National Motorcycle Museum Blog

A selection of the Museum’s ex-works Norton Rotary racers thrilled the large crowds at the Vintage Motor Cycle Club Festival of 1000 Bikes at Mallory Park. Five of the legendary machines that revived Britain’s road racing fortunes in the Eighties and Nineties were displayed in the paddock, where swarms of devotees got a close-up look.

They could also meet some former Norton team stars and see them in noisy action on the track. Ian Simpson, British Supercup champion of 1994 rode one of two Duckhams QXR-sponsored machines at Mallory, the other being aired by fellow Scot Jim Moodie, winner of 10 major races on Nortons in 1993.

Phil Borley, third in the 1994 Supercup, was out on the earlier RCW588 on which Steve Spray won a milestone British championship in 1989 while Trevor Nation, Norton’s Isle of Man TT hero of 1990, rode a 1991 NRS588.

Unfortunately the Museum’s updated 2007 NRV588 developed a lubrication problem and had to be parked rather than risk engine damage. It was ridden at Mallory by Lee Dickinson, development rider for the recently-formed Norton Racing Ltd. The company’s busy technical director is Brian Crighton, who initiated Norton’s Rotary racing campaigns and tends our historic Rotaries collection.

The high-tech NRV588 Crighton built for the Museum is being loaned to Norton Racing Ltd to aid development of new-generation Rotaries.

Ian Simpson ready to do some quick laps on the 1994 Duckhams Norton

Trevor Nation rode a 1991 machine in John Player Special colours

C: Eight times TT winner Jim Moodie was back on a Norton

Phil Borley on a 1989 bike. “That blew a few cobwebs away!” he said after his ride

The National Motorcycle Museum’s legendary Norton Rotary Racers are again demonstrating at the VMCC Festival of 1000 Bikes at Mallory Park, Sunday 13th July.

The rider and machine line-up is as follows: -

The National Motorcycle Museum is a British institution and one of the most vital venues n the British Isles today for a whole number of reasons. It has extensive conference venues / rooms and facilities for businesses, but it offers excellent facilities for the average person as well. In fact, it is fair to say that it is one of the most fascinating UK historical venues that you could choose to visit!

The National Motorcycle Museum is the biggest and the best motorcycle museum not only in Europe but also in the world today. There is no other to rival it anywhere else, which may be why people travel from all over the world to see the displays in all their glory year after year. The artefacts on display have been collected over a number of years and so this is easily the most comprehensive collection of motorcycles and accessories in the world today. As a result of continuing contributions, it will undoubtedly get bigger and better in the future. This is why it is a must for all fans of both history and of the motorcycle.

In actual fact, the focus of The National Motorcycle Museum has not changed in all the years since it has been open. It was initially designed to draw the attention of the public to the great British motorcycle industry that dominated the world between the 1930s and 1960s. At that point in time, no other country could rival the motorcycles that were made there. As such, the vast collection that was originally displayed paid homage to the makers of the motorcycle. It still does that to this day. In fact, it does it better than any other institution or museum. Although the displays have been updated and the works of other countries are now on display, no other collection can rival the British golden era of motorcycles.

The National Motorcycle Museum is a place where nostalgia can run riot for the older generations whilst the displays can capture the imagination of younger visitors. The chronology of the motorcycle is here for all to come and see. This is why The National Motorcycle Museum is a place that you can spend all day in. With a restaurant and gift shop available to visitors during opening hours, you can take your time looking at what is on offer and take a piece of history home with you. There is much to be learned and much to see so spend your time marvelling at the wonders of technology and transport in just one place!

Newly arrived on display, this beautifully restored 1912 Zenith was an ultimate racer of its time. Powered by a 500cc vertical overhead valve JAP engine of the type that won the first Tourist Trophy race in 1907, it has Zenith’s innovative Gradua gearing system giving any ratio from 10: 1 to 4:1 at the turn of a handle. As the engine pulley size changes, the rear wheel moves in the frame to maintain constant drive belt tension.

