope trick?
This fellow Shop High Performance Piston Rings Online - Deves.com can most likely make your rings if need be. He made me a set for a 500 single of similar vintage for $50 USD. He is located in Las Vegas now (used to be on your side of the pond), but I believe there is a distributor in the UK. Probably best to call him direct though... nice fellow to deal with and he makes very good quality stuff. The oil ring came as a 4 piece, so glad I had the appropriate ring compressor to contain the dainty side rails and get them past the giant chamfer on the bottom of the bore.
This fellow Shop High Performance Piston Rings Online - Deves.com can most likely make your rings if need be. He made me a set for a 500 single of similar vintage for $50 USD. He is located in Las Vegas now (used to be on your side of the pond), but I believe there is a distributor in the UK. Probably best to call him direct though... nice fellow to deal with and he makes very good quality stuff. The oil ring came as a 4 piece, so glad I had the appropriate ring compressor to contain the dainty side rails and get them past the giant chamfer on the bottom of the bore.
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