(Or how I came to love the Norton Single….)

Going thru a Radiation Oncology medical residency is a grueling ordeal. For me, a gearhead, the only way to make it was a system of rewards for getting over certain hurdles. Recently divorced and finally guarenteed of a place to work for a few years, I allowed myself some gratification as a reward for working hard. Wine in corked bottles, cheese not wrapped individually, and a return to the greasy things I so dearly loved before the carnage that was medical school. It started in a subtle way with an RT-2 a neighbor had abandoned, but then, I saw the P-11 at a swapmeet (even with the springer forks it was something I HAD to have….). A quick trade for the RT-2 and I was off to Nortonland forever. I had lusted after them since mini-bike days (the not so idle summer of 67’) when I bought my first Cycle Guide. Hybrids and Commandos followed. I used to commute to the hospital on my 73’Commando (rearsets, Dunstall pipes, clipons you know….). One day in the motorcycle parking lot I met a guy who had "arrived". He was a professor at the dental school who rode a café’d Guzzi . He caught me fretting over my servitude as a lowly resident and invited me to his house for a look in his garage. Five stalls plus a heated workshop! He had lovingly restored a big-block Cobra, a 38’ drophead BMW and a typo 35 Bugatti (really), but my eye caught on the dusty 49’ES-2 in the corner. Completely done, but rarely seeing the light of day. I captured it on a roll of film… every angle. The visit encouraged me that I wasn’t all that different, and that maybe I would be able to pass on thru the ordeal….he had….

I remembered that bike, and  years later, I had the warm shop and a work-bench of my own. I had a steady job treating cancer patients with radiation. One of my first patients was a prison guard with a brain tumor. He was a biker (I can always tell) and we talked about all sorts of stuff, including bikes. One day he came in with a little scrap of paper torn from a Car Shopper , which I still have. I learned long ago that you must follow up all leads (some awsumb stories down this road….). Off I went to a farm town about 70 miles distant. I found a recovering alcoholic farm implement dealer who had had a long term relationship with what I determined was a 48’ ES-2. He had pulled it out of obscurity as a worn out dirt-tracker. The bike represented his rehab from addiction. He had done it without benefit of Roy Bacon’s book Norton Singles and took some creative license. (See the pictures of Snorton). He was overjoyed that I knew anything about the bike, and excited to see the info I had brought on Norton singles. I lusted after the bike and offered to buy it, even though he had warned me before coming that he was having doubts about selling it. I decided that even if he wouldn’t sell the bike, it would be fun to see, and that I had met a kindred Norton man… I left the books and stuff for him to consume. A few days later he sent the stuff back with a little note that said he was willing to let his "buddy" go live at a new home. It would be fun to learn more about this bike’s "pre-history".

Well, I began by getting it to run….he never really had it running. It had a total loss electrical system for lights, but a magneto, so that didn’t take too long for me, I was quite used to dealing with wet K2F mags in my Atlas… The sound and feel were wonderful! The ride was scary! The forks were assembled with too much guesswork and were also not tight in the triple clamp…. 40’s brakes were never very good, but these were also not sorted out in the first place. The thing that kept me from dying was the fact that the transmission would not shift. The upright Sturmey-Archer gearbox was temperamental. It had problems with linkage and since no outer cover could be found, it had a cover machined out of a block of billet aluminum. Subsequently, I sorted out the brakes, forks and over a period of time replaced the gearbox with a lay down type and G-15 clutch (quite an improvement) . I wrote letters and made phone calls all over to acquire the parts I needed. I found that most suppliers in the US were all to happy to talk commando, but lost interest rapidly in my pre-fastback requests. Somehow, this appealed to my contrary nature… I became the guy in my circle who was interested, and when friends in the TCNOC came across a cache of stuff, I was usually interested in the pieces which meant nothing to them.

As Dictator for Life of the TCNOC, I decreed that we start vintage trials. It seemed safe, and a cool thing to do with our bikes. By a stroke (long stroke…) of luck, Jeff Smith helped some of our group set up our first trials event. He did a tutorial on trials riding for us which consisted partly of deriding my hastely prepared "Low-rider" ES-2 500T clone…. Still with minimal clearance, a dubious clutch and questionable tranny, I was there to be his whipping boy… It would never be a 500T, especially with all that smoke coming out of the clutch… I decided that I needed a 500T, but with only about three known bikes in the US, I resolved to build a C-15t (another story). It was a fun experience for all who rode it before the clutch gave up. I resigned myself to dressing it like a flat-tracker which I have hobbled around the INOA rally grounds on numerous occasions. You may remember that inmuffled "thump- thump-thump" late into the night. I guess it’s about time I finished restoring it,but it’s been too much fun changing it every year and resurfacing with this oily, funky contraption.

Once, in Tahoe, a big Suburban cruised up and a guy looking like a tourist hopped out with his Yashica. His wife was obviously bored, but he started to ask me all kinds of questions about the bike. "Could I take a picture for the wall of my garage?" Sure! As he left, he told me his name….Norris You know….Norris cams….

Another time in Iowa, I’d been cruising around and stopped to talk to some St. Louis guys. As the motor chugged at idle in neutral, it hicupped and blew the mikuni carb right off. If it weren’t for the throttle cable, it would still be in orbit. Seems the whole thing was caught on tape!

It gained its name because at times it had a down-turned exhaust pipe(no muffler) which would blow dust everywhere I went, sort of like "pig-pen" in the Peanuts strip. Somehow, probably because it exuded pure funk, (and also no competition) I have garnered 3 third place trophies at INOA events! Never did with the 50’ Inter or the 500T I later acquired. Somehow, I could sell the others a lot easier than Dust-buster (not that I’m interested in doing that ). Somehow the Dust-buster got me hooked on the singles. The stories that have gone along with acquisition of each of the 6 I have owned are great- ask me about them if you see me at a rally. Look for the noisy group from Minnesota and ask for the "Dictator". At the rallies, I’ve met the other singles guys, a great bunch! We form a mutual support network, and continue to communicate over e-mail.

As part of our TCNOC website (http://www.motorbyte.com/norton), I’ve included a resource page with stuff which might be useful to singles owners. If you would like to contribute pictures, notes etc. I’ll be glad to put them up.

See you in Utah! Look for an olive drab Egyptian Army Big-4……