Zenith-Gradua machines were so good at hill climbing that 16 British clubs banned them from competitions in 1910. The company turned this to its advantage by using ‘Barred’ as an advertising slogan and even exhibiting a machine caged behind bars at a London Show.

Complete refurbishment of another rare, but very different, 500cc racing machine has recently been completed. 

It is believed that only two examples of the DMW Typhoon were made. The tiny factory at Sedgley in the Black Country unveiled the purposeful-looking two-stroke twin in 1965, claiming that it produced 60bhp. It proposed to build a batch of 50, filling the gap left by the end of Manx Norton and Matchless G50 production in 1963.

The first version, track tested by Bill Smith and Jack Findlay, had two 250cc Villiers Starmaker engines coupled side-by-side, while this later Brighton Show model has Royal Enfield GP5 heads and barrels on Alpha bottom-ends. The crankshafts are linked by a DMW-designed central coupling with gears driving an Albion five-speed gearbox via a countershaft.

Oil sealing problems and vibration at the coupling caused the project to be abandoned. Race fans hoping to see a competitive British 500cc machine take to the tracks were disappointed.

DMW, a small Black Country factory, unveiled its 500cc Typhoon racer in 1965 and proposed building a batch of 50. The two-stroke twin was claimed to produce 60bhp which was an improvement of 20 per cent over the Manx Norton and Matchless G50 production racers that had been phased out three years earlier.

There were two prototypes. One, track tested by Bill Smith and Jack Findlay, had two coupled 250cc Villiers Starmaker engines while this example displayed at the 1965 Brighton Show has Royal Enfield GP5 heads and barrels on a pair Alpha bottom-ends. DMW devised a flexible coupling for the crankshafts, with gear drive to the Albion five-speed gearbox via a countershaft. Oil seal problems and severe vibration blamed on the coupling caused the project to be abandoned.

Fire damaged in 2003, this machine has been fully restored and now has internals that were missing for many years. The lost Oldani front brake has been replaced by a similar Grimeca drum.

The 1974-spec 750c John Player Norton racer that joined our collection in March has been in action at Mallory Park circuit for final sorting. Norman White, who restored the machine with assistance from former Norton race team colleague John McLaren, turned in several laps before pronouncing that all was well with the newly-built machine.

Built to exactly the same specification as the three Player Nortons built for the 1974 season, this bike has the ‘spaceframe’ chassis introduced for that year. It has been painstakingly sif-bronze welded together from resilient 18-guage 531 tubing. Glass-fibre mouldings were produced by a specialist company, making moulds from an aluminium ‘master’ crafted by John McLaren.

Even the stickers are totally correct. Norman White had the foresight to keep some Seventies’ originals, used as reference to make exact copies.

Acquiring the 1974 ‘spaceframe’ has completed the Museum’s collection of Norton team machines raced from 1972 to 1977. They are all in pristine condition, which is how team manager Frank Perris liked to present Norton hardware at circuits in its heyday.

The 1974 750cc John Player Norton, built exactly to original drawings

Restorer Norman White warms up the Norton’s 70bhp twin-cylinder engine for some laps of Mallory Park

The 35 year old chassis looks strikingly modern

NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM PUBLIC FAIRS 2008

ARMS & MILITARIA

Sunday 08th June / Sunday 14th September / Sunday 23rd November

CLOCK & WATCH

Sunday 18th May / Sunday 07th September / Sunday 02nd November

COIN & STAMP FAIRS

Sunday 13th April / Sunday 11th May / Sunday 08th June

Sunday 13th July / Sunday 10th August / Sunday 14th September

Sunday 12th October / Sunday 09th November / Sunday 14th December

DOLL & TEDDY

Sunday 28th September / Sunday 30th November

EXCALIBUR COMPUTER FAIRS

EVERY SATURDAY THROUGHOUT 2008

PREMIER AND COMPTON SUITES

POSTCARD FAIR

Sunday 15th June / Sunday 13th July / Sunday 07th December

RECORD FAIR

Sunday 01st June / Sunday 19th October

**PLEASE BE AWARE THESE DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTIFICATION